BizWritingTip reader: “I was wondering if you can provide an abbreviated guide as to which words are hyphenated. I think you provided a short piece on this some time ago, but I since learned there are other rules also.” BizWritingTip response: This is quite a complicated grammar question involving a number of rules and exceptions. […]
BizWritingTip reader: “Can you please advise which sentence is correct? ‘Other information remain unchanged.’ Or, ‘Other information remains unchanged.’ Is the word ‘information’ considered a plural or singular noun?” BizWritingTip response: The word “information” is deemed an uncountable noun. In other words, you cannot count it on your fingers. Uncountable nouns take a singular verb. […]
In a previous blog, we discussed the use of the indefinite article, a or an, with acronyms and initialisms. Let’s now look at when to use a definite article, the, with these abbreviations. (Acronyms are abbreviated words that can be pronounced as actual words, e.g., NAFTA or AIDS. Initialisms are abbreviations that must be pronounced as letters, e.g., LCBO.) Use […]
Teri’s question: “Here is something I would like clarified: Is the proper phrase “use to” or “used to” as in “I ______ to enjoy snow.” BizWritingTip response: “Used to” is employed when making a statement about repeated activities or thoughts that are now finished. Examples I used to love golfing in hot weather. Now I […]
BizWritingTip reader: “I would like to know whether to use ‘a’ or ‘an’ before an acronym. For example, I have seen both ‘a Law Society of Upper Canada form’ and ‘an LSUC form.’ Are they both written correctly?” BizWritingTip response: Before I begin to deal with this issue, let’s discuss acronyms versus initialisms. An acronym […]
BizWritingTip reader: “I have a grammar question that arose when I reviewed a business document. The author used the preposition ‘in’ before all place names, e.g. ‘in Vancouver,’ ‘in Whistler.’ I think it should be ‘at.’ Am I correct?” BizWritingTip response: This is another tricky – often confusing — grammar question. I want to agree […]
Contractions can cause problems for some writers. Here’s a common error: let’s versus lets. Let’s is the contraction for “let us.” Lets is a form of the verb to let, meaning “to allow to.” Example (Incorrect) The new software program let’s us collect more data on our customers. (This sentence would, therefore, mean “The new software program let us us to collect more […]
I have noticed that some business writers have still not updated themselves with regard to the rules for North American quotation marks. The rule in Canada and the U.S. is that all periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks. (Changing the placement of periods and commas according to what is being quoted is the […]
BizWritingTip reader: “I have a question for you. Which is right — he is taller than I or he is taller than me? I see both versions a lot.” BizWritingTip response: Whenever a pronoun follows the words than or as in a comparison, the right pronoun is determined by mentally adding the remaining words. He is taller than I […]
Suzanne’s question: “I often struggle with the use of quotation marks in conjunction with periods, question marks, and exclamation marks. I was educated in Scotland, and we sometimes put them outside.” BizWritingTip response: Yes, the North American English rule for using periods with quotation marks is now different from the British English rule. North American […]