Month: October 2007

“On behalf of myself and other company Leaders, I want to thank you …”

Capitalization, Common English Blunders, Pronouns

I read this in an email message.

Problems:
1. Any first-person pronoun should go at the end of a list.
2. An “On behalf of” phrase should never include a first-person pronoun.
3. Reflexive pronouns should not be joined with other nouns.
4. Roles that are not job titles should not be capitalized.

Explanations:
1. One should put others first in a list. Here are two examples:
Incorrect: “He gave it to me and Jim.”
Correct: “He gave it to Jim and me.”
Incorrect: “I and Jim are downstairs.”
Correct: “Jim and I are downstairs.”

2. “On behalf of” implies that one party is doing something as a substitute, proxy, or delegate for another party. So “On behalf of myself” makes no sense and implies either an out-of-body experience or too much pride.

3. Even if problem #1 and problem #2 did not exist, it is incorrect to combine a reflexive pronoun (such as “myself”) with other nouns or noun phrases (such as “other company leaders”).

4. The word “Leaders” is not a job title — at least, not in the context of the problematic sentence — and therefore should not be used in this sentence as a proper noun. So it should not be capitalized.

Solution:
“On behalf of other company leaders, I want to thank you….”

“Kid’s Club” vs. “Kids’ Club” vs. “Kids Club”

Apostrophes, Common English Blunders, Possessives, Versus

I saw all three of these at a fitness center.

Problem:
Inconsistent use of a possessive apostrophe makes it meaningless.

Explanation:
“Kid’s Club” says that there is one kid and that he or she has a club. “Kids’ Club” says that there are many kids and that they have a club. “Kids Club” says that there is a club for kids.

Solution:
Know why you’re using a possessive apostrophe.

“It will start on today.”

Adverbs, Common English Blunders, Prepositions

I heard this during a conference call.

Problem:
“Today” is an adverb, so preceding it with the preposition “on” is incorrect.

Explanation:
“Today” already tells you when.

For example, the answer to “When will the bus arrive?” could be “The bus will arrive today.”

In contrast, “Sunday” is a proper noun, not an adverb, so the answer to “When will the bus arrive?” could be “The bus will arrive on Sunday.”

In other words, the days of the week, which are proper nouns, require the “on” preposition to tell you when, whereas “today” already tells you when.

Solution:
“It will start today.”