BETTER BUSINESS GRAMMAR

Write Well, Speak Well. Write to be understood, not to

impress. Show people that you care enough to

get it right. Know the common mistakes and

avoid them. Remember that excellent

communication skills enhance your possibilities for success.

Powerful Verbs

Strong verbs get your point across and make your meaning clear.

When you write, refer to a dictionary or thesaurus to find the precise verb.

See the list on page 377 in your Career Planning Strategies textbook.

Voice in Verbs

Verbs have either active or passive voice. The active voice is more powerful.

Active: Pat Smith wrote the report. Passive: The report was written by Pat

Smith.

A passive verb always consists of a form of to be followed by a past participle.

(was seen, had been taught, is guaranteed)

Practice A

1. Gilmore Carpentry was contracted by Hobbs & Hobbs to build the cabinets.

2. An error was made on invoice 7625.3. Two statements regarding your

balance have been sent to you.4. A new copier was ordered by Albright

Enterprises on Thursday.5. The balance on your account has not

been paid.

Subject-Verb AgreementThe subject must agree in number and person

with the verb.

The settlement of Indian and Inuit land claims is likely to take several years.

Either the creditor or the bank is likely to act.

Each of the employees is contributing to the fund.

Dominion Castings has a good pension plan.

Practice B1. Profit sharing and incentives (augment,

augments) my income.2. Either a sound education or solid work

experiences (are, is) essential.3. Neither good connections nor a wealthy

father (are, is) enough to get ahead.4. Each (are, is) well trained.5. The use of styrofoam by fast food chains

(have, has) come under vocal attack.6. The repetition of exercises (help, helps) us

gain confidence.

Pronoun Usage II, he, she, they, & who are used as subjects. Me, him, her, them, who, & whom are used as objects.

Use who when you would use he; whom when you would use him.

When a pronoun is part of a compound subject or object, say the sentence using only the pronoun (leave out the noun and the conjunction).

Mr. Fielding asked Sophia to work with Tom and (I, me) on the project.

(Who, whom) was asked to work with Sophia on the project?With (who, whom) will Sophia be working on the project?Who, whom was given the project?To (who, whom) was the project given?

Practice C

1. I had my first meeting with (she, her) and Tom yesterday morning.

2. She told Tom and (I, me) she had little experience with computers.

3. Between Tom and (I, me), I knew we could train her quickly.

4. Now it is (she, her) and Tom who do all the input.

5. But she still always works with either Tom or (I, me) nearby.

Pronoun Usage II

The subordinators than and as are often used incompletely.

No one in the office is friendlier than (she, her).

(…….friendlier than she is.) I have been on the job as long as (he,

him.)(……….as long as he has.)

Practice D

1. Juanita is much more productive than (I, me).

2. I can’t seem to get as much done as (she, her).

3. The company even gave me more training than (she, her).

4. I always need more time to complete tasks than (she, her).

5. On the other hand, I am more accurate and careful than (she, her).

Adjectives Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns.

They tell which one, what kind, or how many.

the entertainment industry, high salaries, several employees

Real and good are adjectives.We had real value for our money.She is a good tennis player. Well can be an adjective referring to

health.Andrea looks well today.

Adverbs

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. They tell how, when or where.

An organized resume is extremely important.She never asks questions.

Really and well are adverbs.It was really valuable.She plays tennis well.

Practice E

1. He feels (good, well) again after a bout with the flu.

2. I feel (good, well) about the project.3. My team played (good, well) in the

tournament.4. Greg’s memo was (real, really) clear.5. His death caused everyone to be (real,

very) sad.6. The pizza tastes (real, really) (good, well).

Contractions and Possessive Pronouns

Contractions are shortened forms of words. The apostrophe goes where the omitted letters would be.

It’s time for lunch.Who’s able to help with the mailing? Possessive pronouns show ownership.

They never use apostrophes.We can see its advantage.I will find out whose fault this is.

Practice F

1. (It’s, its) time to leave.2. The restaurant is known for (it’s, its)

fine food.3. (Who’s, whose) book is this?4. I will find out (who’s, whose)

responsible for your account.

Lay/Lie To lay means to “put down”. place=lay To lie means to “assume a horizontal

position”.recline=lie

PRESENT PAST PAST PARTICIPLE lay laid laid lie lay lain

Affect/Effect

Affect, as a verb, means “influence”. Effect, as a verb, means to “bring

about”. As a noun, effect means “results”.

In most cases, you will be safe if you remember to use affect for the verb and effect for the noun.

All Together/Altogether

All together means “in a group”.

Altogether is an adverb meaning “entirely”.

Bring/Take

One brings something to a place where one is or will be.

One takes it when one is leaving for somewhere else.

Accept/Except

Accept is a verb meaning “agree” to something.

Except, when used as a verb, means “exclude”. As a preposition, except means “with the exclusion of”.

Less/Fewer

Use less for money and things that are not countable, often singular nouns.

Use fewer for things that are countable, often plural nouns.

less time, fewer clocks

Review of The Notorious Confusables

1. His dismissal (affected, effected) me.2. My goal is to (affect, effect) a change

in this company.3. We know that many obstacles (lay,

lie) in our path.4. You can (lay, lie) the report on my

desk.5. We were (all together, altogether) in

the conference room.

Review

6. His argument was (all together, altogether) wrong.

7. Be sure to (bring, take) your laptop to the meeting in Chicago.

8. Please (bring, take) me that memo.9. I (accept, except) your offer.10. John’s boss (accepted, excepted)

him from the general criticism.

Review

11. (Less, fewer) than 100 people work for our company.

12. Now that he’s earning (less, fewer) money, he’s making (less, fewer) large expenditures.

Avoid “X-rated” Expressions

There is no x in:EspressoEtcetera Especially

Spell-check won’t catch these!

cite/site complement/compliment council/counsel farther/further liable/libel principal/principle stationary/stationery

Avoid Redundancy in Speech and Writing

At this point in time-NOW In spite of the fact that-ALTHOUGH Cooperate together-COOPERATE Owing to the fact that-BECAUSE,SINCE On account of the fact that-BECAUSE During the time that-WHILE In an efficient manner-EFFICIENTLY Where we’re at-WHERE WE ARE

Use Non-Sexist Language

Nouns-chairperson, spokesperson Pronouns- he or she, his or her Use examples from both sexes Find out your company’s

policy on “sexist language” regarding nouns and pronouns.

The “You Approach”

Through the use of courtesy and tact, your speech and writing appeal to the point of view of your customer or co-worker.

Change Please accept our apologies.To We hope you have not been

seriously inconvenienced by the delay.

Change These

1. The new billing process will speed productivity. (to office staff)

2. Having conducted our standard credit investigation, we have concluded that it would be unwise for us to grant you credit at this time. (to a potential customer)

Some Resources Barron’s Better English by Andrea B.

Geffner, 1998 The Careful Writer by Theodore M.

Bernstein The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr.

and E. B. White Good Grief, Good Grammar-The Business

Person’s Guide to Grammar and Usage by Diana Booher

Impact A Guide to Business Communications by Ann Fischer and Margot Northey

EVALUATION QUESTIONSUse:

a. Strongly agreeb. Agreec. Disagreed. Strongly disagreee. Don’t know

1. I found the presentation of material easy to understand.2. This Advantage session increased my knowledge on the

subject presented.3. I will be able to use some of the information from this

Advantage session in the future.4. The presenter was well prepared for this advantage

session.5. This presentation should be repeated in future

semesters.