Loud Thinking

Go Ahead and Break Some Grammar Rules

When it comes to business writing, some people feel paralyzed by grammar. But it’s important to distinguish between the rules that help writing and those that hinder it.

There are some outdated “rules” that grammarians have long dismissed as ill-founded and unnecessary. For example, you may have been told in school never to begin a sentence with a conjunction. But look at how many times “and” and “but” begin sentences in high-quality prose. As sentence-starters, these words keep readers following a train of thought and are more colloquial than “additionally” or “however.”

It’s also acceptable to end a sentence with a preposition. A sentence with a terminal preposition may sound far more natural than the same sentence forced into avoiding one. “What will the new product be used for?” sounds much better than “For what purpose will the new product be used?”

Today’s Management Tip was adapted from “Those Grammar Gaffes Will Get You” by Bryan A. Garner.