Diane’s question : “How should you sign off at the end of an email? Some people don’t sign off but just use their signature box, which includes their full name. Others place their first name above the signature box.” BizWritingTip response: Either way is correct. It’s all about the tone you want to create. If you […]
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 […]
Carol’s question: “I see a lot of people using quotes to highlight info. For example, all sports teams are encouraged to adopt a “tobacco-free” policy. I am under the impression quotes and single quotes are to be used sparingly, if at all, for anything that is not a direct quotation. But can you clarify?” BizWritingTip response: […]
BizWritingTip reader: “I feel the word ‘that’ is used much too often and, in many cases, is not required at all. What is the rule pertaining to using the word ‘that’ ”? BizWritingTip response: That is a great question! “That” is used when the information following is essential to the meaning. Examples Here is the […]
BizWritingTip reader: “I am getting frustrated when I hear ‘that’ instead of ‘who.’ Am I wrong? For example, ‘I know the people that are in the English class.’ Is this correct?” BizWritingTip response: This is one of those subjective grammar points that has also become debatable. Back in the days of the dinosaurs, I learned […]
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 […]
BizWritingTip reader: “I would never say, ‘I feel good’ or ‘I feel bad.’ It sounds like a rapper’s song. I think we should say ‘I feel fine’ or ‘I feel well’ because, in fact, we are using an adverb to describe ‘how’ we feel.” BizWritingTip response: This may seem like a simple question, but there […]
BizWritingTip reader: “Will you please clarify the correct use of ‘that’ versus ‘which’ in qualifying sentences? It seems to me people often use ‘which’ when they should be using ‘that.’ ” BizWritingTip response: It’s interesting that I have received three separate requests for this information in the past two weeks. So although I have dealt […]
BizWritingTip reader: “One of my pet peeves around the office is when people refer to themselves as ‘myself’ in a sentence, as in this example, ‘The list was put together by myself.’ I would use ‘me’ here; am I correct?” BizWritingTip response: You have just hit on one of my pet peeves also: me versus myself. I grind […]
BizWritingTip reader: “I just read this sentence in a book. ‘Are you allowing your friend to make you feel badly?’ I would have used ‘bad’ in this case. But maybe I am wrong. Please advise.” BizWritingTip response: Have the courage of your convictions! “Bad” is absolutely right here; “badly” is wrong. People often confuse the […]