What Is the Right Way to Say...

As a professional writer, I'm often asked the right way to say something in English. One of the joys--and exasperations--of English is that it gives you so many ways to communicate and all of them are right. For example, I could have written the preceding sentence in any of the following ways:

• English gives you many ways to express yourself, and they are all correct.
• I find joy as well as exasperation in the flexibility of the English language. No matter what I want to say, there are dozens of ways to say it right.
• When you need to communicate clearly in English, you have many great choices for the words you use and how you put them together. And every choice is the right choice.

How do you say what you want to say? You may choose on the basis of style, what sounds good to your (and the reader's) ear. Style gets its structure and strength--its spine--from the rules of grammar. When it comes to grammar, your first and best choice is to follow the rules.

If you aren't sure of your grammar, find a copy of Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, which is available through any bookstore or library and appears on every writer's desk, right next to the dictionary. Don't use electronic grammar checkers. They are rigid where English is flexible, and they can't be trusted.

The potential downside of bad grammar is two-fold: your audience may misunderstand what you are trying to say and you may come across as a sloppy, indifferent thinker, not a good characteristic in a business person.

At TWP, we often review brochures, websites, presentations and other marketing collateral for grammar and style. write [at] twriteplus [dot] com (Contact) us today and we'll help you find the best way to say what you most want to say.