Fans of the TV show Sex in the City may remember the episode when Carrie compares herself to her ex-boyfriend’s fiancé. The new woman is younger, prettier, richer, and better educated. Carrie is devastated until – she receives a thank-you note. The “better” woman does not know the difference between their and there. Obviously, Carrie is not a […]
A cliché is a phrase or expression that has been overused to the point of losing its intended force or purpose. The word originates from the era of block printing, when lazy printers would cut out frequently-used pieces of type, store them in a drawer, and bring them out again when the phrase reappeared.Initially refreshing, […]
One of the most common grammar errors you see and hear today is the me, myself and I problem. If you know the correct way of using these words, it is irritating to find them used incorrectly. One of my workshop participants said that the misuse is like having someone scrape their fingernails on a blackboard. At my local […]
Deborah’s question: “I see and hear in the media, and in conversations the word ‘less’ being used instead of ‘fewer.’ It is a pet peeve of mine, and I see it on T.V., in print, on packaging, and I hear it on the radio – the CBC no less! Has there been a change in […]
With today’s North American business readers, less is usually better. In other words, in Canada and the U.S. — in a business setting — readers prefer writers to use fewer words to convey information. A prime example is the past tense of verbs. Example (past tense) I edited the report. However, people who were educated […]
We are all familiar with letters. They are a traditional form of communications. However, emails are recently new to the business scene and require their own email-centric form of writing and organizing. Why? Emails were never designed to be a formal method of communication. When emails came into being in the early 90s, they were […]
The word staff is a collective noun. It represents a group. Some other examples of collective nouns are board, committee, company, organization, department, and faculty. The trick with these words is that when the group is acting in harmony, you must use the singular form of the verb. Correct The customer service staff is not available after […]
Andy’s question: “Is it proper grammar to use ‘Billy jumped off of the ladder’? I don’t think so. I think it should be ‘Billy jumped off the ladder.’” BizWritingTip response: “Off” and “of” are both prepositions. A preposition is a word mainly used before a noun or pronoun to show its relationship with other words. […]