Teri’s question: “I occasionally hear someone (namely my husband) say ‘had ran’ instead of simply ‘ran.’ I am at a loss to explain the error to him so the correction sticks. Any advice?” BizWritingTip response: This question deals with the tenses of verbs. “Had ran” is the past perfect tense. “Ran” is the simple past […]
We thought you might enjoy the following poem sent to us by one of our readers. Thank you Debbie! Wonderful English from Around the World Only the English could have invented this language… We’ll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes, But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes. One fowl is […]
Graham’s question: “Can you shed some light on the the usage of ‘on behalf of’? For example, if I am acknowledging someone, is it correct for me to say ‘on behalf of myself and the group, I would like to thank you for …’ If I am the one delivering, is it not redundant to state it is on behalf of […]
Ketta’s question: “Can you please provide some examples of the proper usage of ‘try to’ and ‘try and?’ ” BizWritingTip response: I was taught that when the first verb is a strong request the second verb should be in the infinitive form (to + a verb). Therefore, the phrase should be “try to.” However, according […]
Sandra’s question: “Is it correct to say the dog jumped ‘up on’ the roof or the dog jumped ‘upon’ the roof? I see a lot of these mixes nowadays.” BizWritingTip response: Yes, both sentences are correct. However, they express slightly different ideas. Up on means to move in an upward motion onto a surface. Upon just means on a surface. In fact, […]
Pat’s question: “Could you please discuss the grammatical misuse of the word ‘yourself.’ For example, I have heard people answer the question ‘How are you?’ by saying ‘Fine. And yourself?’ Shouldn’t it be ‘Fine. And you?’ ” BizwritingTip response: You are correct. “Yourself” is a reflexive pronoun. Reflexive pronouns are those that end in –self […]
Karyn’s question: “Came across this in some minutes and it sounded wrong. Interim Prevention Council Hasn’t had the first meeting yet, but it will be soon. What do you think?” BizWritingTip response: There are a couple of points I would like to address here. First, because the word “Council” is being used as a collective noun, […]
Rick’s question: “Are these words the same? I had build a small light display and, on the weekend, I took it apart. I announced I was unassembling it. My girlfriend said ‘no.’ I was disassembling it. I didn’t think there was a difference.” BizWritingTip response: Sorry. I have to go with your girlfriend on this one. If you are taking […]
Gillian and Char’s question: “What are the rules today to indicate a plural possessive (e.g., six hats that belong to girls)? We have come across situations where the apostrophe is left out or appears before the ‘s’ in girls, e.g., “six girl’s hats.” Which is correct?” BizWritingTip response: First, you are right. “Six girl’s hats” is […]
Julie’s question: “A few of us are in dispute over the use of the word ‘slow’ or ‘slowly.’ For example,The wound healed slow or The wound healed slowly. I think either is fine, but my friend insists it should be ‘slowly’. Can you settle this?” BizWritingTip response: I can see why this is confusing. I often hear newscasters […]