Matt’s question: “I have a question on the use of ‘on line’ vs. ‘online.’ In a recent blog post you spelled it ‘on line.’ Was this correct?” BizWritingTip response: You got me. Thank you. I learn a lot from my readers. Although you often see the two spellings interchanged, I should have written it as one word […]
Nicole’s question: “I recently received an email from an employee looking for clarity between he and they. If you are not sure of the gender would you say ‘He will attend training’ or ‘They will attend training’?” BizWritingTip response: The answer to this question has changed over time. In the past, writers used the pronouns he, his, him or himself […]
Mary’s question: “Is it always appropriate to send a ‘thank you’ email as a response to any email providing information? I am receiving more and more of these. It seems to me that email senders could set up automatic receipt notices if they wanted to be sure that their emails were received.” BizWritingTip response: I did […]
Robert’s question: “We are having a debate in our office as to whether it is acceptable to use ‘r’ for ‘are’ and other similar shortcuts when sending emails internally.” BizWritingTip response: Emails are a standard form of business communication, and they should be treated the same as any business document. People expect to read them […]
Evelyn’s question: “Can you please describe when to use ‘whomever’ and when to use ‘whoever’?” BizWritingTip response: If I said whoever is a pronoun in the nominative form and whomever is a pronoun in the objective form would it help? I thought not. But let me show you a trick to help you easily determine […]
Danielle’s question: “We are having a debate in the office as to whether you can use a colon after the word ‘including’ in the middle of a sentence. Can you please help us?” BizWritingTip response: A colon signals to the reader that an explanation follows. You can only use a colon if a complete sentence precedes […]
Roger’s question: “I hear and see people misusing ‘come’ and ‘go.’ Can you please explain the differences?” BizWritingTip response: When choosing between these words, you must consider your location and your receiver’s location. Come means move toward. Go means away from. Examples (when communicating with someone at your location) I hope the server comes soon. (The destination is toward you.) I […]
Barb’s question: “I was in a store recently and saw two signs: ‘his’ and ‘her’s.’ Is this correct?” BizWritingTip response: We have all been taught to use an apostrophe to show possession. However, as I keep saying, there is always an exception to every rule. And, in this case, it relates to personal pronouns. The following […]
Russ’s question: “My manager just told me I am not using apostrophes in the right place. I believe I was taught to add them whenever a word ends in ‘s.’ But she says this is wrong.” BizWritingTip’s response: I have noticed this grammar problem a lot lately: apostrophes being misused and abused. Apostrophes have two uses. […]
Donna’s question: “Here’s something I struggle with – the plural use of ‘Staffs were…’ versus ‘Staff were…’ Staffs just sounds odd to me and doesn’t easily roll of my tongue. Am I wrong to say ‘Staff were very appreciative of…’?” BizWritingTip response: The plural of staff is staffs. However, it is not a common word. It refers to […]