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Better English 50
Timely Communications Tips
November 23, 2010
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END OF YEAR REMINDERS
-- NONE IS A SINGULAR SUBJECT
-- BETWEEN TAKES AN OBJECT
-- HI, HELLO, AND GOOD MORNING ARE NOT SUBJECTS

Back from a two-week vacation near the end of the year, I thought it would be helpful to review some of the more common mistakes I've pointed out.

As Norman Vincent Peale said, "Repetition of the same thought or physical action develops into a habit which, repeated frequently enough, becomes an automatic reflex."

NONE IS A SINGULAR SUBJECT
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 According to one journalist covering the New York Yankees, "As relentlessly mediocre as Mitre has been--none of his starts have lasted even six innings--his performance Saturday was his best."

Correctly, it should be "none of his starts has lasted," since "none" is a singular subject.

Don't be confused by the prepositional phrase, "of his starts" that comes after "none." The plural noun "starts" is not the subject. "None" is the subject.


BETWEEN TAKES AN OBJECT
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 ...because it's a preposition.

One good friend shares a great deal of confidential information with me. He usually prefaces the tidbit with, "Between you and I." Of course I can't correct him because he's a good friend.

"Between" is a preposition that takes an object.

Correct: "between you and me."

Also correct because these are prepositions requiring an object:
  • Around the executive and me
  • She spoke with me and them.
  • They served under her.

HI, HELLO, AND GOOD MORNING ARE NOT SUBJECTS
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 Email etiquette becomes more relevant as so many of us use the form to communicate.

One big peeve of mine is the meaningless subject line. Instead of "Changing Meeting Time," or "Received Book Today," or "Sending Revised Manuscript," I must read subject lines like "Hello," or "Hi," or even "Good Morning."

Give your recipient a break. Tell him why you are writing--in the subject line. Or risk the email's being sent to your recipient's spam folder.

Can you imagine Ernest Hemingway sending emails with his name as the subject line, "Ernest Hemingway"? Well, I have a writer friend who does that.

Yours sincerely,
Barry Beckham


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