Their or there or they’re?

They sound and look similar, but their meanings are different, so how do you know which one to use?

Their (adjective) means belonging to them.

There (adverb) means in or at a place.

They’re (verb) is a shortened version of “they are”.

So you could say, “They’re putting their things over there.”

For spelling, grammar and punctuation tips and advice on copywriting, editing and proofreading, please visit our www.z2zine.co.uk blog regularly.

When writing a press release, article or other material, it’s a good idea to decide how you want to refer to your business or organisation.

Do you say “the company is a leader in its field” or “the company are leaders in their field”?

The first one is preferable and grammatically correct, because a company is a single entity and can only be a leader, not many leaders. It requires the singular form of the verb (is) rather than the plural form (are) used in the second version.

So when referring to the company, write about “it” operating throughout the UK.

If a number of people work for the company, you may want to write about them collectively, eg “we work together.” In this case, the plural form is correct, because you are talking about the people in the company, not the organisation itself.

If you stick to these guidelines, you should be able to write consistenly about your organisation and your colleagues.

For more business copywriting and proofreading tips, please visit www.z2zine.co.uk regularly.

Discreet or discrete?

They sound and look similar, but their meanings are different, so how do you know which one to use?

Discrete (adjective) means separate or individually distinct.

Discreet (adjective) means circumspect or tactful.

So saying “the owner installed a discreet wind turbine on the property” explains that the turbine was unobtrusive, while saying “the owner installed two discrete generators” emphasises that two separate generators were installed.

The difference between ete and eet is an important one.

Robert Zarywacz

For spelling, grammar and punctuation tips and advice on copywriting, editing and proofreading, please visit our www.z2zine.co.uk blog regularly.