Bonnie’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, […]
Annabelle’s question: “I want to know if I am placing my commas correctly when I list several items or people. For example: Jim, David, and I denotes 3 different people. But Jim, David and I could imply David and I are a couple. I always tend to put commas before ‘and.’ However, several of my […]
Paulo’s question: “Could you clarify the use of ‘come’ versus ‘go,’ as well as ‘bring’ versus ‘take?’ I find it strange that someone would write: ‘Yes, I am coming, and I’ll bring wine.’ ” BizWritingTip response: Use “come” and “go” when you are referring to movement. Use “bring” and “take” when carrying something. Now for the […]
Bill’s question: “I have seen parentheses with the period both inside and outside the brackets. Which is correct?” BizWritingTip response: The rules for punctuation with brackets — or parentheses — are actually quite simple. If the material inside the brackets is a sentence fragment or an acronym, place the period outside the bracket. Examples I am […]
Jean’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 […]
Jean’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 […]
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. […]
Basia’s question: “I was proofing a paper for a grad student, and we wondered what the difference is between the terms ‘for instance’ and ‘for example’ in a sentence.” BizWritingTip response: According to the Oxford Dictionary, for instance is defined “as an example.” For example means “by way of illustration.” In theory, for instance is […]
Leah’s question: “Would you please write about the overuse of the word ‘that’? For example, shouldn’t ‘Please read the letter that I wrote’ be better as ‘please read the letter I wrote.’ ” BizWritingTip response: The use of the pronoun “that” is controversial. Fortunately, it is a style issue rather than a grammar one. In […]
Hilary’s question: “Please discuss the use of ‘who’ versus ‘that’ in a sentence. For example, in the sentence — There are many other participants in the videos that also share their stories about welding as a career of choice — I think it should be ‘who also share their stories.’ ” BizWritingTip response: This is […]