Client and Customer

In business, the terms client and customer have become interchangeable. The use of the terms also is tricky.

In the rules of usage, however, although the terms are closely related in meaning, they are not interchangeable.

"Client" refers to a person who pays for the advice or services of a professional person.

For example: They are both clients of Atty. Reyes.

"Customer," on the other hand, refers to a person who purchases goods from a shop, etc.

For example: Many customers are complaining about high prices and poor service.

Now, there is also an instance that the term "client" refers to "customer." In this case, "client" is used in the sense of "customer" by shops that regard it as a more superior word.

For example: The clients of an exclusive dress boutique were treated to a dinner dance.

Source:
Webster's Universal Spelling Grammar & Usage

Where is the Pronoun Antecedent?

Look at this sentence:

Sr. Leni is Gabo's Religion teacher, and the conference was part of the preparation for his first communion.

Notice the 'his' in bold font. We call that a pronoun, and a pronoun replaces a noun. So we look back in the sentence and look for that noun that the pronoun 'his' replaces. Can you find it?

We sure can find many nouns before the 'his.' There are six nouns before 'his' - Sr. Leni, Religion, teacher, conference, part, preparation. Can 'his' replace any of these nouns? I don't think so.

The only noun that 'his' can replace in that sentence would have been 'Gabo.' But the form of 'Gabo' is not a noun, it's in the possessive, Gabo's, so that doesn't count.

In other words, the pronoun 'his' has no antecedent in this sentence. The sentence should be:

Sr. Leni is Gabo's Religion teacher, and the conference was part of the preparation for Gabo's first communion.

Watch Those S's, Please

On my way home from work tonight, I overheard two people talking. Their conversation went:

Lady 1: Kaya nga every minute count.
(That's why every minute count.)

Lady 2: Sinabi mo. Every seconds count talaga!
(You said it! Every seconds really count!)

By omitting an S on "count," Lady 1 violated the subject-verb agreement. The subject is singular, therefore the verb takes on the plural form. She should have said: "... every minute counts."

By putting an S to "seconds" and not ending "count" with S, Lady 2 violated two rules:

(1) "every" should be followed by a singular noun
(2) subject-verb agreement

She should have said, "... every second really count!"

Me, Either or Me, Too?

How often do you hear these expressions? I bet all the time! :)

But when to use Me, either! and Me, too!? (oops is my double punctuation correct there?)

Let's take a look at the following sentences.

Boy: I loved the movie!
Girl: Me, too!

Girl: I didn't quite get that.
Boy: Me, either.
Or the more formal reply would be: I didn't get it, either.

Are these sentences correct? Yes!

In these expressions, we use "too" in affirmative or interrogative sentence to add an agreeing thought. On the other hand, we use "either" in negative sentence/idea to add an agreeing thought.

"Too" or "either" usually comes at the end of the clause. Formal English often requires that we put a comma before it.

Everday v. Every day

I see this on TV all the time:

Take XXX everyday.

I know that the one word everyday is an adjective. It means ordinary, typical or usual.

But if you mean or describe the whole period that something lasted and show something that is repeated regularly, then you use the two words every day.

Examples:
Every day counts.
Jogging is an everyday exercise for me.

So that line above should have read: Take XXX every day.

Vivid Language is Beautiful

I'm reading Haruki Murukami's The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, and thanks to Jay Rubin's translation, I get a glimpse of the vivid language that Murukami uses to describe things, emotions, and situations.

Example:

...Then I glanced at the phone in the living room. It sat on the table, cloaked in silence. It looked like a deep-sea creature pretending to be an inanimate object, crouching there in wait for its prey...

Waiting for a call from his wife, Toru Okada, the character, describes the telephone. He actually wills the telephone to come alive by ringing. His wife has left him, and he awaits word from her or from anyone who has been in contact with her.

I like the way the writer describes Toru and his emotion at that particular instance. Powerful!

Main Office v. Main Branch

On my way to work this morning, I saw this notice plastered on the glass window of a bank.

This main office branch will soon be open to serve you better.

I was bothered by the phrase "main office branch" in that sentence. Isn't it that the main office is not a branch. That is THE main office.

I uttered the same phrase a long time ago, and I remember that my father corrected me on this one.

The correct expression should be "main office:"

This main office will soon be open to serve you better.

The care in 'taken cared of'

"Children involved in armed conflict are well taken cared of."

My ears tingle whenever I hear people use the phrase, "taken cared of." The correct form is "taken care of."

The sentence above should read: Children involved in armed conflict are well taken care of.

In this phrase, the word care should be in the affirmative form because it already has "taken" as the main verb. These verb phrase "taken care of" falls under the category of causative verbs.

According to the rule, causative verbs designate the action necessary to cause another action to happen. In "The problem has been taken care of." the verb "taken" causes the "care" to happen.

Cope up v. Cope with

"Welcome sa bahay ni Kuya. I hope you can cope up with the challenges inside,"

said the host of the Pinoy Big Brother on ABS-CBN. The phrase "cope up with" kept ringing in my ear.

In the English language usage, this is a common mistake. The correct phrase is "cope with." There are also cases where "cope" is enough.

To cope means to deal successfully with a difficult situation.

Examples:
It must be difficult to cope with five children and a job.
She had so much pressure on her in her job that eventually she just couldn't cope.

On misplaced modifiers

Davao City is a sprawling metropolis of over a million people located in the Southeastern part of Mindanao.

Take a look at the word "located" in bold font. Can you tell what it is describing in the sentence: "Davao City" or "people"?

The rule on modifiers is that they are placed next to the word they are modifying. A misplaced modifier is a modifier that is separated from the word or words it modifies.

To correct the given sentence, it should be:
Located in the Southern part of Mindanao, Davao City is a sprawling metropolis of over a million people.
OR
Davao City, which is located in the Southern part of Mindanao, is a sprawling metropolis of over a million people.

More examples:
Incorrect: She took a walk in the park wearing her new shoes.
Correct: Wearing her new shoes, she took a walk in the park.

Avoid Those Adverbs, Please

I was watching Balikbayan on QTV last night, and in one teaser, a female newscaster blurted:

"I personally witnessed the Pahiyas here in Lucban, Quezon."

There is nothing wrong with the adverb there, but it is unnecessary. The "I" already implies that the speaker is there in person.

Every time I hear or read adverbs, I'd remember Stephen King and his aversion to adverbs. In his book, On Writing, he says that if you can't describe an event well enough, no amount of adverbs is going to help your prose.

One of his famous lines, "The road to hell is paved with adverbs."

Make That "in"

Cadet Antonio Trillanes IV was in charge of indoctrinating the newcomers on the Honor System in the Academy.

It should be: indoctrinating in

Using "indoctrinate" in a sentence:

1. Some parents are critical of attempts to indoctrinate children in fundamentalism.
2. Some people have been indoctrinated by television to believe that violence is normal.

Got any question or answer on usage?

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Why Mis(s) Usage?

It's my English with all the quirks and the perks. 

In this blog, I'll be chronicling the "misusage," a term I coin for this purpose, which refers to the lapses in English usage, stylistics, and grammar. 

I will also share good usage with you, which we all can learn from. Thus, the name Mis(s)Usage, a play of "misusage" and Miss Usage, you know like Ms. Grammar. ;)

More about me HERE.