Susan’s question: “Being a grammar buff, it causes me pain when I hear and read ‘lay’ being used instead of ‘lie,’ all over the internet, television, radio, and in song lyrics these days. Please consider doing your followers a great service by highlighting this epidemic.” BizWritingTip response: You are right. This is a common mistake. […]
Grammar Tip – Parentheses or Dashes
in -Latest, Feature Article, GrammarJean’s question: “Just wondering if you could clarify the use of parentheses. I have a colleague who uses parentheses because she finds them ‘cleaner.’ I beg to differ.” BizWritingTip response: When you have material within a sentence that is not essential to the meaning of the sentence, you must set this material off. You could […]
Word Choice – That
in Word ChoiceBizWritingTip reader: “I feel the word ‘that’ is used much too often and, in many cases, is not required at all. What is the rule pertaining to using the word ‘that’ ”? BizWritingTip response: That is a great question! “That” is used when the information following is essential to the meaning. Examples Here is the […]
Writing Style – Capitalization of Names
in StyleBizWritingTip reader: “I have a question about the capitalization of names. There is a raging debate in our office about the use of capitalization with a word such as ‘town.’ For example, if someone wrote: ‘The Town is responsible for collecting taxes’ should the ‘t’ be capitalized?” BizWritingTip response: This is a style issue — […]
Grammar Tip – Who Versus That
in GrammarBizWritingTip reader: “I am getting frustrated when I hear ‘that’ instead of ‘who.’ Am I wrong? For example, ‘I know the people that are in the English class.’ Is this correct?” BizWritingTip response: This is one of those subjective grammar points that has also become debatable. Back in the days of the dinosaurs, I learned […]
Word Choice – Can Versus May
in -Latest, Feature Article, Word ChoiceJean’s question: “Could you please clarify the correct use of “can” and “may” in a future issue? I am finding that ‘can’ is being used exclusively and that ‘may’ no longer appears in business communication. It’s another death of civility, as far as I am concerned.” BizWritingTip response: I remember one elementary school teacher who […]
Word Choice – I Feel Good. I feel Well.
in Word ChoiceBizWritingTip reader: “I would never say, ‘I feel good’ or ‘I feel bad.’ It sounds like a rapper’s song. I think we should say ‘I feel fine’ or ‘I feel well’ because, in fact, we are using an adverb to describe ‘how’ we feel.” BizWritingTip response: This may seem like a simple question, but there […]
Grammar Tip – Punctuation with i.e. and e.g.
in GrammarBizWritingTip reader: “Regarding ‘i.e.’ and ‘e.g.,’ my understanding is that they should be followed by a comma. I see these appearing in all different forms. Is my own understanding correct, i.e., with a comma following the abbreviation?” BizWritingTip response: You are absolutely correct. Writers often ignore the necessary punctuation. The abbreviations “i.e.” and “e.g.” are […]
Writing Style – Viz. versus i.e.
in StyleBizWritingTip reader: “I have recently seen what appears to be a different version of the i.e. guideline. The short form was viz. followed by a group of names or items. ‘There were three people elected to the 2010 board of directors, viz., Mr. Smith, Mr. Hall, and Mr. Kelly.’ I cannot think of any Latin term […]
Word Choice – Lay Versus Lie
in -Latest, Feature Article, Word ChoiceSusan’s question: “Being a grammar buff, it causes me pain when I hear and read ‘lay’ being used instead of ‘lie,’ all over the internet, television, radio, and in song lyrics these days. Please consider doing your followers a great service by highlighting this epidemic.” BizWritingTip response: You are right. This is a common mistake. […]
Word Choice – Simultaneously Versus Concurrently
in Word ChoiceBizWritingTip reader: “Can you use ‘simultaneously’ and ‘concurrently’ interchangeably? I checked several dictionaries, and they give the same definition for both words.” BizWritingTip response: Yes, the dictionary does define both words as “occurring or operating at the same time,” and many people do interchange them. However, “simultaneously” tends to be used more when there is some […]