Here are some common grammatical and spelling errors, corrected with explanations. Hope those who need it, find it of help and interest. We all have our 'mental blanks' on these things - myself included. I always want to spell Gorgious with an 'i' but, of course, it is: 'Gorgeous'.
WHOSE / WHO'S
Whose book are you reading?
Who is that, looking through the window? Who's that, looking through the window?
EXPLANATION: Who is that - miss out the 'i' of is and say: "Who's that...?"
The man whose Caterham 7 I was riding in...
BRING / BROUGHT - BUY / BOUGHT
Are you bringing your sister along?
Have you brought your sister with you?
EXPLANATION: Bring has an 'r' in it, so the past tense is 'Brought' (with an 'r').
What did you buy?
I bought a lot of lovely new items to fill up my empty wardrobe.
I also bought you a teddy-bear, which doesn't have an 'r' in it.
The bracelet that I have brought with me today has an 'r' in it.
The teddy bear that I bought for the baby has no 'r' in its tummy, because the verb 'Buy' has no 'r' in it.
WOULD HAVE, COULD HAVE, SHOULD HAVE - MUST HAVE
Whenever you would like to use an 'of', hold on.
You would have liked to use the word 'of', because it sounds right, but look:-
EXPLANATION: I would have thought that you would have known that already.
Now miss out the 'ha' from 'have and it becomes: I would've thought that ... TA DAAAAR! Easy :)
"It must have been love, but it's over now....
It must've been good, but I lost it somehow."
Well, who would've thought it!?
He should've gone across the road and seen for himself.
I could've said it right, but like I didn't know it was could've and thought it was just Could Of, like.
STATIONERY / STATIONARY
When you think you need some writing paper, use the 'e'.
When you are standing still, and cannot move an inch - you are stationary, with an 'a'.
DEPENDENT / INDEPENDENT / DEPENDANT
Depending on the instance, you would need to say that Bob is dependent on someone else.
If we are talking about Bob, he is a 'dependant'.
However, it's rather confusing and this is possibly one that I should not have included here!
WHAT ELSE?
Do let me know of your own personal 'bug-bears' or mental blanks and let's see if, together, we can make the world a nicer, easier, more readable place. Words is important, that's wot I reckons.
Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Monday, 6 February 2012
When should you use PR?
I gave a short presentation to a client committee today, and came away with a new business enquiry in my pocket. Did I do anything to deserve this? Well, yes, the answer is that, although it was unexpected, my nine years of work for the client has reaped a new dividend.
A lady's contact is starting a new business. It happens to be local. The lady has experienced first-hand what my PR style is and what kind of results she can expect. Donc: new business enquiry.
It always strikes me that one doesn't need PR in certain circumstances. One of the best ways I used to get leads was through working for a client (or two) at a trade show. I began with one client at a trade show; in subsequent years this became two, three, four clients in the same industry, UK and abroad, at the same trade show.
Good work and good services, providing what the customer wants and achieving word-of-mouth marketing - this can speak volumes. You don't need proactive media relations or events when your 'public relations' is done through face-to-face communications and by others recommending you to friends and colleagues.
Now, if nobody has heard of your new business, your service or products, then you will need proactive public relations through building a relationship with editors, gaining momentum through coverage as well as other marketing methods and word-of-mouth recommendations. PR's a long-haul activity. It will need to bubble along for months, or years, to achieve the clear aims of the organisation.
Equally, PR will not succeed on its own (unlike I've heard from others). I believe that you need a range of coordinated marketing activities and the finance in place if the business is going to succeed. But we can be a critical part of the team.
To paraphrase one chap today: "Keren is a very important part of our success". Another nodded. That's two heads I need to nod, nodding. Result.
A lady's contact is starting a new business. It happens to be local. The lady has experienced first-hand what my PR style is and what kind of results she can expect. Donc: new business enquiry.
It always strikes me that one doesn't need PR in certain circumstances. One of the best ways I used to get leads was through working for a client (or two) at a trade show. I began with one client at a trade show; in subsequent years this became two, three, four clients in the same industry, UK and abroad, at the same trade show.
Good work and good services, providing what the customer wants and achieving word-of-mouth marketing - this can speak volumes. You don't need proactive media relations or events when your 'public relations' is done through face-to-face communications and by others recommending you to friends and colleagues.
Now, if nobody has heard of your new business, your service or products, then you will need proactive public relations through building a relationship with editors, gaining momentum through coverage as well as other marketing methods and word-of-mouth recommendations. PR's a long-haul activity. It will need to bubble along for months, or years, to achieve the clear aims of the organisation.
Equally, PR will not succeed on its own (unlike I've heard from others). I believe that you need a range of coordinated marketing activities and the finance in place if the business is going to succeed. But we can be a critical part of the team.
To paraphrase one chap today: "Keren is a very important part of our success". Another nodded. That's two heads I need to nod, nodding. Result.
Monday, 9 January 2012
The imperfect tweet
I sometimes spend more time than needed in writing a tweet. Sometimes it's worth it - sometimes I abandon the attempt and the moment has gone. Do you find the same?
Personally, I dislike scheduled tweets, as I like to know that what I'm saying will be well-received. It could be hard to quickly reschedule insensitive marketing-led tweets in cases of emergency or disaster.
On most occasions, I tweet from the heart, naturally and they come thick and fast. But one has to have a confidence of spirit to know that this will 'work'. The tweets almost invariably receive a response from one quarter or another amongst followers, or a Retweet (RT).
It has occurred to me that the imperfect tweet is a necessity on Twitter, because time flies and the timeline passes within a matter of seconds or minutes. Say what you mean, what you want, as long as it's within your communications strategy (informal or formal).
Likewise, we should not be knocking those who get it wrong by accident. Yes, we should question and call to account people who are acting unlawfully, immorally or inaccurately. But, let's judge less quickly when the error is just an imperfect tweet in its natural state; a second or two of subjective opinion, that may raise eyebrows if spoken face-to-face but equally may not even be heard or noticed.
Live tweets use the 'spoken written word'. I believe that's an important distinction from a conversation that is a face-to-face or a written letter or email. There may be a specific name for it one day. In the meantime we can refer to 'online chatter' or 'online word' with thanks to @WeeChrissieB; or 'online narrative' @benjdunn and 'Verbatim' @MikeWooles. If I worked for a lawyer, I might be able to give you the legal low-down.
The point is, let's be receptive to imperfect tweets as we would in a conversation, but be aware of the consequences as we write! Quite a balancing act.
Personally, I dislike scheduled tweets, as I like to know that what I'm saying will be well-received. It could be hard to quickly reschedule insensitive marketing-led tweets in cases of emergency or disaster.
On most occasions, I tweet from the heart, naturally and they come thick and fast. But one has to have a confidence of spirit to know that this will 'work'. The tweets almost invariably receive a response from one quarter or another amongst followers, or a Retweet (RT).
It has occurred to me that the imperfect tweet is a necessity on Twitter, because time flies and the timeline passes within a matter of seconds or minutes. Say what you mean, what you want, as long as it's within your communications strategy (informal or formal).
Likewise, we should not be knocking those who get it wrong by accident. Yes, we should question and call to account people who are acting unlawfully, immorally or inaccurately. But, let's judge less quickly when the error is just an imperfect tweet in its natural state; a second or two of subjective opinion, that may raise eyebrows if spoken face-to-face but equally may not even be heard or noticed.
Live tweets use the 'spoken written word'. I believe that's an important distinction from a conversation that is a face-to-face or a written letter or email. There may be a specific name for it one day. In the meantime we can refer to 'online chatter' or 'online word' with thanks to @WeeChrissieB; or 'online narrative' @benjdunn and 'Verbatim' @MikeWooles. If I worked for a lawyer, I might be able to give you the legal low-down.
The point is, let's be receptive to imperfect tweets as we would in a conversation, but be aware of the consequences as we write! Quite a balancing act.
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