Chantal’s question: “Lately, I’ve heard people say ‘priorize’ instead of ‘prioritze.’ Will you please confirm the correct usage.” BizWritingTip response: Yes, I’ve heard people use both forms. However, according to the Oxford Canadian Dictionary, the correct word is “prioritize” – meaning to rank in order of importance. “Priorize” is not listed. “Prioritize” is another example of a noun […]
BizWritingTip question: “In our organization, we have a department called Children’s Services. Is this correct? I thought the apostrophe indicates ownership. In this case, the children do not own the services. The department provides the services for children.” BizWritingTip response: Your question is not a simple one to answer. There are a couple of points that […]
BizWritingTip reader: “I struggle with the use of ‘who’ vs. ‘whom.’ Please send me a foolproof explanation with lots of examples.” BizWritingTip response: The rules for “who” and “whom” are the same as for “I” and “me.” If it is used as the subject in a sentence, you use “I” or “who.” If it is […]
Phil’s question: “I have been asked to write a policy for our department. I am not sure when to use ‘should’ or ‘must.’ Can you please explain the difference?” BizWritingTip response: A number of organizations seem to be writing or rewriting their policies and procedures nowadays, and this is a common question. The two words imply […]
Pam’s question: “I am curious about the appropriate use of ‘premise’ and ‘premises.’ I never see ‘premise,’ but I understand it is the singular form of ‘premises.’However, I continue to see ‘premises,’ e.g., people refer to premises lease rather than premise lease.” BizWritingTip response: When I teach a grammar course, I tell people that for every English grammar rule […]
Contractions can cause problems for some writers. Here’s a common error: let’s versus lets. Let’s is the contraction for “let us.” Lets is a form of the verb to let, meaning “to allow to.” Example (Incorrect) The new software program let’s us collect more data on our customers. (This sentence would, therefore, mean “The new software program let us us to collect more […]
BizWritingTip reader: “I wonder if you could write one about the use of ‘complement’ and ‘compliment.’ It seems the misuse of these words, in my opinion, is increasing. Is there an American variation influencing this or perhaps both can now be used interchangeably?” BizWritingTip response: You are right. These words are often confused. However, “complement” […]
BizWritingTip reader: “People write dates as Jan 12th, 2011, and others write Jan 12, 2011 or 12th Jan, 2011. Under what circumstances do we need the ‘th’ after the date and is the comma always needed before the year?” BizWritingTip response: For standard business writing in Canada, a semi-formal approach to writing dates is recommended. […]
I have noticed that some business writers have still not updated themselves with regard to the rules for North American quotation marks. The rule in Canada and the U.S. is that all periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks. (Changing the placement of periods and commas according to what is being quoted is the […]
BizWritingTip reader: “When do you use `to’ or ‘too?’ ” BizWritingTip response: Using “too” when it should be “to” is a common mistake today particularly among email writers who don’t always check what they have written.?“To” is one of the more widely used words in the English language, and it has many purposes and definitions. […]