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Author Archives: barnabyharward
Don’t use multiple negatives
Read this: If the Deposit is not paid, the Seller has the right to rescind this Agreement by a notice in writing to the Purchaser delivered within 30 days from the date of this Agreement, provided that such rescission right … Continue reading
The difference between Shareholders’ meeting and Shareholders meeting
Do you add the apostrophe to Shareholders’ meeting? Or do you prefer Shareholders meeting, without the apostrophe? Both are in fact correct. It may seem like a very small point, but misunderstanding the underlying grammar is the source of some … Continue reading
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Tagged Adjectives, Compound nouns, Noun groups, Nouns, Possession, Punctuation, Word order
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Christmas and New Year greetings in English
The simplest Christmas greeting is: Happy Christmas Another popular standard greeting is: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year “Merry” and “happy” have slightly different meanings. “Merry” means happy, but in a joyful and festive way. We don’t use the … Continue reading
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What is the correct position in a sentence of the word “also”?
One of the most common mistakes associated with word order is the tendency to put adverbs in the wrong place. This particularly applies to the word “also”, but other adverbs are commonly misplaced too. Consider the following examples with “also”: … Continue reading
How to end emails
Here are the basic rules for starting and ending correspondence: START END Formal Dear Sir, Dear Madam, Dear Sir or Madam, Formal Yours faithfully, (UK) Sincerely (yours), (US) Yours truly, (US) Formal / Standard Dear Mr Smith, (UK) Dear Ms … Continue reading
How to start emails
If you don’t know the name of the person you are writing to, start business emails with either of the following: Dear Sir, Dear Madam, Dear Madame, is wrong. If you don’t know whether you’re writing to a man or … Continue reading
How to translate “dziś rano”
“Dziś rano” CANNOT be translated as today morning. Similarly, today afternoon and today evening are WRONG. Say this morning / this afternoon / this evening. But remember that yesterday morning / afternoon / evening and tomorrow morning / afternoon / evening are correct.
Biannual, bimonthly & biweekly
“Biannual”, “bimonthly” and “biweekly” must be some of the most useless words in the English language. This is because each word has two different meanings. They can either mean “occurring once in two years/months/weeks” or “occurring twice in one year/month/week”. … Continue reading
Is it OK to split infinitives?
One of the most famous examples of a split infinitive is in the introduction of the original Star Trek TV series: “to boldly go where no man has gone before”. The infinitive “to go” has been split by the addition … Continue reading
How to use “prevent”, “prohibit” and “ban”
WRONG The Lease does not provide for a period of time during which the Tenant is prevented to use the Premises. RIGHT The Lease does not provide for a period of time during which the Tenant is prevented from using … Continue reading
Common Mistakes in Business English 