Lisa’s question: “Yesterday I heard a co-worker telling someone that a friend was going to bring her to the movies. For some reason, that statement made me cringe as it just sounded grammatically incorrect. Should she not have stated that a friend was going to take her to the movies?” BizWritingTip response: Bring and take imply movement with direction. Bring means to move toward the speaker’s location. Take means to move […]
Peter’s question: “I run into problems in labelling column headers. For example, ‘Sent too’ looks wrong, but ‘Sent to’ looks grammatically incorrect. My understanding is that ‘to’ is the verb form while ‘too’ is a place.” BizwritingTip response: I think your confusion lies in the many uses of the word “to.” As a preposition, it is used with a […]
Ron’s question: “I often hear (or read) ‘that’ used in place of the pronoun ‘who.’ To my ears, it doesn’t sound correct. For example, ‘I’m always shocked by professionals that use improper grammar,’ versus ‘I’m always shocked by professionals who use improper grammar.’ ” BizWritingTip response: I agree with you. I was taught years ago […]
Rob’s question: “Is ‘thank you’ a hyphenated word? For example, should I write ‘thank you for your help’ or ‘thank-you for your help’?” BizWritingTip response: To express gratitude use the two words thank you – without the hyphen. Example Thank you for your help. If you are familiar with British English, you probably learned to […]
Klaus’s question: “Please comment on the use of multiple and numerous. Are they interchangeable? Is it correct to say that multiple people attended the meeting?” BizWritingTip response: According to the Oxford dictionary, “multiple” means “having many parts, elements, or individual components; many and various.” Therefore, if I had to make a choice between the two […]
Paty’s question: “I have a question about the proper use of ‘License’ vs. ‘Licence’ as I’m writing a policy.” BizWritingTip response: The spelling of these two words varies according to country. In Britain and Canada, licence is the noun and license is the verb. In other words, if there is a piece of paper to hold […]
Pam’s question: “Can you please clarify the appropriate response to ‘How are you?’ Is it ‘Good’ or ‘Well’? ” BizWritingTip response: According to The Gregg Reference Manual, to feel well means “to be in good health.” To feel good is “to be in good spirits.” In other words, you are referring to your mental outlook. […]
Susan’s question: “I would like to know if it is grammatically correct for a person to say – ‘Thank you for having me.’ You hear this often on the radio when there is a guest, and it sounds awkward.” BizWritingTip response: I agree that it does sound a little strange. In fact, I cringe when I hear […]
Tracey’s question: “What is the difference between ‘disorganized’ and ‘unorganized’ and when do you properly use them?” BizWritingTip response: The Old English prefix on- (now spelled un-) was added to words to indicate a reversal of action. The Oxford Dictionary defines organize as “give an orderly structure to, systematize.” Therefore, unorganized means the opposite — […]
Ketta’s question: “Could you please provide some examples of the proper usage for ‘try to’ and ‘try and’?” BizWritingTip response: According to the Oxford Dictionary, try means to “make an effort with a view of success.” Traditionally, when the first verb is a strong request, it is followed by the word “to” and the verb. […]