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 Agreement
The 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 B
1. 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 I
I, 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
lay
lie
PAST
laid
lay
PAST PARTICIPLE
laid
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:
Espresso
Etcetera
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 coworker.
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 QUESTIONS
Use:
a. Strongly agree
b. Agree
c. Disagree
d. Strongly disagree
e. 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.