I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve posted about how failure to distinguish between written English and spoken English often yields less effective writing. Well, I actually could tell you, but that would require sifting through my blog posts for the past two years and counting one by one. No thanks. I don’t need to know that information that much.
All I really need to know is what I have just said. Writers who fail to distinguish between written English and spoken English often produce less effective writing. That’s because these writers usually assume that written English is not very different from spoken English and thus tend to write like they speak. Yet the conventions of these two communication forms aren’t exactly the same. In fact, what makes acceptable spoken English often does not make acceptable written English.
Take the words to, too, and two, for instance. These three words have exactly the same pronunciation, but they have very different meanings and functions in a sentence. To is either a preposition (as in the example sentence in the cropped graphic above) or part of a verb in the infinitive form (as in to run, to write, and to carry). Too is an adverb meaning excessively or also. Two is an adjective or noun meaning the whole number between one and three.
These three very different words are easily confused because they sound the same. But more effective writers distinguish between written English and spoken English. They know which word to use for which function and meaning. They employ precision of language.
So don’t let your writing be less effective. Use to and too correctly. Be sure to use two correctly, too. More effective writing not only better communicates your message but also better represents you and the brands associated with your writing. And that’s the real end game of the most effective writing.
All I really need to know is what I have just said. Writers who fail to distinguish between written English and spoken English often produce less effective writing. That’s because these writers usually assume that written English is not very different from spoken English and thus tend to write like they speak. Yet the conventions of these two communication forms aren’t exactly the same. In fact, what makes acceptable spoken English often does not make acceptable written English.
Take the words to, too, and two, for instance. These three words have exactly the same pronunciation, but they have very different meanings and functions in a sentence. To is either a preposition (as in the example sentence in the cropped graphic above) or part of a verb in the infinitive form (as in to run, to write, and to carry). Too is an adverb meaning excessively or also. Two is an adjective or noun meaning the whole number between one and three.
These three very different words are easily confused because they sound the same. But more effective writers distinguish between written English and spoken English. They know which word to use for which function and meaning. They employ precision of language.
So don’t let your writing be less effective. Use to and too correctly. Be sure to use two correctly, too. More effective writing not only better communicates your message but also better represents you and the brands associated with your writing. And that’s the real end game of the most effective writing.
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