The difference between “ton” and “tonne”

Posted on January 23, 2012 by barnabyharward

Both “ton” and “tonne” are units of weight, but a “ton” is a British and American measure, while a “tonne” is a metric measure.

A “tonne” is equal to 1,000 kg. In the US it may be referred to as a “metric ton”.

You should be careful when using the word “ton”, as there are two different types – British and American.

The British ton (also used in other countries that have the Imperial system of weights and measures) is equal to 2,240 pounds or 1,016.047 kg. It is sometimes referred to as the “long ton”, “weight ton” or “gross ton”.

The North American ton (only used in the United States and Canada) is equal to 2,000 pounds or 907.1847 kg. It is sometimes referred to as the “short ton” or “net ton”.

The difference dates from the 19th century when the British adapted their existing system (the avoirdupois system) to create the more easily convertible Imperial system. The Americans continued to use the old avoirdupois units. This also explains why there are differences between other British and American measures, most notably pints and gallons – and why the Brits measure their body weight in stone while the Americans use pounds.
The different measures have specific applications in particular fields of industry, commerce or shipping.

If you need any further information, Wikipedia is a good source.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 18 Comments

Careful how you use the word “of” (part 3: Emails and letters)

Posted on January 23, 2012 by barnabyharward

A letter or email is always from the sender and to the receiver – never of.

WRONG
We would like to present our standpoint regarding the email of the Company dated 28 January 2011.

RIGHT
We would like to present our standpoint regarding the email from the Company dated 28 January 2011.

WRONG
In connection with receiving, on 11 March 2011, a letter of the Tender Committee announcing the completion of the second stage of the tender proceedings, please be informed that …

RIGHT
In connection with receiving, on 11 March 2011, a letter from the Tender Committee announcing the completion of the second stage of the tender proceedings, please be informed that …

The construction “the letter of Anna” is un-English, but it would be understood to mean “Anna’s letter”. Without any context, this tells us nothing about whether Anna wrote the letter or received it.
“The letter to Anna” means that Anna received it, while “the letter from Anna” means that Anna wrote it. Only use the construction “Anna’s letter” if it is clear from the context whether Anna wrote or received the letter.

This rule also applies to notifications, messages and other forms of communication.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Careful how you use the word “of” (part 2)

Posted on January 23, 2012 by barnabyharward

My previous post on this subject looked at using ’s instead of of in phrases like “the claimant’s attorney”.

Here are some of the examples I gave you last time, plus some more examples:

BAD STYLE                                                                 GOOD STYLE
the decision of the regulatory authority          => the regulatory authority’s decision
the approval of the Management Board         => the Management Board’s approval
the consent of the Meeting of Shareholders   => the consent of the Shareholders’ Meeting
the representative of the Company                  => the Company’s representative
the total remuneration of the Contractor       => the Contractor’s total remuneration

Note that all these examples refer to a person or a group of people – i.e. the claimant, the regulatory authority, the Management Board, the Shareholders’ Meeting, the Company and the Contractor.

Now look at this sentence:

BAD STYLE
The contractor submitted the architectural design together with the interior’s design covering the investment’s first and second stages.

What is wrong with it? It uses ’s instead of of, so why is this bad style?

The reason is that there are no people involved in the word ending with ’s.

GOOD STYLE
The contractor submitted the architectural design together with the design of the interior covering the first and second stages of the investment.

Here are some other examples:

BAD STYLE                                     GOOD STYLE
German law’s perspective       => the perspective of German law
the contract’s termination       => the termination of the contract
the claim’s rejection                  => the rejection of the claim
the contract’s annex                  => the annex to / of the contract
the judgement’s date                 => the date of the judgement
the plans’ realisation                 => the realisation of the plans

There are no people involved in any of these examples, so it is better to use of instead of ’s.

I should add, however, that this is a general rule, and there are exceptions to it. But if you follow this rule, it should – most of the time – make your writing easier to read.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Careful how you use the word “of” (part 1)

Posted on January 23, 2012 by barnabyharward

I find that non-native English speakers tend to use the word “of” much too often. “Of” is also frequently used incorrectly instead of other prepositions.

The next few posts will look at issues related to using “of”.

of and ’s

Non-native English speakers tend to write, for example, the attorney of the claimant where native speakers would write the claimant’s attorney. Although both structures are grammatically correct, phrases like the attorney of the claimant increase the “wordiness” and complexity of a sentence and make your writing more difficult to read. Look at this example:

BAD STYLE
Please find attached the decision of the regulatory authority concerning the application of the Company to establish the manufacturing plant of the Company in the Katowice Special Economic Zone.

This kind of sentence is really just lazy translation. A native English speaker would write the following:

GOOD STYLE
Please find attached the regulatory authority’s decision concerning the Company’s application to establish its manufacturing plant in the Katowice Special Economic Zone.

Making this type of correction must be the single most common change that I make when I proofread documents.

Here are some other common examples:

BAD STYLE                                                                GOOD STYLE
the website of the Company                              => the Company’s website
the approval of the Management Board         => the Management Board’s approval
the report of the expert                                      => the expert’s report
the consent of the Meeting of Shareholders   => the consent of the Shareholders’ Meeting

But remember to avoid phrases like this: the Shareholders’ Meeting’s consent. This is just as bad as the consent of the Meeting of Shareholders.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

What is pleonasm and why should you avoid it?

Posted on January 23, 2012 by barnabyharward

Pleonasm, according to Wikipedia, is “the use of more words or word-parts than is necessary for clear expression”. It is sometimes referred to as rhetorical tautology. It is a common literary device in many types of writing, but should be avoided in legal and business writing.

There are numerous examples of pleonastic usage in all languages. Here are some common ones in English:

free gift – can a gift be anything other than free?
safe haven – a haven is by definition a safe place
advance warning – a warning is by definition made in advance
prerecorded – obviously the recording was made beforehand
in two day’s time – is there a difference between two days and two day’s time?
PIN number – PIN stands for Personal Identification Number, so it is redundant to repeat “number”

Generally speaking, in English it is OK to use recognised pleonasms like those listed above. These phrases are so common and widely known that few people worry about them. However, you should avoid creating your own pleonasms. They add to the number of words, complicate your writing and, perhaps most importantly, can sound rather stupid.

Here are some examples that I have come across:

Therefore, in practice the outcome and the length of duration of each case will differ.

Therefore, in practice the outcome and duration of each case will differ.
……………

The main reason for this is the nature of the subject of the Tender and in particular the fact that the costs of fracturing operations are hard to foresee in advance.

The main reason for this is the nature of the subject of the Tender and in particular the fact that the costs of fracturing operations are hard to foresee.
……………

The additionally added paragraph is a standard one required for pursuing an appeal before the National Chamber of Appeals and District Court.

The additional paragraph is a standard one required for pursuing an appeal before the National Chamber of Appeals and District Court.
……………

Please confirm the above information and, if applicable, specify other locations where the Company’s assets are held, including the places of location of the real estate owned by ZEG or held by it in perpetual usufruct.

Please confirm the above information and, if applicable, specify other locations where the Company’s assets are held, including the location of the real estate owned by ZEG or held by it in perpetual usufruct.
……………

In connection with the currently pending tender procedure, we would like to focus on discussing competitive bidding procedures.

In connection with the pending tender procedure, we would like to focus on discussing competitive bidding procedures.

……………

From the date of this Term Sheet until the Closing or the earlier termination of this Term Sheet, all with the goal of preserving unimpaired the value of the Company, the Sellers will ensure the following:

From the date of this Term Sheet until the Closing or the earlier termination of this Term Sheet, all with the goal of preserving the value of the Company, the Sellers will ensure the following:
……………

Furthermore, existing jurisprudence shows, with only one contrary exception, that investing in wind farms is not realising a public aim, and therefore does not fulfil the definition of article 6.

Furthermore, existing jurisprudence shows, with only one exception, that investing in wind farms is not realising a public aim, and therefore does not fulfil the definition of article 6.
……………

The issuer of a blank promissory note usually simultaneously makes at the same time a promissory note declaration, which states the contents of the agreement between the issuer of the promissory note and the acceptant of the promissory note.

The issuer of a blank promissory note usually simultaneously makes a promissory note declaration, which states the contents of the agreement between the issuer of the promissory note and the acceptant of the promissory note.
……………

As we understand from section 6.4.5.1 of the P&P, the only possible way to sell online is through a PWS, which will be provided by the Company and whose content will be already predetermined.

As we understand from section 6.4.5.1 of the P&P, the only possible way to sell online is through a PWS, which will be provided by the Company and whose content will be predetermined.
……………

Therefore, such proceedings at the very end could ultimately lead to the withdrawal of the product from the market.

Therefore, such proceedings could ultimately lead to the withdrawal of the product from the market.
……………

A breach of antitrust provisions is subject to a pecuniary fine of up to 10% of the parties’ turnover in the financial year preceding the imposition of the fine.

A breach of antitrust provisions is subject to a fine of up to 10% of the parties’ turnover in the financial year preceding the imposition of the fine.
……………

And finally my favourite:

Therefore we may assume that the public entity would be required to make a statement after accepting the completed construction works in order to minimise, to the maximum extent possible, the possibility of it making any objections to the repayment of the debt to the bank, even if such objections to the private entity were justified.

Therefore we may assume that the public entity would be required to make a statement after accepting the completed construction works in order to minimise the possibility of it making any objections to the repayment of the debt to the bank, even if such objections to the private entity were justified.

Golden Rule for avoiding pleonasm:

Never use more words than is strictly necessary to convey your meaning!

For more on this, see How to use the word “risk” and Whether (or not)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | 3 Comments

An important point about how to write numbers

Posted on January 23, 2012 by barnabyharward

When we write numbers in English we use commas where continental European countries often use points, and points where continental Europeans use commas.

So, for example, while many continental Europeans would write 45.678,90 (forty-five thousand, six hundred and seventy-eight and 90/100), native English speakers would write 45,678.90.

That’s easy – and I hope you already know it.

Now, here’s the main point of this post.

I often see numbers written like this: 19.456 thousand or this: 19,456 thousand
Neither is correct in English, and both may cause confusion.

In English we do not mix numerals and words unless we are using the words “million”, “billion”, “trillion” etc. So, it is wrong to write, e.g., 24 thousand; instead you should write 24,000 or twenty-four thousand. But it is correct to write, e.g., 56 million.

19.456 thousand or 19,456 thousand should therefore be written in English in either of the following ways:
19,456,000 (read as “nineteen million, four hundred and fifty-six thousand”)
19.456 million (read as “nineteen point four five six million”)

I’m sure you’ll appreciate the possibility of confusion when a number written
19.456 thousand should be understood as 19.456 million.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Don’t confuse “work” and “works”

Posted on February 21, 2011 by barnabyharward

The word “work” can be a verb or noun or even an adjective. This entry looks at “work” and “works” as nouns.

“Work” has several different meanings, but one of the most common is “exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something; labour; toil” [dictionary.com]. In this sense it is an uncountable noun and has no plural form.

E.g.:
We have a lot of work.
We will start the work as soon as we have received the signed Power of Attorney.
The work involved 17 hours of lawyer’s work and 5 hours of translator’s work.

 

I find people commonly make the mistake of using “works” in this context – especially in sentences like the second and third examples above.

“Works” has a different meaning. It is used to describe construction or engineering projects.

E.g.:
There are traffic jams all over the city due to the road works in the centre.
Works on the bridge were delayed by 4 weeks due to bad weather.
The Works were signed off 6 months after the Completion Date.

So you should never use “works” to describe the work you do when you’re sitting at a desk.

“Works” can also be used to mean an industrial plant, e.g. Over two hundred people are employed at the works. It may be used in combination with other words, e.g. “ironworks”, “steelworks”, “gasworks”. In this sense the word has no singular form. However, you may say, e.g. “one gasworks”.

“Earthworks” (uncountable) means excavation works in connection with a construction or engineering project. But an “earthwork” (countable) is a defensive fortification built into the ground, often of archaeological interest.

We also talk about e.g. “the works of a watch”, “the washing machine’s works” to describe a machine’s internal mechanism.

“Work” as a countable noun

“Work” is used as a countable noun when referring to works of art or literature.

E.g.:
A work of art.
Numerous new works of Picasso have been revealed by the artist’s electrician.
Pan Tadeusz by Mickiewicz is the most famous work of Polish literature.

Idioms with “works”

in the works – (informal) in preparation, e.g. Various amendments to the Act are in the works.
a spanner in the works – (informal) a problem, e.g. The appearance of new evidence has thrown a spanner in the works.
with the works – (slang) with the full range, with everything, e.g. Give me a hot dog with the works.
give somebody the works – (slang) beat somebody up, give somebody severe treatment, e.g. We took him out the back door of the bar and gave him the works.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 33 Comments

The difference between “damage” and “damages”

Posted on February 21, 2011 by barnabyharward

Remember that damages is not the plural of damage, but actually has a different meaning.

Damage means “loss or injury to a person or property”. It is an uncountable singular noun and has no plural form.

E.g.: The cost of the damage to the US caused by Hurricane Ike was estimated at USD 18 billion.

Other words you could use instead of damage: loss, injury

Damages means “money claimed by, or ordered to be paid to, a person as compensation for loss or injury”. It is an uncountable plural noun and has no singular form.

E.g.: The Claimant wishes to sue Acme for damages as a result of a loss sustained by the Claimant after Acme’s failure to perform its obligations.

Other words you could use instead of damages: compensation, satisfaction

I most frequently read sentences where the writers use damages where they mean damage. It is also common to confuse the two meanings.

More examples:

WRONG
In order to understand properly the rules concerning civil liability insurance for damages caused to a person (e.g. death, injury or health breakdown), it is essential first of all to present the general rules of Polish law relating to civil liability for such damages.

RIGHT
In order to understand properly the rules concerning civil liability insurance for damage caused to a person (e.g. death, injury or health breakdown), it is essential first of all to present the general rules of Polish law relating to civil liability for such damage.

WRONG
If a party is in breach of a warranty the other party can terminate the agreement and sue for damages caused by the breach.

RIGHT
If a party is in breach of a warranty the other party can terminate the agreement and sue for damages to compensate for any loss or injury caused by the breach.

WRONG
Any person whose trademark right has been infringed or any person authorised by act of law, may demand the cessation of the infringement, the surrender of unlawfully obtained profits, and compensation for damages according to the general principles of law.

RIGHT
Any person whose trademark right has been infringed or any person authorised by act of law, may demand the cessation of the infringement, the surrender of unlawfully obtained profits, and compensation for damage according to the general principles of law.

BUT – and here’s an exception…

English-speaking lawyers do sometimes use “damage” in the plural to refer to multiple losses or injuries. This is an exceptional use of the word, unique to legal jargon, and breaks the rule that “damage” is an uncountable singular noun. In everyday English “damages” can only mean compensation or satisfaction.

Summary

Damage = loss or injury to a person or property (uncountable singular noun)
Damages = money claimed by, or ordered to be paid to, a person as compensation for loss or injury (uncountable plural noun)

BUT
Damages (rare legal meaning) = multiple losses or injuries to a person or property

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 4 Comments

How to use participle clauses correctly

Posted on November 18, 2010 by barnabyharward

WRONG
This opinion was drawn up on the basis of the sent to us by email or fax documents.

The accident was caused by an animal running in front of the car from a neighbouring the road field.

RIGHT
This opinion was drawn up on the basis of the documents sent to us by email or fax.

The accident was caused by an animal running in front of the car from a field neighbouring the road.

In the above sentences sent to us by email or fax and neighbouring the road are participle clauses. Participle clauses contain either a past participle (e.g. sent, i.e. the ‘third form’) or a present participle (e.g. neighbouring, i.e. the ‘-ing form’). There are various types of participle clause and they have various uses, but the type I am referring to here adds information to a noun or noun phrase (i.e. documents and field in the above examples).

As you see in the above examples, in English we put the participle clause AFTER the noun it describes, NEVER before, as you can do in, for example, Slavic languages.

This is a very common mistake, and one that makes your writing look very foreign to a native speaker. It also can make your writing very difficult to understand.

More examples (the noun or noun phrase which the participle clause describes is in bold):

WRONG
The Report is an audit of selected by the Company twenty-one (21) leases.

RIGHT
The Report is an audit of twenty-one (21) leases selected by the Company.

WRONG
Moreover, both the life and non-life Directives (2002/83/EC and 92/49/EEC) stipulate that the mentioned in your e-mail situation is possible.

RIGHT
Moreover, both the life and non-life Directives (2002/83/EC and 92/49/EEC) stipulate that the situation mentioned in your e-mail is possible.

WRONG
The application can be made by anyone who fulfils the legal requirements – i.e. presents all required by the Pharmaceutical Law data.

RIGHT
The application can be made by anyone who fulfils the legal requirements – i.e. presents all data required by the Pharmaceutical Law.

WRONG
In relation to using up your holiday leave entitlement you are obliged to hand over to a person designated by the Employer all projects, tasks and duties that you carried out during your employment relationship and any related to these projects, tasks or duties documents.

RIGHT
In relation to using up your holiday leave entitlement you are obliged to hand over to a person designated by the Employer all projects, tasks and duties that you carried out during your employment relationship and any documents related to these projects, tasks or duties.

In the two following examples, the writers of the original sentences have made the same mistake as above, but I have changed the participle clauses into relative clauses. Relative clauses are clauses that start with a relative pronoun (which, that, who, etc.).

WRONG
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide you with a very brief analysis of the implemented into Polish law provisions of Directive 2002/91/EC on the energy performance of buildings.

RIGHT – RELATIVE CLAUSE
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide you with a very brief analysis of the provisions of Directive 2002/91/EC on the energy performance of buildings which have been implemented into Polish law.

WRONG
The Minister refers to a considered by the Ministry amendment to the draft, which has not been disclosed to the public yet.

RIGHT – RELATIVE CLAUSE
The Minister refers to an amendment to the draft, which is being considered by the Ministry and has not been disclosed to the public yet.

And finally, here are a couple of examples where the writers of the original sentences have used the passive in the participle clause. I have changed it into the active.

WRONG – PASSIVE
Please tell me who participated in the organised by you training?

RIGHT – ACTIVE
Please tell me who participated in the training you organised?

WRONG – PASSIVE
This report (the “Report”) has been prepared upon the instructions of AssetCo Sp. z o.o. (the “Company”) in connection with planned by the owner of the shopping centre “Galeria Syrena” in Warsaw (the “Centre”) future development works in the Centre (the “Development Works”).

RIGHT – RELATIVE CLAUSE – ACTIVE
This report (the “Report”) has been prepared upon the instructions of AssetCo Sp. z o.o. (the “Company”) in connection with future development works that the owner of the shopping centre “Galeria Syrena” in Warsaw (the “Centre”) plans to carry out in the Centre (the “Development Works”).

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The difference between “hand over” and “handover”

Posted on November 18, 2010 by barnabyharward

The difference is that “hand over” is a verb and “handover” is a noun. To be precise, “hand over” is a phrasal verb and “handover” is a compound noun.

So we say: He handed over the money on Saturday.
And: The handover took place on Saturday.

There are many of these in English, and they are particularly popular in business writing. Here are a few more:

Verb Noun
break out
buy out
follow up
pay back
print out
sell down
sell off
spin off
start up
take away
take off
take over
turn over		 breakout
buyout
follow-up
payback
printout
selldown / sell-down
sell-off
spin-off
startup / start-up
takeaway
takeoff / take-off
takeover
turnover

Note that some compound nouns are written as one word, and some have a hyphen (and some may be written both ways). Phrasal verbs are always two (or more) words.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments