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carefully because, as we have seen, a subordinating conjunction introduces a
subordinate clause one that depends on the main clause for its meaning and it
cannot be a sentence on its own. So you cannot say: I am afraid we will not be
renewing our contract with you. Because, despite several warnings, you have not
provided the level of service we require. The second part of the passage does not
make sense on its own because it is only there to qualify the first part. You must
therefore write it as one sentence: I am afraid we will not be renewing our contract
with you because, despite several warnings, you have not provided the level of service
we require.
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A Guide to Good Business Communication
However, if the passage really is a complete sentence, just with the subordinate clause
before rather than after the main one, then there is no reason why you cannot start it
with the subordinating conjunction. The above sentence could, therefore, be written:
Because, despite several warnings, you have not provided the level of service we
require, I am afraid we will not be renewing our contract with you. This changes the
emphasis slightly, from the fact that you will not be renewing the contract to the fact
that your correspondent has not provided the level of service you require, and is quite
acceptable. But you do need to ensure that both the subordinate and the main clause
are there in the one sentence.
Phrases and Clauses
Phrases and clauses are groups of words within a sentence. We have already seen some
of the uses of clauses in the discussion of conjunctions above. The difference between
them and phrases is that they have a subject and a predicate and phrases do not. For
most practical purposes, however, this difference is of purely academic interest.
There are many different kinds of phrase and clause, but they are really of interest only to
grammarians. The main ones we need to be aware of in day-to-day business communica-
tion are adjectival and adverbial phrases and clauses the ones that act as adjectives or
adverbs, qualifying other words. The following sentences contain examples:
Thank you for your cheque, which arrived today.
After two weeks without a response, I decided to call on the customer.
In the first sentence, which arrived today is an adjectival clause: it describes the
cheque. In the second, after two weeks without a response is an adverbial phrase: it
describes when I decided, just as an adverb would.
There are just three problems to beware of with phrases and clauses.
Separating adjectival and adverbial clauses and phrases from the words they qualify.
This is perhaps the most common. Look at the following sentences:
No one may remove anything from the stationery cupboard except the Manager s PA.
We have had to ask you to deliver the new machine four times.
In the first sentence, it sounds as though the only thing you can remove from the
stationery cupboard is the Manager s PA! The adjectival phrase except the Manager s
PA should go next to the pronoun it qualifies, no one . In the second, it sounds as
though we wanted you to deliver the machine four times, because the adverbial
phrase four times is closer to the verb deliver than the one it qualifies, ask . So these
sentences should read:
No one except the Manager s PA may remove anything from the stationery
cupboard.
We have had to ask you four times to deliver the new machine.
Now the adjectival and adverbial phrases are close to the words they qualify, and your
meaning is clear.
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Common grammatical mistakes
Leaving hanging participles. The following sentence contains an example of this error:
Arriving at the conference centre, the Manager had left. The adjectival phrase
arriving at the conference centre has nothing to qualify, and the present participle
arriving which introduces it is therefore left hanging hence the term hanging
participle . It looks as though it qualifies the Manager , but that makes the sentence
nonsensical. It needs to be rewritten so that the phrase has something to qualify. So
you should say: Arriving at the conference sentence, we found that the Manager had
left. Now the phrase qualifies the pronoun we and the sentence makes sense.
Omitting the second subject. When two clauses are joined by a conjunction, it is quite
common to leave out the subject of the second clause if it is the same as the subject of
the first. So you can say: I hope this clarifies the situation and look forward to hearing
from you instead of ... and I look forward ... But some people make the mistake of
leaving out the second subject when it is different from the first. They might say: Your
queries are being investigated and will be in touch shortly. This sounds as though
your queries will be in touch shortly, which is, of course, absurd. The reason for the
confusion is that the subject of the second clause is not the same as the subject of the
first. The person who will be in touch is the writer, so it should be: Your queries are
being investigated and I will be in touch shortly.
EXERCISE 24
Correct the grammar of the following passages.
1. The Board was asked to carefully consider the Proposal. It was only given conditional
approval after a lengthy discussion.
2. On Wednesday, Keith Hamilton had a meeting with Simon Kitson. He said that the following
week he would be in Paris, where the company have their European office, so he could
discuss the contract then.
3. We have had a good response to our advertisement for a Sales Manager, and Emma
Johnson would like to discuss the applications with you and I on Tuesday.
4. I do not mind you asking for time off, but it would be nice to occasionally see you working
late as well. You appear to be getting rather behind with your work. Which is affecting the
efficiency of the whole department.
5. You say that you have not seen the delivery note and invoice. Your accountant and me have
had a long discussion about this, and I think you will find that he has copies.
6. The Committee have decided that every member, together with his or her partner, have the
right to use the facilities of the centre.
7. Having considered all the estimates, I believe either we should accept Axis s or Mainland
Distribution s. None of the other firms were able to match their prices or delivery times.
8. Please can you see to it that every secretary and clerk, including the directors PAs, are made
aware of the new house style. We must not only ensure that we create a good image but
also a consistent one.
9. We can offer a choice of three conference rooms, either of which would suit your
requirements, and we will serve lunch at 12.30 p.m. as requested.
10. I am afraid that I differ from you over the best way forward for the development. Looking at
the two plans, the layout of the second is much more flexible.
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CHAPTER 8
Punctuation
Punctuation is a form of signalling, showing how you intend your document to be read
in order to make its meaning quite clear. When you speak, you punctuate your speech
automatically: your voice rises at the end of a question, you pause at appropriate
moments, or you might use forms of words such as by the way , or that means . When
you are writing, punctuation takes the place of these aural signals.
You need to think carefully about how you punctuate your documents, because it does
not happen naturally, as it does in speech. Most punctuation marks indicate pauses, and
different marks indicate different lengths of pause: generally, the pause for a full stop is
longer than that for a semicolon, while a comma has the shortest pause of all.
You need to strike a balance between too many and too few punctuation marks. If you
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