Are you guilty of using ‘also’ with other ‘as well as’ words and phrases? In the following sentence, we don’t need ‘in addition’ and ‘also’. In addition, financial institutions should also consider having teams that provide support at regional levels. Either say: In addition, financial institutions should consider having teams that provide support at regional

For non-native speakers of English, conditional sentences can be something of a minefield. They require study and revision and still errors will rear their ugly heads. Sadly, few native speakers of English even realise what a conditional sentence is, let alone whether they are using one or not, what type they are using and why.

Is it okay to mix tenses in the same sentence? Yes, if what you’re saying is in different time zones.

Subject and verb agreement (Lorraine likes grammar, they like being fashionably late) is easy when it’s clear who or what the subject is. But how about “one in ten employees is unhappy at work”?

I’ve been doing lots of editing today and I’m amazed at how many ‘thats’ I deleted without affecting the meaning.

Here are some examples where getting rid of ‘that’ improves the flow.