Page 256 - Effective Communication Soft Skills Strategies For Success by Nitin Bhatnagar, Mamta Bhatnagar

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Box 10.1 (Continued)
Have indicates compulsion, but it is less obligatory.
to You have to stand up and greet the Dean when he enters
the classroom.’
Should indicates a moral duty.
You should intimate the office if you are going on leave.
Ought indicates an ethical oblication
to You ought to treat your teachers with respect
May
i. indicates giving and asking for permission in a formal way.

You may leave now.
May I come in?
ii. a possibility.
The Principal may attend me important meeting tomorrow.

This list, please remember, is by no means complete and we earnestly request
you to consult the books listed in the bibliography.

Miscellaneous Errors

We have so far looked at the aspects of grammar that have been with us ever
since we started learning English. However, beyond such usage and grammar
rules we have to be aware of some subtle niceties of usage and grammar that,
otherwise, can make our writing appear to be a very inefficient communica-
tion. In this unit, we are going to look at few of such miscellaneous errors.
Once again we suggest strongly that you should consult H.W. Fowler’s
‘A Dictionary of Modem English Usage’, in addition to the books listed in the
Bibliography, if you want your written communication to be truly effective.
Given the limitations of space, here we can collate only a few.
i. Use ‘apostrophe’s’ (boy’s) only for animate nouns, especially human
beings.
e.g., Never say ‘The book’s cover is nice’.
ii. With inanimate things, use the ‘of’ form.
e.g., The cover of the book is nice.
The diagram of the wheel is neatly labelled.
iii. Never use ‘according to me’. Instead write ‘in my opinion’. In fact, avoid
the ‘I’ reference. Instead use the ‘let us’ or ‘one feels’ format. In written

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