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: “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 […]
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 […]
BizWritingTip reader: “Please comment on the proper use of the words ‘currently’ and ‘presently.’ ” BizWritingTip response: This is an interesting question. While “current” and “present” mean the same when they are used as adjectives, the nuances of the words may differ when they are used as adverbs. As adjectives, both words imply “now existing.” Examples […]
BizWritingTip reader: “I just read this sentence in a book. ‘Are you allowing your friend to make you feel badly?’ I would have used ‘bad’ in this case. But maybe I am wrong. Please advise.” BizWritingTip response: Have the courage of your convictions! “Bad” is absolutely right here; “badly” is wrong. People often confuse the […]
Hilary’s question: “Please discuss the use of ‘who’ versus ‘that’ in a sentence. For example, in the sentence — There are many other participants in the videos that also share their stories about welding as a career of choice — I think it should be ‘who also share their stories.’ ” BizWritingTip response: This is […]
BizWritingTip reader: “Is it ‘incidence’ or ‘incidents?’ For example: ‘While the incidence or incidents of illegal dumping has decreased…’ ” BizWritingTip response: This is a great question. Sometimes our English words sound so much alike it is difficult to know which one to use. “Incidence” is a singular noun and refers to the frequency of an occurrence. It cannot […]
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: “When you close a business letter, does it still need to include the company name typed under the closing line? It seems like it duplicates the letterhead.” BizWritingTip response: Before letterhead, the courts required companies to put their name somewhere on the document to show they stood behind the correspondence. Most organizations placed […]