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Author Archives: barnabyharward
The difference between “by” and “until”
WRONG Write the report until 5 pm. RIGHT Write the report by 5 pm. Write the report until 5 pm means “Start writing the report now, continue writing it until 5 pm, then stop writing it regardless of whether it … Continue reading
Write “wait until” NOT “wait with”
WRONG The company does not have to wait with the redundancies until the termination period ends. RIGHT The company does not have to wait until the termination period ends before making the redundancies. This mistake is very common among speakers … Continue reading
The difference between “program” and “programme”
There is some confusion about the meaning and spelling of these words. “Program” is US English. It is used for every meaning of the word, both as a noun and a verb. “Programme” is UK English. It is used for … Continue reading
How to translate “na koncie” / “na konto”
WRONG In English the phrase on a bank account is ALWAYS WRONG! RIGHT Payments are made into a bank account; money is transferred to a bank account; and, once a payment or transfer has been made, money is in a bank … Continue reading
As of
“As of” is a little phrase but I have a lot to say about it. Although it is very common in business writing it can create ambiguity if used incorrectly. Ambiguity is caused by the fact that “as of” has … Continue reading
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Tagged Clear and concise writing, Prepositions, Time expressions, Useful everyday phrases
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“At” a meeting, NOT “on” a meeting
Never say on a meeting. The correct way to say it is at a meeting. This is a very common mistake among speakers of Slavic languages. WRONG We amended the documents according to the instructions you gave us on the … Continue reading
When is it correct to use “to” plus –ing (part 2)
I said in the last post that when “to” acts as a preposition it is usually followed by an –ing form or a noun/noun phrase. Now we will look at exceptions to this rule. The most important exception relates to … Continue reading
When is it correct to use “to” plus –ing? (part 1)
WRONG I look forward to talk to you on Friday afternoon. RIGHT I look forward to talking to you on Friday afternoon. As the example above shows, sometimes it is correct to use “to” plus the –ing form of a … Continue reading
“Base on”, “based on”, “on the basis of” etc
These phrases seem to cause no end of trouble! Base on Mistakes with this arise from incorrectly translating the Polish verb opierać. Look at the example below: Klimatolodzy opierają się na symulacjach tworzonych na komputerach. You CANNOT translate this as: … Continue reading
How to translate “nasza dzisiejsza rozmowa”
Nasza dzisiejsza rozmowa CANNOT be translated as our today’s conversation. WRONG With reference to our today’s conversation I’d like to present you with a summary of our findings. RIGHT With reference to today’s conversation I’d like to present you with a summary … Continue reading
Common Mistakes in Business English 