Susan’s question: “I would like to know if it is grammatically correct for a person to say – ‘Thank you for having me.’ You hear this often on the radio when there is a guest, and it sounds awkward.” BizWritingTip response: I agree that it does sound a little strange. In fact, I cringe when I hear […]
Ketta’s question: “Could you please provide some examples of the proper usage for ‘try to’ and ‘try and’?” BizWritingTip response: According to the Oxford Dictionary, try means to “make an effort with a view of success.” Traditionally, when the first verb is a strong request, it is followed by the word “to” and the verb. […]
Debbie’s question: “Should ‘is’ or ‘are’ be used when an inserted phrase changes the subject from singular to plural? For example, if I wrote ‘the version accessed (and features exposed)’ would the verb be ‘is’ or ‘are’?” BizWritingTip response: This question relates to subject and verb agreement. In the example, the subject “version” is singular. Therefore, […]
Betty’s question: “When should divisions with a department and staff titles be capitalized?” BizWritingTip response: Organizations often have their own style guides that list the words they want capitalized. If your organization does not have a style guide, here are some basic rules from The Canadian Press Caps and Spelling book and The Chicago Manual […]
Doug’s question: “Will you please explain the difference between ‘this’ and ‘next’ as it relates to time? When someone refers to this Friday, I think it is the upcoming Friday. But if someone refers to next Friday, I think it is the following Friday. Is this correct?” BizWritingTip response: I agree with you, Doug. My […]
Teri’s question: “I occasionally hear someone (namely my husband) say ‘had ran’ instead of simply ‘ran.’ I am at a loss to explain the error to him so the correction sticks. Any advice?” BizWritingTip response: This question deals with the tenses of verbs. “Had ran” is the past perfect tense. “Ran” is the simple past […]
We thought you might enjoy the following poem sent to us by one of our readers. Thank you Debbie! Wonderful English from Around the World Only the English could have invented this language… We’ll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes, But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes. One fowl is […]
BizWritingTip reader: “Should letters, brochures, etc., be justified or left aligned?” BizWritingTip response: There is no right or wrong answer here. Full justified or aligned text (text with even left and right margins) is considered a formal style and less friendly. But it looks neat. I find that most readers prefer justification in documents with […]
BizWritingTip reader: “I learned the rule ‘I before e except after c’ many years ago. A colleague of mine stated there are exceptions to this rule, and I am curious as to what words those would be. Can you give me an example when ‘i’ can be used before the ‘e’? Is there a rule […]
As I explained in an earlier BizWritingTip, every business writer should have access to a good dictionary. Relying solely on your computer’s spell checker is not a good idea. It just doesn’t provide enough information. Frankly, I’m old fashioned and enjoy the feel of a print dictionary. I really like my old Oxford Canadian Dictionary. However, I […]