BizWritingTip reader: “Are the words fewer and less interchangeable. I see them used often but seem to recall there is a rule about which one to use.” BizWritingTip response: Less refers to things that cannot be counted. Fewer refers to things that can be counted. Another way to look at it is that less means […]
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 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 […]
Grace’s question: “Is the word ‘learned’ as past tense right or should it be ‘learnt’ instead?” BizWritingTip response: “Learn” is an interesting verb. When using it in the past tense or as a past participle, you have two options. Examples (correct) I learned about the meeting last week. (past tense) I learnt about the meeting last week. […]
A BizWritingTip reader has asked us to comment on the word irregardless. Irregardless is a word that many communicators mistakenly believe is correct in formal writing or speaking. It came into being in the early 20th century, but it has to be one of the most contentious words in the English language. It has been criticized for […]
A BizWritingTip reader wrote:? I challenged my boss that we can use the word emails when referring to more than one. But he said that there’s no “s” on the end as in paper mail there’s no “s” on the end. We would never say that we received mails today. Please advise. BizWritingTip’s response: Technically, your […]
A BizWritingTip reader wrote: Help us settle a debate: If the letter content is identical and you want two parties to be aware that the other party has received the same information, can you send just one letter and CC: the other person? Or, do you have to send each person two copies of the same […]