Be Day Second Week Into PDF

Business English Week 2
Prepared by Maria Asuncion

Verb Forms
 Chapter 5, p. 67
 Recall the principal parts of the verb
Principal Part Example (to go)

Infinitive To go
Present tense Go
Past tense Went
Present participle Going
Past participle Gone
 Now we’ll be learning more about the present

participle and past participle
 But first, turn to p. 70 and we’ll be doing #2-3.

Present Participle
 Chapter 5, p. 68-74
 Shortcut: to be verb + verb ending with -ing
 Participle verbs need helping verbs; i.e., to be (is, are, was, were)
 For example
 He is walking.
 She is going.
 They are trying.
 We are typing.
 You are listening.
 I am talking.
 One of the helping verbs to be changes according to the

subject, but the verb+ing (present participle) does not have to
change according to the subject
Past Participle
 Chapter 5, p. 68-74
 Shortcut: to have + past participle verb (sometimes –ed verbs)
 Participle verbs need helping verbs; to have verb (have, had)
 For example
 I have talked to her already.
 You have notified me of that information.
 She has completed her work.
 He has not finished yet.
 They have been working on it. (past participle + present participle)
 We have done all the work. (past participle with an irregular verb)

Irregular Verbs
 Chapter 4, p. 71-74
 Take a look at the column Past Participle on the further right of

that page.
 The last verb at the bottom of p. 71 – read is very interesting.

o Present tense: I read this out loud.
o Past tense: I read this earlier.
o Past participle: I have read this before.
 The irregular past participle verbs begin at page 71
 With this information, fill in the chart from pages 74-77

Future Tense
 Chapter 5, p. 77-78
 Shortcut: will + verb
 For example
 I will read.
 You will also read.
 She will write down notes.
 He will listen intently.
 We will learn.
 They will do well.

Other Modals
 I will finish my report before I do anything.
o I should finish…. I may finish… I can finish…
 I will leave early today if I’m allowed to.
o I must leave… I might leave… I could finish…
 Exercise 6: there are various answers possible

Continuous Tenses
 Shortcut to Past Continuous (started happening in the past but is
still happening now and will keep happening): was/were + -ing
verb
 We were eavesdropping on you.
 Shortcut for Present Continuous (is happening now and will keep
happening): to be verb + -ing verb
 She is trying to connect to the WiFi.
 You are showing her how to connect to the WiFi.
 Shortcut for Future Continuous (will happen sometime in the

future and for a duration): will + be + -ing verb
 I will be talking to Jason afterwards.
 He will be seeing me later.
 They will be staying at abroad for a conference.
Perfect Tenses
 Shortcut for Past Perfect (happened even more in the past):

had + -ed verb/irregular verb
 We were (past tense) there about a week ago, but they had traveled
there before.
 Shortcut for Present Perfect (happened sometime between the

past and present): has/have + -ed verb/irregular verb
 You have worked on a lot today.
 She has made a lot of progress.
 Shortcut for Future Perfect (will happen between the present

and in the near future): will + have + -ed verb/irregular verb
 I will have completed all the work soon.
 He will have done the same.
Perfect Continuous
 Chapter 5, p. 81-82
 Shortcut for Past Perfect Continuous (happened more in the

past that happened for longer): had been + -ing verb
 We had been staying at cottage before he asked (past tense) us for
the mailing address.
 Shortcut for Present Perfect Continuous (started in the past, still

happening and will keep happening): has/have been + -ing
verb
 You have been asking to meet her, and she has been looking
forward to see you too.
 Shortcut for Future Perfect Continuous (will happen between

the present and future, and will keep going): will have been + -
ing verb
 I will have been working here for four years.
Passive Voice
 Chapter 5, p. 84-88
 Active voice: the subject is the first part of the sentence

 Lara asks John for help.
 John told her the correct way to do it.
 They will be talking at an international conference.
 Passive voice: the object is the first part of the sentence

 John was asked to help Lara.
 A few people were told by Jon on how to correctly do it.
 They had been hired to talk at an international conference.
 Using the passive voice is helpful in writing for businesses, as we’ll

see later on

Pronouns
 Recall that pronouns replace nouns as to avoid repetition of

nouns
 When John was walking, John he fell down. John He got up, and
John he kept walking.
 But there are different kinds of pronouns, which are called

“cases” (at the bottom of p. 93)
 Subjective cases are used at the beginning of the sentence
 Objective cases are used later or at the end of the sentence
 It’s mostly straightforward/easy, but it can get tricky

 I like Bobby better than Johnny him.
 I like Bobby better than Johnny likes Bobby he.
 I like Bobby better than Johnny likes Bobby he does. (clearer)

Who and Whom
 Many adults get this wrong. What is the difference between

who and whom?
o Who is in regards to the subject
o Whom is in regards to the object
 For example
 John spoke to Georgina, whom was quarrelling with someone.
 Georgina, who was fighting with a coworker, was suspended.
 Their manager comforted the victim, whom was grateful.
 The victim, who was Georgina’s old friend, was relieved when
Georgina apologized.

“Sexist” Pronouns
 Chapter 6, p. 106-107
 Do not assume that all unspecified people are male

 I don’t know who the person is, but I’m sure he’s capable.
 It is better and more politically correct to use both genders

 I don’t know who the person is, but I’m sure he or she is capable.
 I don’t know who the person is, but I’m sure she or he is capable.
 But if it is problematic to keep saying “he/she” repeatedly,

you can use “they”
 I don’t know who the person is, but I’m sure they are capable.

Possessive Case
 Take a look at the chart on this page
 There are different possessive cases: one when a specific noun

is given, and one when there is no specific noun given
 This book belongs to Maria (that’s me ☺)
 It is her book.
 It is hers.
 You can also replace possessive nouns with possessive cases

 Jay is chattering. (taking a lot)
 Jay’s chattering bothers us.
 His chattering bothers us.
 Exercise 6, p. 99 (use the chart on p. 98 to guide you)

Reflexive Pronouns
and References
 When the subject is referred to again at the end of the

sentence, or later or in a paragraph, reflexive pronouns can
be used
 Joe tried to comfort himself.
 Paula was shocked of herself.
 They were both surprised of themselves.
 To avoid repeating nouns in sentence, we can also use

references
 Hedy told Herb that she had gotten a job.
 If Mr. Edwards were less volatile, the employees would like him
better.
 Exercises 8-9, p. 101

Agreement
 Chapter 6, p. 104-105
 Make sure that your pronouns match the subject and verb
o If there is a singular subject, there is a singular verb and a

singular pronoun
o If there is a plural subject, there is a plural verb and a plural

pronoun
 The latest fax machine is confusing, and they are always broken.
 The latest fax machine is confusing, and it is always broken.
 The latest fax machines are confusing, and they are always broken.
 For Exercise 12, notice that there are sexist pronouns

Advanced Sentence
Structures: Parallelism
 In a long sentence, parallelism is important
 Parallelism means the parts of the sentence match each other

o Rosemary acts, can sing, and does dancing. (not the same tenses)
✓ Rosemary acts, sings, and dances. (all in present tense)
o The project is tedious, difficult and makes me very tired.
✓ The project is tedious, difficult and tiring. (all adjectives)
o Reading a report is not as laborious as to write one. (not same tense)
✓ Reading a report is not as laborious as writing one. (all in –ing form)
✓ To read a report is not as laborious as to write one. (all in infinitive)
o Maria is not only clever but efficient. (p. 116; wrong use of expression)
✓ Maria is not only clever but is also efficient. (correct use of expression)

Misplaced Modifiers
 Modifiers give extra information about the noun

 Tripp, even at a young age, would both work and study.
 Ming bought a new jacket, which was made in Asia.
 The job, which is in the evening, suits his schedule.
 A jacket like that, made of vegan leather, is good for the
environment.
 It is best to put the modifiers closest to what it’s referring to;

otherwise, it is called a misplaced modifier
o When only three, my mother inspired me to be a nurse.
✓ My mother inspired me, when only three, to be a nurse.
o I bought a gift at a store which cost only 99 cents.
✓ I bought a gift, which was only 99 cents, at a store.
Dangling Modifiers
 Sometimes when a noun is missing in a modifier, this will create

a mistake called a dangling modifier
o Walking down the street, a limousine caught my attention.
o Who was walking down the street? The limousine?
✓ While I was walking down the street, a limo caught my attention.
✓ Walking down the street, I noticed a limousine.
o To get the order out on time, temporary help had to be hired.
o Who got the order out on time? The help?
✓ For the company to get the order out on time, temporary help had
to be hired.
✓ To get the order out on time, the company had to hire temporary
help.

Indirect Quotations &
Questions
 Chapter 7, p. 124-126
 Indirect discourse is a fancy way of saying someone was

referenced but not word for word
 Indirect quotations/questions are used to repeat what someone

said, but it doesn’t need to be the exact words
 Ms. Fein said, “I’m angry.” → Ms. Fein said that she was angry.
 Mr. Anise asked, “Where are you?” → Mr. Anise asked where I was.
 Tony was yelling, “Thanos!” → Tony was yelling Thanos’ name.
 Peter apologized, “Sorry, sorry.” → Peter apologized repeatedly.
 Nebula screamed, “Fight me!” → Nebula screamed to fight her.
 Natasha frowned, saying, “No.” → Natasha frowned and said no.
 Okoye happily said, “Yes.” → Okoye happily agreed.
 Dr. Strange asked him, “Do you know the time?”
→ Dr. Strange asked him if he knew the time. (for yes/no questions)

Punctuation
 Chapter 8, p. 131-133
 A period is not only used to end a sentence, but it is also used

to show an abbreviation (shortened version)
 Ms. J. K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series.
 John F. Kennedy ran for President in the U.S.A.
 An exclamation point is used to emphasize/strengthen a

statement (usually emotional)
 I love the Harry Potter series!
 Can you believe John F. Kennedy was shot!
 A question mark is used after asking something

 Which Harry Potter book is your favourite?
 When did his assassination happen?

More Punctuations
 Chapter 8, p. 134-142
 A semicolon can be used to join related sentences, especially

when linking sentences with the use of however & therefore
 I was at that concert. Jill was performing.
→I was at that concert; Jill was performing.
 George wanted to go to the concert too; however, he couldn’t make
it.
 A lot of the stage lights broke during the concert; therefore, the
audience couldn’t see that well.
 A colon introduces lists, formal statements and quotations

 Today, I will be lecturing about: punctuations, capitalization,
abbreviations, and numbers.
 A comma is used to show a brief pause in the sentence

 Sam speaks and Willy listens. → Sam speaks, and Willy listens.
 When Sam speaks Willy listens. → When Sam speaks, Willy listens.
Punctuations Continued
 Chapter 8, p. 134-142
 A comma is also used in dates and places.

 Today is August 2, 2018. We are in Scarborough, Ontario.
 The Greater Toronto Area is in Ontario, Canada.
 The number of people living in the GTA is 6.418 million.
 6,418,000 live in the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada as of
July 26, 2018.
 An apostrophe is used
1. For possessive nouns—Martin’s briefcase; Bess’s number
• If the noun already ends with an –s, add an apostrophe
2. For contractions (shortened versions)—I would → I’d (p. 141)
3. For special plurals—The way I write w’s are weird.
• M.D.’s have to work very hard. MDs have to work very hard.
Some More Punctuations
 Chapter 8, p 142-146
 Quotation marks are for direct quotations, introducing a unique
term, and titles of short stories, essays, articles and poems
 George asked, “How did the concert go?”
 I told him that the broken stage lights started a “#whocares trend.”
 One of my favourite poems is by the poet Wilfred Owen called
“Dulce et Decorum”.
 A hyphen is used
 To join two or more words into a compound word
 Do-it-yourself blogs are very popular nowadays.
 With compound numbers from 21 to 99, and fractions
 38: thirty-eight, ¼: one quarter, ¾: three-quarters
 Divide a word if it does not fit at the end of the line. For exam-
ple, it would be like this.

Punctuations Continued
 Chapter 8, p 142-146
 A dash is a longer hyphen. The different is very small, but the

functions are different - – --
 Used to show interruption: I want to eat dessert—no, I shouldn’t.
 Used to show an unfinished statement: She said, “Yeah, but—”
 A dash should be used sparingly
 Parentheses are used to enclose statement that are separate from

the main point of the sentence but gives more information
 Desserts (such as cakes, muffins and cookies) are very high in sugar.
 John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) was the President of United States.
 Brackets (or square brackets) are used as a

 Parentheses within a parentheses: JFK (1917-1963 [his assassination])
 In direct quotations: The author writes, “[JFK] died in November 1963.”
 Or to fix a mistake in a quotation: The author wrote, “JKF [sic] passed.”

Capitalization
 Capitalizing (making letter upper-case/bigger) is used to show

which are proper nouns (names of people, specific places
[such as cities and schools], and important dates and events)
 We are in Scarborough, Ontario. The date is August 2, 2018.
 It is a Thursday, but it feels like Friday because we won’t have classes
tomorrow for this program.
 I am enrolled in a Business Administration program at Canadian All
Care College. (The name of the program is a proper noun)
 Canada Day is celebrated every year on July 1. Last year, many
people went to Ottawa to celebrate the holiday.
 As you can see, we also capitalized the first letter of sentences,

as well as the letter “I”

Capitalization
 Chapter 8, p. 147-150
 The first letter of a direct quotation should also be capitalized

 Parker yelled, “Watch out!” Blake disagreed, “It’s fine.”
 Capitalizing titles is also important

 Does anyone know The Hobbit?
 I do, but I only saw the movie, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
 Oh, the movies aren’t as good as the books. I liked the chapter
“Riddles in the Dark”. That’s where we first meet Smeagol.
 Adjectives that come from proper nouns should also be

capitalized; e.g., Poutine is a Canadian dish.
 Lastly, the first word of your closing farewell in a formal

correspondence should be capitalized; e.g., Yours truly

Abbreviations
 Chapter 8, p. 151-153
 Titles
 Mister → Mr. Miss → Ms. Missus → Mrs.
 Saint → St. (St. John Paul II) Street → St. (John St.)
 Professor J. Laffier → Prof. J. Laffier, PhD → Laffier, Ph.D.
 Company names (including schools, stores, bakeries, etc.)

 Abercrombie & Fitch → A&F Bath & Body Works → B&BW
 University of Toronto → U of T UTSC UTM
 Canadian All Care College → CACC
 Terms used with dates and figures

 A.M. (before 12 noon) P.M. (after 12 noon)
 9 o’clock in the morning: 9 AM 5 o’clock in the evening: 5PM

More Abbreviations
 Terms Used with Figures and Dates
 Number 1 → No. 1 Numbers 90, 92 & 98 → Nos. 90, 92, 98
 1080 A.D. (after Jesus was born [for religious purposes] but most people
use this abbreviated term for historical purposes)
 450 B.C. (before Jesus was born [again for religious purposes] but most
people use this term for historical purposes)
 For example, did you know that Ancient Greece started in 500 BC?
 Latin Expressions
 cf. → compare (not very common)
 e.g. → for example (I’ve used this quite a few times already)
 et al. → and others (for research purposes)
 etc. → and more (very common; make sure to use a comma before)
 I like bright colours, such as pink, orange, yellow, etc.
 viz. → namely (also not very common)
 vs. → versus/against

Numbers
 The textbook claims certain things about numbers
 Spell out numbers if you can write them in <2 words
o 9,101, 898 → nine million one hundred and one thousand eight
hundred and ninety-eight (definitely not worth writing out)
o 9,000,001 → nine million and one (still too long)
✓ ¼ → a quarter; a fourth; one quarter; one fourth
✓ 6,000,000,000 → six billion or 6 billion
 4 PM → four o’clock in the afternoon; four in the afternoon
 2:57 PM → two fifty-seven in the afternoon (the number is clearer)
 Use numbers for lists
 I need to buy 5 tomatoes and 3 bags of spinach.
 The word percent should be written, but usually no one minds
 “I got 98% on test!” “Congrats! I got 94 percent on mine.”
 The same applies to the word cents
 Addresses will also have numbers (bottom of page 155)
Correspondence
(Written Communication)
 Written communication, or writing to people, in business is just a

bit different from writing letters, emails or long messages to
people everyday
 Business communication is typically formal

 So you can’t text LOL or send each other memes in the office
 Well, you can, as long as you don’t get caught ☺
 Now that we’ve reviewed a lot about English grammar, we’ll be

studying the importance of tone in business writing
 Tone is the way the writing sounds in our heads when we read it to
ourselves, but sometimes it helps to read it out loud to read the tone
 It’s important to not sound so distant (like you don’t know the person
at all, or you might sound like an emotionless robot)
Attitude
 Chapter 9, p. 165-166
 For the interest of your business, as well as simply being a kind

person, it is important to pay attention to the attitude you’re
conveying in your writing
o We have received your order. (Okay, but this could be better)
✓ Thank you for your recent order. (Much better!)
o Checking our records, we see an error in your bill. (Okay)
✓ Please accept our sincere apologies for the error in your bill. (Great!)
 Avoid blaming the reader/client

o Because you’ve refused to pay your bill, your credit rating is low.
✓ Because the balance on your account is overdue, your credit rating
is in jeopardy.
 Let’s take a look at the examples on page 166

“You Approach”
 Chapter 9, 166-167
 Writing should be reader-oriented, which means you will write in

consideration of the reader
 Even though it’s called “you approach”, we will often write the
collective pronouns: “we”, “us”, “our”, etc.
 Please accept our apologies for the delay.
 We hope you have not been inconvenienced by the delay.
 The textbook says you should avoid using the company’s

name, but sometimes it’s appropriate
 Bell Canada would like to extend our gratitude.
 We would like to extend our gratitude. (not a big difference)
 Let’s see the differences between the examples on page 167

Organization
 Chapter 9, p. 167-170
 Of course let’s not forget that any sharing of information should

be organized
 Imagine if I made these slides without any format, and just kept
talking and talking without titles on the slides, and with random
sentences on the screen that you have to piece yourself 
 A letter should be logical, complete and concise

 concise: cut out the unnecessary parts
 p. 170: let’s see the differences of these examples

Electronic Mail (email)
 Chapter 9, p. 170-173
 Even though emails may not seem as formal as written

letters/documents, emails are nowadays used a lot in business
communications
 At any workplace, emails are convenient, as long as there’s

internet, because it doesn’t need to be printed so you save
time and energy
 But when you write an email, avoid

 abbreviations: btw (by the way), omg (oh my gosh), rofl, etc.
 emoticons (a personal hardship): ☺  :P ^^ uwu
 all caps: even if it’s for emphasis, the writing seems rude to most
 no inappropriate signature at the end: “from The Coolest Guy”

Letter Format
 Chapter 10, p. 177-179
o This is a common letter
for businesses/companies
o Take 15 minutes to read
through it

Arrangement Styles
 Chapter 10, p. 179-180
 Full-blocked (p. 181)
 Blocked (p. 182)
 Semi-blocked or modified blocked (p. 183)
 Square-blocked (p. 184)
 Simplified or “Ams” (Administrative Management Society – p.

185)
No need to memorize these, but it’s good to be familiar with

them
Punctuation Styles
 Open (p. 181): punctuation is only used in the body (the

paragraphs) in the letter
 Standard (p. 182): there is punctuation in the body; there’s a

colon/comma after the salutations; there is a comma after
the complimentary closing
Most of the time, letters will be standard punctuation style,

which is called a “standard letter”

Special Paragraphing
 Figure 10-7 shows how a block of information is separated

from the other paragraphs
 It is indented (use the TAB button) five times to the left and is a
paragraph itself
Usually, there isn’t a strict rule that letters like Figure 10-7 should
be written that way
What’s important is that the information is clear, organized and

concise!

The Envelope
 The letter’s envelope should have
 the name of the recipient/reader
the company’s name (if given)
the address of the recipient (number, street, city, postal

code)
on the top left, your or your company’s address is placed in

case of return (and the reader will know who sent the letter
before opening it)

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Business English Week 2

Prepared by Maria Asuncion

 Recall the principal parts of the verb

Principal Part Example (to go)

 Now we’ll be learning more about the present

 But first, turn to p. 70 and we’ll be doing #2-3.

Prepared by Maria Asuncion

 Shortcut: to be verb + verb ending with -ing

 One of the helping verbs to be changes according to the

 Shortcut: to have + past participle verb (sometimes –ed verbs)

 Participle verbs need helping verbs; to have verb (have, had)

Prepared by Maria Asuncion

 Take a look at the column Past Participle on the further right of

 The last verb at the bottom of p. 71 – read is very interesting.

 The irregular past participle verbs begin at page 71

 With this information, fill in the chart from pages 74-77

Prepared by Maria Asuncion

 Shortcut: will + verb

Prepared by Maria Asuncion

 I will finish my report before I do anything.

o I should finish…. I may finish… I can finish…

 I will leave early today if I’m allowed to.

o I must leave… I might leave… I could finish…

 Exercise 6: there are various answers possible

Prepared by Maria Asuncion

 Shortcut for Future Continuous (will happen sometime in the

 Shortcut for Past Perfect (happened even more in the past):

 Shortcut for Present Perfect (happened sometime between the

 Shortcut for Future Perfect (will happen between the present

 Shortcut for Past Perfect Continuous (happened more in the

 Shortcut for Present Perfect Continuous (started in the past, still

 Shortcut for Future Perfect Continuous (will happen between

 Active voice: the subject is the first part of the sentence

 Passive voice: the object is the first part of the sentence

 Using the passive voice is helpful in writing for businesses, as we’ll

Prepared by Maria Asuncion

 Recall that pronouns replace nouns as to avoid repetition of

 But there are different kinds of pronouns, which are called

 It’s mostly straightforward/easy, but it can get tricky

Prepared by Maria Asuncion

 Many adults get this wrong. What is the difference between

o Who is in regards to the subject

o Whom is in regards to the object

Prepared by Maria Asuncion

 Do not assume that all unspecified people are male

 It is better and more politically correct to use both genders

 But if it is problematic to keep saying “he/she” repeatedly,

Prepared by Maria Asuncion

 Take a look at the chart on this page

 There are different possessive cases: one when a specific noun

 You can also replace possessive nouns with possessive cases

 Exercise 6, p. 99 (use the chart on p. 98 to guide you)

 When the subject is referred to again at the end of the

 To avoid repeating nouns in sentence, we can also use

 Exercises 8-9, p. 101

o If there is a singular subject, there is a singular verb and a

o If there is a plural subject, there is a plural verb and a plural

 For Exercise 12, notice that there are sexist pronouns

 In a long sentence, parallelism is important

 Parallelism means the parts of the sentence match each other

Prepared by Maria Asuncion

 Modifiers give extra information about the noun

 It is best to put the modifiers closest to what it’s referring to;