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: “Regarding ‘i.e.’ and ‘e.g.,’ my understanding is that they should be followed by a comma. I see these appearing in all different forms. Is my own understanding correct, i.e., with a comma following the abbreviation?” BizWritingTip response: You are absolutely correct. Writers often ignore the necessary punctuation. The abbreviations “i.e.” and “e.g.” are […]
BizWritingTip reader: “I have recently seen what appears to be a different version of the i.e. guideline. The short form was viz. followed by a group of names or items. ‘There were three people elected to the 2010 board of directors, viz., Mr. Smith, Mr. Hall, and Mr. Kelly.’ I cannot think of any Latin term […]
Susan’s question: “Being a grammar buff, it causes me pain when I hear and read ‘lay’ being used instead of ‘lie,’ all over the internet, television, radio, and in song lyrics these days. Please consider doing your followers a great service by highlighting this epidemic.” BizWritingTip response: You are right. This is a common mistake. […]
BizWritingTip reader: “Can you use ‘simultaneously’ and ‘concurrently’ interchangeably? I checked several dictionaries, and they give the same definition for both words.” BizWritingTip response: Yes, the dictionary does define both words as “occurring or operating at the same time,” and many people do interchange them. However, “simultaneously” tends to be used more when there is some […]
BizWritingTip reader: “In a publication we are currently editing, the first program/service sometimes is written with the first letter of each word capitalized and then the acronym in all caps. At other times, it is written all small caps with the acronym in caps. Which way is correct?” BizWritingTip reader: It is often easier to […]
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: “I was writing an email to a colleague and hesitated after I had written ‘Do you want to include the names in the proposal or would you prefer to share those verbally? I’m wondering since the names will be passed on during a dialogue if I would have been more accurate to say […]
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 […]
Basia’s question: “I was proofing a paper for a grad student, and we wondered what the difference is between the terms ‘for instance’ and ‘for example’ in a sentence.” BizWritingTip response: According to the Oxford Dictionary, for instance is defined “as an example.” For example means “by way of illustration.” In theory, for instance is […]