Essentials of Good English

To master Business Communication Skills, it is very important to be flawless and error-free. For that, we might need to acquire some basic business communication codes that will be your gateway to take your business to new pinnacles.

As the business is now growing digitally, giving a chance to get recognition throughout the world, it is vital to have a command over World International Language, i.e. English to compete and pace with the challenges posed by the 21st century.

Being competent and fluent in English is going to open various pathways for you and the growth of your business or company. One cannot stress enough on the advantages of brushing up our English Skills and as to why it is an essential element to work first thing on for the entrepreneurs. Due to the increase in international exposure, good English plays a vital role in the presentation of a person’s personality. 

To make your way into the world a slightly more comforting, here are all the topics that one should have a virtuoso on! We shall discuss the essentials of English grammar as well as the importance of fluent English.

Choice of Words

One of the most obvious and yet difficult to master phenomena is choosing the right and appropriate words while addressing any thought or idea to an audience. It seems so fundamental and straightforward, but is still not everybody's cup of tea! 

The kind of words we choose reflects our personality and our overall intentions. It can create wrong perceptions in case of the wrong choice of words but excellent ideas and whereas, it may do wonders in case of the right of choice of words picked that plays around the magic and scores you a credit!

It also reflects your style of expression. One should always remember that the words chosen shall be-

• Comfortable

• Easy to understand for the general audience

• Boosts confidence in the speaker. 

Six Principles of Word Choice

1. Choose Understandable Words

2. Use Specific, Precise Words

3. Choose strong words

4. Emphasis positive words

5. Avoid Overused Words

6. Avoid Obsolete Words

Selecting the right words is necessary to prevent hostile events or the ones which might cripple you and your company's reputation in situations when the message delivered is not understood properly. Thus, appropriate and adequate choice of words is important to prevent misunderstandings, awkwardness, faulty impact, false perception etc. Don't be stuck with questions like how can I be good in English. Rather, practice well and you can get a hands-on the language.

Homonyms

Homonyms are the words that have the same or similar spellings or pronunciations but with different meanings and make the English language even more interesting and for some, confusing and difficult!

Thus, it is an important aspect to learn these to avoid any kinds of awkward situations in the professional world.

Types of  Homonyms

• Homographs- Words with same spellings but different meanings.

• Homophones- Words with the same pronunciation but different meanings.

Synonyms and Antonyms

If you are familiar with a thesaurus, i.e. the dictionary of synonyms and antonyms of all the words, it is fair to say that you might have a good command over English!

Synonyms 

Synonyms are the words or phrases that have the same or similar meanings in the context of the same language as any other word. For example, the synonyms of the word ‘good’ in the English language are great, nice, pleasant, etc.

Antonyms

Antonyms are the words or phrases that mean opposite to any given word in the same language. 

Parts of Speech

The most essential and fundamental of grammars is known as Parts of Speech. Every word can be classified into the following eight categories that are called the Parts of speech. 

These eight fundamental pillars are-

•  Noun-

• Nouns are names of people, things, places or ideas. 

• Nouns are further classified into-

1. Proper Nouns- Specific names, starts with Capital Letter.

2. Common Nouns- Generic names which can start with small letters.

3. Abstract Nouns- Names of ideas or emotions

4. Collective Nouns- names of unions or groups, things which can be counted together.

5. Possessive Nouns- Words with an apostrophe (') attached to them to show possession of something to that noun.

6. Compound Nouns- When two nouns come together, they are known as Compound Nouns.

• Pronoun-

• Words that replace any noun are called pronouns.

• For example- I, her, she, them, theirs, they, etc.

• Verb- 

• The action in a sentence is referred to as a Verb. 

• It can be a physical or mental activity and can be in a state of just being in a sentence.

• Adverb-

• Adverbs describe the verbs in a sentence.

• They explain how the 'action' or the 'verb' was done.

• Adjective-

• Adjectives describe the nouns or pronouns in a sentence.

• They are usually used to beautify any sentence.

• They can be in the form of quality or shape or size or number.

• Conjunction-

•  They join two clauses, phrases or words in a single sentence.

• Preposition-

• Prepositions act like connectors.  

• They join different elements of a sentence and define their relationships.

• For example- with, to, from, on, in, beneath, between and so on.

• Interjection-

• These are words which exhibit strong emotions and are usually followed by an exclamation mark!

Tenses

Tenses express the time of the verbs. They help in understanding whether an event has happened in the past, is happening right now or will happen in the future.

Tenses can be Broadly Classified into-

• Past Tense - This tense is used to refer to something that happened in the past.

• Present Tense - This tense is used to refer or indicate something that occurs in the present or is occurring while being spoken or written.

• Future Tense - This tense is used to refer to or indicate something that hasn’t happened at the time of speaking or writing but is indicative of happening in the near future. 

These Three are further Associated with-

• Perfect Tense-

• Perfect Tenses are utilized to indicate one event has occurred before another.

• Adverbs like- never, yet and already are the ones used to indicate the same.

• Perfect  Continuous Tense-

• They indicate that an event or occurrence has been occurring from when’ or 'how long’. 

• Adverbs like since or for are used to indicate the same.

•   Continuous Tense-

• Continuous Tenses talk about events that are unfinished or ongoing as we speak.

• Simple Tense-

• These tenses are the simplest forms of each type of tenses. 

• They are utilized to indicate single actions in the past, present or future.

Accumulating all of the above, our tenses in English can be classified into 12 categories. 

Sentence Structuring

Framing the sentence in the correct grammatical structure is the most important thing when conveying your message in English.

It can either create your image or diminish it! There is a standard set by the grammar to structure the sentences in a beautiful and meaningful form. 

Sentences are Created to-

• Make a statement

• Pose a question

• Give a command

• Make an exclamation

All Sentences are divided into-

• Subjects and

• Predicates  

Subject-

In a sentence, a subject acts like a 'Who' or 'What'. It comprises a person or thing that carries out a 'Verb' or an 'Activity'.

Predicate-

In a sentence, the activity or 'Verb' which is carried out by the 'Subject' or person or thing is called a Predicate. It also describes the Subject. 

Sentences are structured by bringing together different parts of speech in a variety of patterns.

Spelling & Pronunciations

• Spelling- 

• It refers to a proper and adequate arrangement of letters to form a meaningful word. 

• Though spellings can be learned and guessed based on pronunciations, that's not always the case.

• COMMON ERRORS-

1. 'ei' and 'ie' 

2. Repetition of alphabets or letters in a word like Tomorrow. 

3. Including extra alphabet in a word can change its meaning, like to and too.

4. Be careful while retaining and dropping the letter ‘e’—for example- whole & wholly, sincere & sincerely.

5. Words that have the same pronunciation but with different spellings. For example- principle & principal.

6. Use of the letter ‘z’ and ‘s’.

• Pronunciations-

• Pronunciation is referred to as the way in which words are spoken.

• Improper pronunciation can foul your image.

Prefixes & Suffixes

Prefix- letters or group of letters added to the starting of any word. For example- organized or reorganized, production or reproduction.

Suffix- letters or group of letters added to the end of any word. For example- resentful, forgetful, forgetfulness. 

Punctuations

Punctuations beautify our expression and way of speaking or writing. Adequate and correct use of punctuation can be very effective to leave our message in the right form. 

Types of Punctuation-

• Comma (,)

• Exclamation Mark (!)

• Full Stop (.)

• Apostrophe (')

• Capital Letters (Example- a Name, Place)

• Question Mark (?)

• Quotation Marks (") 

Abbreviations

Abbreviations are short forms or shorter versions of long words and lengthy phrases. Their use is easy and convenient.

Types of Abbreviations-

• Acronyms- It is formed from the first letters of a multi-word term, name or phrase. Example- NASA, RAM, PIN

•  Initialisms- Examples- FBI, CEO, USA, UFO

• Shortenings- Rhino, Doc, App, Ad

• Contractions- Dr., Mr., Govt, I've

Idioms & Phrases

Idioms and Phrases are the most interesting tool to make our message or content creative and glueing. 

Idioms- These are a collection of words or phrases which have a figurative meaning that is generally well established and known. 

Phrases- Phrases are a small group of words that make a unit that is a part of a bigger sentence. 

There are broadly eight types of phrases-

• Noun

• Verb

• Infinitive

• Gerund

• Appositive

• Participial

• Preposition

• Absolute

Proverbs

Proverbs are expressions or traditional sayings which are metaphorical in nature and advocate truth. It explains the truth or principles. They have universal use.