Dangling, misplaced and squinting modifiers I sometimes wonder who invents grammar terms. This month I looked at dangling, misplaced and squinting modifiers. What’s wrong with these sentences that Liz Boulter gives in her Guardian article, Excuse me, but I think your modifier is dangling? ‘Hopping briskly through the vegetable garden, John saw a toad. Gently warmed in the […]
What’s wrong with the following sign? What’s wrong with these sentences that Liz Boulter gives in her Guardian article, Excuse me, but I think your modifier is dangling? ‘Hopping briskly through the vegetable garden, John saw a toad. Gently warmed in the oven and smothered in cream cheese, my friends loved the bagels. To be really […]
Ampersands in business writing Reader’s question: When do you use an ampersand (&) instead of ‘and’? Answer: You can use ampersands in titles, signage and website buttons where space is limited or the ampersand is part of an organisation’s branding. Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) Use and, not ampersands in business writing, even for […]
Adverbs can go walk-about in sentences We often have difficulty deciding where to put adverbs as many of them can appear in different places depending on what emphasis we want. I came across this example in a grammar guide of how adverbs can go walkabout. Originally, the book must have been bought in the shop. The […]
Reader’s question: How should you address a married couple in a letter? Answer: I think your choice depends on the formality you want and your choices are: Dear John and Ann (My preference unless you think it is too informal.) Dear John and Ann Jones Dear Mr and Mrs Jones (or Ms if that is her […]
When to use the active and passive voice in your writing The active voice is more direct and vigorous than the passive. With the active voice, you learn ‘who’ or ‘what’ is responsible for the action at the beginning of the sentence. In other words, when the subject acts, the verb is active. She wrote […]
Sum it up: how to write a summary A summary is a concise account of the main points in a document. Some of the terms used to describe summaries in business writing are: ‘executive summary’, ‘overview’, ‘key points’, ‘issues’ or just ‘summary’. Short and long summaries How you approach writing a summary depends on what […]
Statuses or status? Reader’s question: What is the correct plural of status? Answer: Pam Peters, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, says: ‘In English usage status has both an anglicized plural statuses and the (zero) plural status. The second results from its being a Latin fourth declension noun … but also correlates with English use of the word as a mass noun, as in considering […]
A group of people or persons? persons Number of individuals who can be counted. Five persons are coming. people Large or uncounted group. Several people can’t come. PS The distinction between people and persons may be dying out because these words are often used interchangeably. Learn more Learn more about words with my online Business Writing course. Sign up for my […]
The bike, which is on the footpath, needs fixing. The bike that is on the footpath needs fixing. The difference between which and that When which and that are used to introduce clauses, we’re talking about restrictive and non-restrictive clauses, sometimes called defining and non-defining clauses. Take a look at these two sentences. The bike, which […]