Business English Question of the Week-7(Advanced)
Business Question of the Week with Steve Ford
Hello there! And welcome to private English portals business questions of the week. My name is Steve and you have come to privateengishportal.com. You are probably wondering what I am doing in this suiting tie. Well as I have said with my other videos this is our business video series and I have a business English question that is coming to me from Ali from Iran. His question is that many native speakers even at business level, do they use informal structure in business settings? He has noticed a few irregularities in terms of a grammar, but used by natives’ speakers n a very high profile business kind of setting. His examples are the following.
He said that he heard peoples using less people are buying our beauty products this year, right? So, less people and you go it, you are right. Ali you are good as a all the other English teachers because that grammatically is incorrect less people, people is countable, right? It should be fewer people okay? Now as I have said many of my other videos, we have what is grammatically correct and what is many times used in formal and even sometimes informal situations and yes you were here at less people.
Now, if you have to answer back using that same expression. It is up to you if you want to see fewer people great! Maybe you can teach to need the speakers of a less a little lesson about grammar there or you could used less people as well. Just be aware that when you are using it that it is colloquial and that there is a grammatically correct form which should be few are people. The second part on your question is with regard, which is kind of a subway into our next question with regard to business letters. You say that you have seen I am writing to you with the regards to X.
Now, that is incorrect and you are correct in noticing that it is incorrect and what a business letters should used is with regard to. I am going to quickly tell you why that happens and the reason is that the end of a letter you will quite off and sign off with Regards, right capital Regards, Right? Now, was happened is that would people used with regard to, which means concerning on something deals you are dealing with something.
They are thinking, okay I have seen regards somewhere before in a business letter and now I have got with regard and although I mix it up like a milk shake or something a business milk shake. There you go and so you get people writing with regards to. Is it correct? No, and you want a really be careful because in these case you have got a documented mistake. This is in just something which is traveling through the air in a conversation. This is something which is red note. So it should really stick to with regard to and do not even think about using with regards to.
Now, it is common, I have seen even in business settings would need with native speakers, they will used, but what you are going to do. Are you going to correct the president of a company you are writing back and saying to the excuse me that is wrong I am an English teacher, but it is important that you as the student are aware of it, because it will raise your profile and show that you are able to dominate the English Language? So, Ali I hope that I answered your question and I look forward to the next business question of the week, next week. Bye! Bye!
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