Posts tagged "plain English"
People-pairs in a sentence are a grammar trap when one of the people is yourself. Then you might stumble over choosing I or me, we or us. The I/Me trap is one of the most common grammar mistakes in English.
The answer depends on the sentence.
In this blog, I explain why this grammatical point trips so many people up, and I provide an easy trick for using the right word.
As Winston Churchill said, ‘the essential structure of the ordinary British sentence... is a noble thing.’ Short sentences communicate powerfully. Writing short sentences is a very good plain language trick. Plain language uses short sentences. If you write short sentences, your meaning is usually clear and your grammar is usually correct.
When I became a parent, I felt like I was on a treadmill all the time. I wanted to work, spend quality time with my kids, keep active, pay off the mortgage, and please everyone. But I was pleasing no one. I knew something had to change. I needed more flexibility (and way less stress than my lawyer job). I wanted to have more control over how my day looked. I had always loved to write. Writing gave me pleasure. It was creative and allowed me to express ideas and tell powerful stories.
When I grew up I had four besties. Together we were just like Blyton’s Famous Five. Sure, we didn’t roam the countryside solving mysteries and capturing villains. Golly gosh no! But we did freely roam our cul-de-sac for hours enjoying jolly adventures — at least until dinner time.
After university, we all dispersed into very different jobs — one into journalism, one into strategic planning, one into advertising, one into corporate comms, and I moved from solicitor to information designer.
But in the last five years or so, something funny has happened: all our job descriptions are starting to look the same. Disciplines are merging. My friends and I are doing similar tasks and use the same skillsets.
Hello, can you help me with a grammar question? What is the difference between: With regards to beauty, attitude is more important than appearance and A beautiful attitude is more important than a beautiful appearance.