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Choose the right greeting and sign-off
Greetings and sign-offs vary depending on the formality of the communication.
In a letter, the conventional greeting is:
Dear Sally (without a comma)
If you don’t know the person, some writers address the person as Mr/Ms or, alternatively, use their full name.
When to use the pronouns ‘I’ and ‘me’
Pronoun subject and objects Many people use I and me interchangeably in conversation and nobody minds. People care more in written communication so here are some rules. I = subject of a verb. I ‘do’ the action. I (subject) looked at him (object). He receives the action of my looking, so we use him. Me = […]
How to punctuate ‘however’
The punctuation of ‘however’ depends on its meaning The word however is overused in business writing and the punctuation that goes with it is often incorrect. Different meanings of however Part of the confusion occurs because of the different meanings of however. A couple of common meanings are ‘in spite of’ and ‘in whatever way’. […]
Why bother blogging these days?
Is blogging worth it for you and your business?
In 2017, I tossed up between attending a plain language conference in New Zealand and a blogging conference on the Gold Coast. The blogging conference won because I thought I would learn practical tips I could apply to my blogging.
Common word pairs (e.g. horse and carriage)
Some word pairs are used so frequently together that they sound odd when reversed. They are called binomials and trinomials. On a plane trip, I was offered ‘cheese and biscuits’ and it jarred. I would’ve said ‘biscuits and cheese’.
I discovered that such pairs are called ‘binomials’ and when they sound odd reversed, they are ‘irreversible binomials’.
Grammar myth: And, But, Because, Hopefully
Myth: You can’t start sentences with And, But, Because, Hopefully But you can. And and But Many fine writers, including Shakespeare, Blake, Tennyson and Kipling, have used And or But at the beginning of sentences. Here’s an extract from Blake’s famous hymn, ‘Jerusalem’. And did those feet in ancient time Walk upon England’s mountains green? And was the holy Lamb of […]