Gillian and Char’s question: “What are the rules today to indicate a plural possessive (e.g., six hats that belong to girls)? We have come across situations where the apostrophe is left out or appears before the ‘s’ in girls, e.g., “six girl’s hats.” Which is correct?” BizWritingTip response: First, you are right. “Six girl’s hats” is […]
Writing Style – Large Numbers
in StyleHarvey’s question:”I was reading your BizWritingTip about starting sentences with numbers, and I noticed the example you provided, “One hundred and thirty-eight people signed up for the conference.’ I was taught when writing (or speaking) large numbers you should never say ‘and.’ I believe the example should be written as “One hundred thirty-eight people signed […]
Grammar Tip – Apostrophes with Dates and Acronyms
in GrammarNancy’s question: “I have a question regarding the use of the apostrophe after dates and acronyms. It used to be standard, but I’ve noticed some lapses lately, e.g., 1900’s is now 1900s, and she grew up in the 80’s is now she grew up in the 80s. And what about plural acronyms? LED’s are the new light source is […]
Grammar Tip – Apostrophes With Plural Possessive Words
in -Latest, Feature Article, GrammarGillian and Char’s question: “What are the rules today to indicate a plural possessive (e.g., six hats that belong to girls)? We have come across situations where the apostrophe is left out or appears before the ‘s’ in girls, e.g., “six girl’s hats.” Which is correct?” BizWritingTip response: First, you are right. “Six girl’s hats” is […]
Writing Style – Starting a Sentence With a Number
in StyleJudy’s question: “I was taught that when beginning a sentence with a number it should be written out, regardless of whether it is smaller or larger than nine. For example, ‘Thirteen food handlers successfully certified in our safe food handling course this month.’ Is this still correct? Also, I sometimes see it written as ‘Thirteen […]
Grammar Tip – Names Ending in “S”
in Business Writing Tips, GrammarI am just back from England where one of my favourite restaurants is Mr. Thomas’s Chop House. Note the apostrophe plus the “s.” This is the latest British rule for making a name ending in “s” possessive is to simply add an apostrophe plus an additional “s” — on everything. North American rules, however, differ. We […]
Word Choice – Slow or Slowly
in -Latest, Feature Article, Word ChoiceJulie’s question: “A few of us are in dispute over the use of the word ‘slow’ or ‘slowly.’ For example,The wound healed slow or The wound healed slowly. I think either is fine, but my friend insists it should be ‘slowly’. Can you settle this?” BizWritingTip response: I can see why this is confusing. I often hear newscasters […]
Writing Style – More Redundant Phrases
in StyleI asked readers to send me more redundant phrases that irritated them. The venting was amazing. If you use any of the following phrases in your writing, you risk the chance of annoying your reader: advance planning at this point in time basic fundamentals blunder mistake communicate in writing desirable benefits exact same extended long […]
Word Choice – Different From Versus Different Than
in Word ChoiceBizWritingTip reader: “I often hear people make the following statement: ‘This one is different than that one.’ I think it should be ‘from’ and not ‘than.’ Please clarify this when you can.” BizWritingTip response: You are correct. Different from is the way to contrast two items. Examples My findings are different from hers. Vancouver is different from Montreal. This one is different from that […]
Grammar Tip – His/Her or Their
in GrammarJane’s Question: “Having to use she/he or his/her or even s/he throughout a long document is often cumbersome, but changing it to they or their when we are still referring to the singular person is just wrong, isn’t it? What do you say?” BizWritingTip response: This is a frequently debated question. Language purists say a pronoun must always agree with its antecedent. Therefore, you should […]
Grammar Tip – Hyphens with Adjectives
in -Latest, Feature Article, GrammarBonnie’s question: “In one of your biztips, would you please explain how to write terms such as ‘up to date’ and ‘cost effective’ as adjectives?” BIzWritingTip response: Sometimes, words change the way they are written because of their order in a sentence. When two or more words form one unit and are placed before a noun, […]