Contents

Common errors

Syntax.........................................................................2
Some general rules.......................................................4
Punctuation.................................................................5

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1.

Syntax
Articles: The indefinite article A is used before any common noun,
e.g., a boy, a town, and so forth.
A changes to an only when it precedes a word beginning with a vowel
sound, e.g., an umbrella, an honest man.
The definite article the precedes a particular noun (in the singular
or in the plural) the man, the President, the teachers, the market.
Example of wrong use of the: The world markets indicate It should
be World markets indicate since no specific world market is
mentioned.
Proper nouns are not preceded by the definite article, except in the case
of names of oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, mountains, and groups of
islands such as the Andaman Islands.
It is the UK, the US, the Philippines, the Asia Pacific, the Netherlands,
and the UAE. The definite article also precedes the names of unique
entities such as the sun, the earth, the moon, etc.
Important: The very overworked the can be substituted with they,
these, those, that and it. For example, in a business document, the
full name of a company is used the first time it is mentioned, after
which it is referred to as the company (or firm or organization), and
thereafter as it.

2.

Will, would, was and were: Would is not the future tense of will. In
fact, will is always used in the future tense. For example, He will be
awarded a prize, The journal will carry your article. Will indicates
definite future action, would desired action, and were suggests a
hypothetical situation. Some examples: I would not go there if I were
you, This would be the best option under the circumstances, He
was adjudged the best speaker, If you were present there, you
would have appreciated .

3.

Prepositions: in, on, of, for, inside, outside, under, over, after,
before, and so forth
Some relevant examples:

4.

The pen is in the drawer.

The telephone is on the table.

He is at his workstation.

A synonym of the word require is need.

The need for world peace is very real.

Noun/Pronoun (subject)-verb agreement: Remember that when the

noun is in the singular, the verb is should be in the plural, and vice
versa. This is especially relevant for complex sentences with more than
one clause. Identify the subject and the rest of the sentence will fall into
place. Writing sentences that are not convoluted, without too many
conjunctions, will ensure that you get this right.
Examples:

Mohan goes to school.

Children go to school.

One of my friends comes to my house.

5.

Possessive case: It is the boys room (in the singular) and the boys
room (in the plural). In the case of nouns ending in s, the apostrophe
is placed after the s, for instance, St. James School.
The possessive case is only used for animate entities and not for
inanimate ones, for instance, the boys shoes but the legs of the
table. There are, however, a few notable exceptions, for example, the
companys annual report.

6.

Active and passive voice: Try and write in the Active Voice and avoid
using the Passive Voice wherever possible. However, here the key word
is preference, since at times it is necessary to write in the Passive
Voice to ensure a smooth flow of sentences. Therefore, one should use
ones discretion to judge what would be the best form to use in a
specific context, while keeping in mind that it is preferable to use the
Active Voice as much as possible.
Examples:

Hari wrote this book (Active Voice).

This book was written by Hari. (Passive Voice).

Some general rules

Capital letters: There should be minimal use of capital letters, except for
proper nouns, i.e., the name of a particular person, place or thing, for
example, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, but at the prime ministers
meeting.

Numbers: Numbers from one to nine are generally spelt out in

running text (only to quantify); from 10 onwards they are written in
numerals. All numbers (including from one to nine) in lists, tables
and charts are written in numerals.

Remember that numerals are never used to begin a sentence they

are spelt out even if they are numbers greater than 10.

Some US spellings

realize

color

honor

traveled

program

center

meter

catalog

dialog

tire

defense

check

maneuver

Please remember that US English is the global standard for EY.

etc., i.e., e.g., however, therefore, hence: If etc., i.e., e.g., occur
within a sentence, they are preceded and followed by commas, for example,
,etc.,. However, therefore and hence are followed by commas if they
begin a sentence. If they occur within a sentence, they have commas on
either side, only if another element is being introduced in the sentence,
which requires a pause, e.g., That, however, will depend on many
factors. Otherwise, no commas are required, e.g., A module is therefore
used to identify.
Such as: Please note that the word like implies exactly like something.
Therefore, in a business document, where it is essential to be precise, please
use such as while enumerating items, for instance, articles such as clothes,
shoes, socks,

Paragraphs: A paragraph should contain only one idea or point and details
emanating from it. It should not be too long if necessary, begin a new
paragraph.
Sentences: A sentence should be succinct avoid too many clauses and
connectors such as and and but. Beginning a sentence with while often
helps to reduce the number of words used.

Abbreviations, colloquialisms and slang :These are taboo. However,

acronyms and abbreviations of the names of organizations are used in
business writing. Acronyms (words formed from the initial letters of a group
of words, which can be pronounced) should be treated as words, not
abbreviations, e.g., the RAM on our computers. Abbreviations cannot be
pronounced, e.g., the IIM Ahmedabad campus.

Correct use of some nouns and verbs:

Noun effect, advice, practice

Verb affect, advise, practice

If you can insert a the, an or a before a word it is a noun; a verb if to can be

used before it.

Composed of, consists of, but comprises golden rules, never to be

forgotten

Consistency should be maintained while writing, for example, in bulleted

text.

If even one bullet point is in sentence form (with a subject and a verb),
all the others must also be complete sentences; otherwise they should
all be phrases (a group of words that makes perfect sense but does not
have a subject).

If the first bullet point begins with the ed form of a verb, all the other
bullet points should do the same, for example, trained, maintained,
and so forth. The same norm applies to bulleted text beginning with the
gerund (ing) form of a verb, for example, training, maintaining, and
so forth.

Punctuation

Period: A complete sentence (with a subject, verb and predicate), even if it

is composed of two words, as in He sleeps, begins with a capital letter
and ends with a period. A phrase is a group of words that does not have a
subject and a verb, and hence is not a sentence. It does not end with a
period.
Comma : A comma indicates a pause between parts of a sentence or
separates items in a list. While listing, a comma is often required before the
last and, so that the last and the second last item do not get clubbed
together as one entity.
Enclose parenthetic expressions between commas.

The best way to see a country, unless you are pressed for time, is on
foot.

It is frequently difficult to decide whether a single word such as however, or

a brief phrase, is parenthetic. If there is no interruption in the flow of the
sentence, commas are not required. However, do not omit one comma and
retain the other, as, for instance, in the following examples.

My brother you will be pleased to hear, is now in perfect health,

Commas do not set off restrictive relative clauses.

The candidate who best meets these requirements will be selected.

If a parenthetic expression is preceded by a conjunction, place the

first comma before the conjunction, not after it.

He saw us coming, and unaware that we had heard about his bad
behaviour, greeted us with a smile.

Place a comma before and or but introducing an independent

clause (complete sentence).

The early records of the city have disappeared, and the story of its early
years cannot be reconstructed.

The situation is dangerous, but there is still one option left.

Quotation marks: According to the EY global style guide, only double

quotation marks are to be used in writing companywide. However, avoid
using them frequently to highlight words and terms.
Colon: A colon precedes a list of items, a quotation, or an expansion or
explanation.

The study included the three most critical areas: IT, finance and HR.

The following figure details the countries that participated in the

conference:

Semicolon: A semicolon indicates a more pronounced pause than that

indicated by a comma. Semicolons are used in the following instances:
Semicolons should be placed between two parts of a compound
sentence when they are not connected by a conjunction.

The controversial picture has been removed; in its place is a calendar.

When items in a series are long and/or complex, they should be

separated by semicolons for clarity.

The membership of the international commission was as follows:

France, 4; Germany, 5; UK, 1; Italy, 3; and the US, 7.

Em-dash: An em-dash can be used to provide an explanation or

additional information.

He spent over an hour explaining the operation an operation that

would, he hoped, achieve a complete cure.

Hyphens: A hyphen is used to join words to indicate that they have a

combined meaning or that they are grammatically linked. For example, a
long-term or short-term solution, but it would be in the long (or short)
term. In the first case, long- or short-term describes the solution. Similarly,
it is a nine-year-old company.
En-dash: An en-dash is used when indicating a time span, e.g., 19912002
or DecemberJanuary.
Italics: Italics are used in the following instances:
(a)

When writing foreign words (non-English words)

(b) When writing the name of a publication such as a book,

newspaper, magazine or journal; or of a movie, play, and so
forth
Italicized text is never put within quotation marks.

Ellipses: Ellipses are a set of three dots, to indicate the omission of words
in writing four dots if the sentence is going to end (the fourth dot is the
period).
Redundant or incorrect expressions

lot many (It is either a lot of or many.)

revert, reply or bounce back (Back is redundant.)

either one of us (Either of us is correct.)

This is XYZ this side. Should be: This is XYZ.

Do not end an email with Thanks and regards. If you need to thank
someone, please do so right at the beginning. End with Regards or
Best regards.

Incorrect usage
Some words that are often used incorrectly:

Leaves: Leave is a collective noun and does not have a singular or

plural form; correct usage: I am taking four days leave or I am
taking (or am on) leave tomorrow.

Trainings: Training is a collective noun; correct usage: training

sessions or programs.

feedbacks Feedback is also a collective noun and has no singular or

plural form.

summers and winters One does not say, Summers (or winters)
have come. It is always summer or winter. The plural form indicates
more than one season, for instance, Summers are very warm here.

Hair: Hair is a collective noun. Therefore, it does not have a plural form
both singular and plural are hair.

less, greater, fewer, more, lower: These words are always used
comparatively and are followed by than. Less and greater refer to
uncountable entities, few, fewer and lower to countable entities, and
more to both countable and uncountable entities.

Few: Few implies very few. Most people use few when they mean
some. For example, Some (not few) people are waiting for you.