Heather’s question: “I hope you’ll address the words ‘principal’ versus ‘principle’ soon. I was taught principal was a school official, as in your ‘pal,’ and principle is defined as a belief. In more recent years, I think some instructors have this rule mixed up.” BizWritingTip response: Principal and principle do confuse many people. Yes, you […]
BizWritingTip reader: “I understand these words may now be interchangeable. Could you comment on whether this is true? I always understood that farther was used for literal references, for example, for geographic distance. The word further is used when the reference is figurative, for example, ‘I am further along in the process.’ Your thoughts would […]
I recently asked people to send me their pet peeves with regard to emails. My pet peeve was — and is — people who don’t put their phone numbers on their emails. Several BizWritingTip readers supported me. Marina H. went one step further. Her peeve was people who not include the extension, forcing people to […]
Lisa’s question: “I would appreciate learning about the correct use of the expression ‘very much.’ I see it often, and it bugs me, but I don’t know why. Examples include ‘it’s very much a work in progress …’ or ‘It is very much appreciated.’” BizWritingTip response: “Very” and “much” are intensifiers. They allow you to […]
I have found that most people have a love/hate relationship with emails. Here’s an opportunity to vent and to learn. I am conducting a survey of business people’s pet peeves when it comes to this form of communication. My pet peeve is emails that lack phone numbers. Sometimes if a reply is lengthy or negative, […]
A BizWritingTip reader: “Could you comment on the use of ‘orient’ and ‘orientate’? I have always used orient and it drives me nuts to hear orientate, verbal and written.” BizWritingTip response: This is the third question I have received on these words this week. There must be a lot of orientation in the workforce right now. The two […]
A BizWritingTip reader wrote: I am curious as to what salutation should be used on letters when you don’t know the name or gender of the person you’re writing to. Is “gentlemen” passe? BizWritingTip response: Yes, “gentlemen” by itself is considered passé. You could address the letter to “Ladies and Gentlemen.” (Don’t use the word […]
A BizWritingTip reader wrote: Something “that bothers me almost as much as ‘irregardless’ — and may be more commonly used — is ‘more importantly.’ Is it just me or is this actually correct?” BizWritingTip Response: I hate to tell this, Peter, but when you are starting a sentence “more important” and “more importantly” are considered […]
The BizWritingTip I sent recently regarding “between you and me” caused some questions regarding the word “number.” I wrote “Between you and me, there are a number of people who don’t get it right.” Questions then rose around the word “number.” Does “number” take a singular or a plural verb. In other words, should it […]