Some advice from a non-native
English speaker on how to write
Jean-Claude Usunier
Basic rules (syntax)
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Sentences should be SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) as much
as possible.
Do not use OVS (possible in German) or SVAO (possible
in French verb where adverbs (A) can be placed after the
verb and before the object.
Put adverbs before verbs (English = SAVO). Adverbs
come before verbs except for the verb « be ».
Poetic license permits the author to occasionally place the
adverb after the verb (SVOA), but this should remain the
exception and not the rule.
Avoid long relative clauses at the beginning of the sentence
and always start with the main clause in SVO form.
In English, circumstances, situation, and conditions
generally come after not before the basic action or state.
Examples
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He read silently the book => He (S) silently (A)
read (V) the book (O) or He (S) read (V) the book
(O) silently (A)
After eating, and in a quiet position in the living
room, he read the book => He read the book after
eating, in a quiet position in the living room.
Never separate Verb and Object. O should come
just after V.
Example: He took into his room two books and a
pen => He took two books and a pen into his room
Use of compound words
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The French language has few compound words.
Therefore the French use « of the » to tie up words
which are simply put in reverse order in English
The agents of the foreign company => foreign agents
Le marché de la pâte dentifrice = toothpaste market
La gouvernance des entreprises du secteur public =
public corporate governance
Omit definite (e.g. the) and indefinite articles (e.g. a) as
much as possible.
Depersonalizing your text
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Avoid using many possessive pronouns In English possession is
less referred to as in French and In German.
My study is based on our findings.
To avoid the personal and possessive pronouns issue, use the
passive voice (“We collected data” => “data were collected”). This
makes the text more scientific and more impersonal. You may
however use the active voice with I, we, etc. from time to time.
Use plural forms rather a singular noun to indicate a generic
concept: The manager => Managers ; The executive => Executives
The consumer => Consumers ; The corporation => Corporations
Big advantage: you do not need to restart with “he” or “she” ; you
use a neutral “they” => texts should not be gender-biased.
American vs. British spelling : Prefer American spelling.
Possessives ‘s vs s’ – noun groups : Stanford's students – Stanford
Students; Enron managers' conception – Enron managerial
conception.
Repeat words for the sake of clarity rather than
avoid repetition for the sake of élégance
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Do not use apparent synonyms to avoid
repeating a particular word (i.e. employee,
subordinate, staff member, worker) => an
English reader does not understand why you
use different words => repeat the same word.
Do not overly replace meaningful words
(employees, managers, top executive, etc.) by
personal pronouns (they, he, she, etc.) which
may not be clear references => repeat for the
purpose of clarity.
Be careful about faux-amis (false friends)
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Competition is not compétition but concurrence
Regulation is not régulation but règlementation
and deregulation is dérèglementation.
Based on is not basé sur, but fondé sur
Located in or at is basé à or basé en.
Sociétés (commerciales) are not societies but
companies or corporations.
A criminal offense is not “une offense
criminelle” but “une infraction pénale”
Style, clarity and logic
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The run on sentence – long – winded sentences that tend to be
complicated and that usually contain more than just one idea – can
and should often be separated into at least two shorter and clearer
sentences.
Simplify: Avoid overuse of « in order » + to + verb, avoid
« indeed » and other wordiness (i.e. “The last, but not least, point is
that SVO” => SVO. Delete what is expletive.
Tenses – the present reigns: avoid mixing present with past tenses
Find the right Subject and the right Verb.
Errors due to inattentiveness ( i.e. “the invisible hand has often been
cited in the past decades has a 'magical instrument‘") – “Lake of
Constancy” => “Lack of Consistency”
Conjunctions and/or: in English “and” is clearly conjunctive; “or” is
clearly disjunctive. Often ou/oder should be translated “and/or”
rather than simply “or”.
Use Word and Internet resources
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Always Word spell check
Use Word synonym dictionary (useful to
search for the right word)
Use online dictionaries (Collins, Reverso,
Lexilogos, Larousse, Langenscheidt, Pons,
etc.)
When writing an exam
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You are allowed to write an exam or any class
assignment in either English or French (however the
exam topic is in English only).
Carefully read the exam topic and assess what you are
expected to do and what is not required.
Use important keywords in simple sentences.
Avoid long and contorted explanations that nobody
understands (neither you nor the instructor). Be focused
and do not digress.
Try to be readable; use visual grammar (e.g. bullet
points, headings, etc.).
Leave space for the instructor to comment