English - "as she is spoke" 

I have noticed that there are a number of words that create confusion in English. This is not difficult as it can be quite a confusing language, but until the Chinese take over English is the most used business language so we should be able to use it properly.

Send YOUR English lesson to me at johan@motivate.co.za

This week, as requested by Moses, I will deal with the correct use of the words "at", "in" and "by"

The word "at" is used to indicate a specific time or place. e.g. You have to be at the meeting at 10:00

The word "in" is used to indicate entering something or a restriction. e.g. "Come in" "Go in" "I will go in to it." "Get the job done in time"

The word "by" is also used to indicate time or place. e.g. "You have to be home by 12." "This job must be finished by tomorrow" "Stay here by my side"

The words this week are "Send" and "Sent"

requested by Faziela

Send - It means to transfer something from one person to another and is either a commitment or a request and normally indicates something that you are going to do or something that someone wants you to do.

As a commitment you would say "I will send you the document/goods etc." and/or you can say "I will send it today" and/or you can say "I will send it by registered post"

As a request you would ask "Please send me the following ....." and/or you can say "Please send it immediately" and/or you can say "Please send it by registered post"

It can be used as a query as in "You said that you would send me the documents. Have you done so?"

You could also use the word "Sending" when you are informing the other party of your actions "I am sending you the documents" "I am sending them by Registered post"

Sent - (Past tense) indicates an action that has already been carried out. It is either used as confirmation of an action or as a query regarding an action.

Used as confirmation Examples are "I have sent the documents you requested" "I sent them yesterday" I sent them by mail"

Used as a query - "Have you sent the documents"

The words this week are "Advise" and "Advice"

with thanks to Jeanette Mensink

Advise - To suggest a course of action, normally beneficial, as in "I advise you to phone your friend and tell him you are sorry." or "I advise you not to do that."

Advice - An opinion or recommendation in the form of sensible information as in "Go to your doctor and get medical advice."

They can be combined like this "I advise you to follow my advice" which means that I think that it would be good for you to follow my recommendation or use the information I have given you.

The words this week are Borrow and Lend

There is a lot of misuse of these words and mostly they are used in the wrong context.

You borrow something from me and I lend something to you or I borrow something from you and you lend me the thing.

So often I hear people say "Borrow me this ....." When what they ought to ask is "May I borrow this" or "Will you please lend this to me"

Just remember you Borrow from and you Lend to

Just a note on borrowing things from others. When you have borrowed something it is your responsibility to return it to the lender. Don't wait for them to ask for it. Use it and return it within the agreed period and in at least the same condition that you received it. Many relationships have been damaged because of the bad manners of borrowers.

The words this week are "Can" & "Can't" and "May" & "May Not"

There is a lot of misuse of the words can and can't (cannot) as they are often used instead of may and may not.

Can and Can't have to do with capability i.e. I can lift a 10kg weight but I cannot lift a 200kg weight.

May and May not have to do with permission i.e. You may have some friends over tonight but you may not smoke in the house.

The words this week are "Allowed" and "Aloud"

Allowed - has to do with permission. e.g. My manager allowed me to go off early today.

Aloud - has to do with speech, saying things "out loud" so others can hear. e.g. If you think that your boss is an idiot then you had better not say it aloud as that could be a career limiting move.

This week I want to clear up the confusion between "soul" and "sole"

"Soul" has to do with that intangible part of you that makes you. It is the essence of being human and is used in statements like "Bless my soul" and "What a dear soul"

"Sole" has many meanings.

1. "only" - The sole survivor. or the sole owner

2. A sole is a bottom dwelling flat fish that is good to eat.

3. You have the sole of a shoe. That flat bit that you walk on.

This week I want to clear up the confusion between "their" and "there"

"Their" has to do with ownership and "there" has to do with position. For example "They left their shoes over there.

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An interesting way of defining the difference came from Maureen Dosoudil.

An easy way to remember the difference between their and there:

t+heir - heir is ownership as in heir to your father's estate

t+here - here is place or position.

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Live with passion. Change your life from making a living to making a difference.

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