On and Off

It's not uncommon for Malaysians to say, "Please on the light", or, "Don't forget to off the fan." 

The words 'on' and 'off' are used as verbs in the two examples above. This is ungrammatical. If 'on' and 'off' can be used as verbs, then the following should be correct: 

1. "I am onning the light right now."	- 'onning': continuous (progressive) tense of 'on'
2. "I offed the fan just a minute ago."	- 'offed': past tense of 'off'

But they are not - because 'on' and 'off' are not verbs, and do not have tenses.

We use 'on' as a preposition ("The book is on the table"), an adjective ("The debate was on when we arrived"), or an adverb ("He looked on while others worked").

Similarly, we use 'off' as a preposition ("The ball is off the ground"), an adjective ("The other party can't come, so the debate is off"), or an adverb ("He ran off with the money when no one was looking").

But we don't use 'on' and 'off' as verbs.

So, don't say, "Please on the light." Say, "Please turn on the light."

Don't say, "Don't forget to off the fan." Say, "Don't forget to switch off the fan."