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Unit 3
Use of English
Overview
 Modern business language
 Grammatical terms
 Subject and verb agreement
 Punctuation
 Some basic grammatical rules
Modern business language
 In any business dealing, positive results can only be achieved
through effective use of language. It has become universally
accepted that English today should be simple, courteous,
relaxed and straightforward.
 Good communicators go to considerable trouble to become
competent users of English, and such skills do bring
enormous rewards and satisfaction.
 Important to ensure language in business communications is
correct. Reasons?
 1. To establish a relationship : aim for good relationship with
people you communicate regularly.
 2. To communicate your ideas precisely.
 3. To convey a good image of your organisation.
Grammatical terms
 Many people are able to speak and write perfectly well
without knowing a lot about traditional rules of English
language.
 However, many people make grammatical errors because
they do not understand the rules properly or simply through
carelessness.
 The following slides are alphabetical list of the parts of
speech together with other terms you may find useful to
know.
Adjective
 A word that says more about a noun, qualifying or
describing it.
 An efficient secretary
 A fast typist
 A fair manager
Adverb
 A word that is to a verb like what an adjective is to a noun.
It modifies or describes a verb, describing how/ when/
where/ why the action (in the verb) is happening.
 She thinks logically
 I walk slowly
 He screamed loudly
Clause
 A group of words with a subject and a predicate. A main
clause stands alone as a sentence. A subordinate clause is
incomplete and is used with a main clause to express an
idea.
 Main clause : I like watching television
 Subordinate clause : when I have time
Collective noun
 A word used in the singular to express many individuals.
 furniture
 committee
 crowd
 equipment
 baggage
 luggage
Conjunction
 A word that links other words (or groups of words)
together.
 and
 but
 so
 then
 or
Infinitive
 The verb form introduced by the word ‘to’.
 to walk
 to go
 to finish
 to play
 Mrs Lim wants to speak to her daughter
Interjection
 A word which expresses exclamation.
 Ouch!
 Wow!
 Gosh!
Noun
 A word used as a name of a person, thing, idea or quality.
 computer
 money
 desk
 secretary
 manager
 frustration
 street
Participle
 A verb form that can also be used as an adjective to qualify
a noun.
 the laughing policeman
 the speaking clock
 the hard-working student
Pronoun
 A word used in place of a noun, to avoid repeating the
noun.
 we hurried
 they are pleased
 I need it now
 this is my computer
Preposition
 A word used in front of a noun or pronoun to show its
connection to another word.
 My mother hid behind the door
 I left the book at work
 I wish to speak to you about your report
Sentence
 A group of words that expresses a complete thought.
 She cried.
 Mary went to the market.
Subject
 One of two main components of a sentence; this is the
person, place or thing that you are speaking about. It may
be a noun, pronoun or a phrase used as a noun.
 The consultant charged a fair price.
 24 is a popular TV show.
 Choosing the right computer can be a difficult process.
Verb
 A word that expresses action or condition.
 I wish I could go to Edinburgh for my holiday.
 The computer developed a fault.
 You will enjoy learning about modern business writing.
Subject and verb agreement
 The order in which we use words contributes as much
meaning to a sentence as the definitions of individual words.
The first rule of English language is sentence structure.
 A sentence is a group of words containing a complete
expression of a thought or idea. It should contain a subject
and a verb. The verb is the part of the sentence that indicates
what someone or something is doing – very often it is the
word that shows action.
 E.g: The manager wants three reports.
subject
verb
Subject and verb agreement
 In this longer sentence you will note that the subject and verb
are quite far apart:
Analysis of this month’s accounts shows an increase in sales.
subject
verb
 Very often in long sentences errors are made with
subjects/verb agreement. This happens when the verb ends
up quite far from the subject.
 *Refer to the table on the next slide
Subject and verb agreement
Wrong
Correct
The Chairman of the board of directors
plan to announce a large profit at the
meeting.
The Chairman of the board of directors
plans to announce a large profit at the
meeting.
The use of computers in homes have
increased in recent years
The use of computers in homes has
increased in recent years.
Our sales of this exciting new product
justifies an increased budget.
Our sales of this exciting new product
justify an increased budget.
Communication between people in
different countries are made easier with
e-mail.
Communication between people in
different countries is made easier with email.
Punctuation
 The sole purpose of punctuation is to help the reader
understand clearly the meaning of what is written. Errors in
punctuation can create confusion and lead to failure in
communication.
 All these symbols indicate the end of a sentence.
Symbol
Name
Indicates
.
Full stop
Marks the end of a sentence
?
Question mark
Used at the end of a sentence which asks a
question
!
Exclamation mark
Used at the end of a word, phrase or
sentence which indicates strong emotion
Punctuation
 Commas
Usage
Example
to separate two or more nouns
Please order some paper, envelopes
and ribbons.
to mark off two separate clauses
I did not realise it was poor quality,
otherwise I would not have bought
it.
to separate a descriptive group of
words
The Sales Manager, Ms Winry
Rockbell, is in a meeting.
to separate a word or group of words A word processor is, in my opinion,
from the main part of the sentence all I need for my work.
A computer, on the other hand, has
many more uses.
to mark off words like ‘therefore’,
‘however’, ‘consequently’,
‘unfortunately’ at the beginning or
in the middle of sentences
Unfortunately, I have an
appointment on Friday. I can,
however, see you on Thursday.
Punctuation
 Semi-colons
 It is possible to write perfect English without using any semi-
colons but they can sometimes be useful.
 Semi-colons represent a pause longer than a comma and
shorter than a full stop. They are used to separate two parts of
a sentence where a comma would be insufficient.
 “We must buy the new book; it will be very valuable for
reference purposes.”
 A semi-colon is also used to separate items in a list which
already contains commas.
 “Three new employees will be needed in personnel, purchasing
and sales; one in marketing; two in administration and one in
computing.”
Punctuation
 Colons
 Most commonly used to indicate that something will follow,
for example a list or a quotation.
 Many qualities are required: tact, diplomacy and patience.
 Confucius said: ‘Success can only be achieved through
thorough preparation. Without preparation there is sure to be
failure.’
Punctuation
 Hyphens and dashes
 Hyphens are mainly used in compound words, where two or
more words are treated as one. For example:
 Self-centred
 User-friendly
 Large-scale
 Up-to-date
 Self-taught
 One-to-one
 Career-minded
Punctuation
 A dash is used to show a change in thought in a sentence, or
as an alternative to brackets. Sometimes a dash is useful
because it adds more emphasis than a comma would add.
For example:
 Communication is a two-way process – listening is just as
important as speaking.
 Staff attended the anniversary celebration from all over the
world – it was great to meet them all.
 Today’s employers are looking for real people with real abilities
– not robots!
Punctuation
 Apostrophes
 Used to indicate:
 Omission of a letter or letters
 It’s important that you don’t forget your textbook for all lessons.
(It is)
(do not)
 Singular possession or ownership
 The car belonging to the director - the director’s car
 Plural possession or ownership
 The cars belonging to the directors – the directors’ cars
Some basic grammatical rules
 Split infinitives
 Avoid placing an adverb between to and the verb which
follows.
Wrong
Correct
To quickly go
To go quickly
To cautiously enter
To enter cautiously
To carefully contemplate
To contemplate carefully
Some basic grammatical rules
 Participles
 Phrases using participles can act as adjectives and must be
attached to the correct noun or pronoun.
 Walking into the room, the light was bright.
 Walking into the room, she found the light was bright.
√
Some basic grammatical rules
 Singular collective nouns
 When thinking of the group as a whole, use a singular verb.
 A committee of eight members is to be formed.
 When thinking of individuals forming the group, use a plural
verb.
 The committee were talking quietly among themselves.
Some basic grammatical rules
 Prepositions
 Avoid ending a sentence with a preposition.
 Is there a book which I can find this information in?
 Is there a book in which I can find this information?
√
Some basic grammatical rules
 Either/neither/every
 All these words take singular verbs
 Neither of the applicants are suitable.
 Neither of the applicants is suitable. √
 Either one of the girls are willing to help you.
 Either one of the girls is willing to help you. √
 Every student in the class have a computer.
 Every student in the class has a computer. √
Some basic grammatical rules
 Each
 When each precedes the word to which it refers it should
be followed by a singular verb.
 When each follows the word to which it refers it should be
followed by a plural verb.
 Each of the students have six books.
 Each of the students has six books. √
 The students each has six books.
 The students each have six books. √
BACK
 Do you use expressions like return back or exchange
back? If so, you don't need the word 'back'- it's
completely redundant!
BATHE/BATH
 In England I often have a bath (in the bathtub) but in
Singapore I mostly take a shower (standing up
underneath a shower). I often hear people saying they
are going to have a bath or they are going to bathe,
when really they don't even have a bathtub. So how? In
this case we should use the word 'shower'.
BECAUSE, ALTHOUGH, SINCE, UNLESS, IF, WHEN
 When you start a sentence with any of these words,
remember to attach an independent clause to it so that
it becomes a complete sentence. We cannot have a
sentence like 'Because it is raining.' This is a simple
clause, but it is not complete until you attach an
independent clause to it. For example, 'Because it is
raining, I must take my umbrella.' The same goes for
the other words mentioned in the heading. For
example, 'Although I found the course hard, I still
passed.' (Note that we don’t need the word but when
we use although - use a comma instead!)
BETWEEN OR TO
 'Between' must be followed by 'and"'. 'From'must be
followed by 'to'' For example:
There were between 200 and 300 people at the
concert‘.
The seminar will be conducted from 0930 to 1730.
BORED/BORING
 I often hear people use boring instead of bored. One
workshop participant was blatantly honest with me
when she said 'My boss made me come here but I
didn't want to attend because I think I'm going to be
very boring.’ Hmmm . . .. I think she meant she
thought she was going to be very bored. She could only
be bored if I was boring! For example:
The lecture is boring so I am bored.
BRING AND FETCH
 Use bring when the other person is at a different point
to you and you want them to get you something. For
example:
Please bring me the book when you come over to
my place later.
 Use fetch when the other person is at the same point as
you are. For example
Please fetch me a cup of coffee from the canteen.
 Now the other person will have to physically go to the
canteen, get the coffee and bring it back to where you
are.
 Fetch is commonly used with dogs when we throw a
stick . . .