----------------------------------------------------------------- THE BETTER WRITING SKILLS NEWSLETTER, February 2010 By Tim North of Scribe Consulting www.scribe.com.au ----------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome back to the Better Writing Skills newsletter. IN THIS ISSUE 1. Should "Dear John" be followed by a comma? 2. Are you "cleverer" or "more clever" than me? 3. Young people today don't speak no good at all! 4. Just for fun Your comments and questions are always welcome. Just send email to: info@scribe.com.au Cheers, Tim North (Perth, Western Australia) ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Should "Dear John" be followed by a comma? ----------------------------------------------------------------- My first correspondent this month (indeed this decade), Laxmi, wrote: I just wanted to know if we need to put a comma after the person's name while addressing the person when we write an email, just like, hi tim, or hello sam. I get a lot of emails without a comma. They leave a line after that and start their email. As Laxmi has noted, the way people punctuate the salutation at the start of a letter or email varies. Some people use a comma, others a colon, others omit all punctuation. Let me make a distinction that I've found useful. Consider these two greetings: 1. Dear John, 2. Hi, John. The difference here is that the first greeting isn't a sentence. The second one is. This explains why I've used different punctuation. The first example isn't a sentence, so it doesn't need a full stop. As noted above, some writers will follow it by a comma, a colon or nothing at all. A comma seems to be the most common choice. In the second example, as the greeting is a sentence I've ended it with a full stop. I've also included a comma before the name. Why? Well, when addressing a person, it's traditional to separate their name or title from the rest of the sentence with a comma. Here are some other examples of that: John, are you leaving? Are you leaving, John? Sir, can I assist you? Can I assist you, Sir? So, to return to the two examples in Laxmi's email, I'd punctuate them like so: Hi, Tim. Hello, Sam. Why? They're both sentences. On the other hand, I could also write: Dear Tim, Dear Sam, Hope this helps. -- (c) 2010 Tim North: http://www.scribe.com.au ----------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Are you "cleverer" or "more clever" than me? ----------------------------------------------------------------- My next correspondent, Gavin, wrote: Can you put my mind at rest, Tim? Which is it "cleverer" or "more clever"? (Even Microsoft spell check conspires against me and suggests changing "more clever" to "cleverer".) Put your mind at ease, Gavin. There are many people who share your preference for "more clever". I found "cleverer" in all of the US dictionaries that I searched. I didn't find it in Australia's Macquarie Dictionary or the UK's Cambridge Dictionary, though. This suggests that the preference for one over the other may -- originally -- have been a regional one. Today, though, I don't think it's that simple. I found many Aussie and UK sources that preferred "cleverer" and some Americans that preferred "more clever". In short: Both seem to be in common use, and a person's preference for one over the other seems to be hard to predict. Hope this helps. -- (c) 2010 Tim North: http://www.scribe.com.au ----------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Young people today don't speak no good at all! ----------------------------------------------------------------- My final correspondent this month, "M", wrote: My daughter almost always puts "me" first in a sentence which is wrong (/and drives me nuts/) but plenty of people speak and write that way (especially with today's communication technology). Errors beget errors. I agree that the misuse of "me" and "I" can sound grating and is certainly non-standard usage. Notice that I'm too wishy-washy to say that it's flat-out wrong, though. Rather, what I'd say is that the usage is probably considered acceptable among your daughter's peer group. We all have slang and casual speech patterns that we use in informal situations. I'm reminded of the slang and informal grammar that I employ during my weekly poker game. (There's also usually a certain amount of weeping.) This leads me to the general advice that it's fine to use non- standard English in informal situations (as your daughter does), but one must also be able to revert to standard English for more formal situations. Now far be it from me to offer parenting advice, but ... let me offer some parenting advice. :-) Neither party is likely to get much out of one of those unproductive parent-teenager "talks" in which you explain correct grammar to an unreceptive and sullen audience. Rather, see if you can make the distinction that we made above. You might wish to explain to your daughter that you have no problem with her using "me" in any way she wishes when she's with her friends. Point out, though, that it may be in her own best interest to be able to use "correct English" in more formal situations such as written assignments or (later) job interviews. Encourage her to view the house as a place to practice such "correct English". (And promise not to tell her friends.) Hope this helps. -- (c) 2010 Tim North: http://www.scribe.com.au ----------------------------------------------------------------- Do you know someone who'd like this newsletter? ----------------------------------------------------------------- Do you have a friend or colleague who'd find the Better Writing Skills newsletter interesting? If so, please feel free to send a copy of this issue to them. Alternatively, please tell them they can browse back issues here: http://www.scribe.com.au/newsletter.html Thanks for helping to make this newsletter so successful! ----------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Just for fun ----------------------------------------------------------------- This month you might enjoy "The 32 Most Commonly Misused Words and Phrases": http://tinyurl.com/bemdwm Okay, okay; my definition of "enjoy" is slipping. I admit it. Quit ya complainin'! Cheers, Tim. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Would you like more help with your writing? ----------------------------------------------------------------- On my web site, you'll find my range of jargon-free, downloadable e-books that will help you to become a better writer. These e-books will help you with business proposals, report writing, term papers, technical writing, grant writing, creative writing and more: http://www.scribe.com.au/ebooks.html ----------------------------------------------------------------- REPRODUCING THIS MATERIAL You're welcome to reproduce the articles from this newsletter that are copyrighted by Tim North, but please don't modify or sell them. Also, please provide a clickable link back to: http://www.scribe.com.au FUTURE MAILINGS You can prevent (or receive) future mailings by visiting this page: http://www.scribe.com.au/newsletter.html This is a GENUINE service, and you will not receive any unsolicited email as a result. 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