Networking - The grammar of business English - English Grammar

English Grammar, Third edition (2011)

The grammar of business English

Introduction

There are certain areas of life and activity where particular features of language are found more frequently than in other areas. For example, doctors and engineers commonly use very specific vocabulary in their work-related communication.

Apart from specialized vocabulary, there are also grammatical patterns that occur more frequently in particular contexts. This section looks at forms that are common in the field of business and commerce. Examples of how language is used are organized into four areas:

Networking

Negotiating

Presenting

Meetings

In many cases, of course, the language that is described can be used in more than one of these topic areas.

Networking

Making social and business arrangements

The dialogue below is an example of the type of conversation that might take place between two people who want to make an arrangement to meet at a later time.

A Do you want to meet up for lunch sometime next week?

B Yes. That would be nice. We can talk about the FCL deal. I’m not in on Monday. I’m going to work from home. How about next Tuesday?

A Let’s see. No, I can’t. I’m taking some clients to the riverside development. What about Wednesday?

B I’m going to Germany on Wednesday. My flight leaves around five so I don’t need to get away until after lunch. Is that okay?

A Fine. Let’s meet at one.

use of verb forms with future meaning

You can use the present progressive (see 4.60) to talk about future arrangements that you would put in a diary. Normally these arrangements involve other people.

We’re having a meeting to discuss the proposal next Tuesday.
The people from ILC are coming for lunch at two.

When future arrangements are not firm plans, but it is your intention that they will happen, you use be going to followed by an infinitive (see 4.58).

I’m going to have an early night because I’m tired.
We’ll have some time after the meeting so we’re going to explore the old part of the city.

You use the present simple to talk about events in schedules such as transport timetables or conference programmes (see 4.60).

Our flight leaves at six and gets in at eight.
The morning plenary session starts at nine thirty.

expressions for making suggestions

There are several ways in which you can make suggestions about what you and someone else should do.

You can use Let followed by us shortened to Let’s (see 5.39).

Let’s have a break and go for a coffee.
Let’s stay in contact.

You can use a question beginning with Shall we (see 5.186).

Shall we meet outside the restaurant?
Shall we reward ourselves with a little lunch?

You can use a question beginning with Why don’t we (see 5.46).

Why don’t we have a working breakfast in the hotel?
Why don’t we stay an extra day?

You can use a question beginning with What about or How about in front of a noun phrase (see 5.46).

How about a drink after the meeting?
How about next Sunday?
What about the twentieth of March?

Asking for and confirming information

To form the different type of commonly used questions in English you can use a variety of structures, where the word order and the use of auxiliaries can be confusing. The dialogue below is a phone call which might take place between two people where details of an order are discussed.

A Hello. I’m phoning about an order. The ID number is 28443AB.

B When did you place the order please?

A Last week.

B Sorry. What was the order number again?

A 28443AB.

B Oh yes, it was for some switcher units, wasn’t it?

A That’s right. Can you tell me if it’s been processed yet?

B Yes. They were out of stock but we got some in yesterday. Didn’t you get an email?

A Er, no. Haven’t they been sent off yet?

B They went off this morning.

A So do you have any idea when we can expect delivery?

B They should be with you tomorrow.

A Okay. Thanks.

yes/no questions

When you are using the present simple or past simple form of be you simply put the verb at the beginning of the clause, followed by the subject (see 5.14).

Are you with me so far?
Is Simon up to the job?
Were they at the meeting?

When the verb is not be you need to use an auxiliary verb (or do, does, or did), followed by the subject and then the main verb (see 5.12 and 5.13).

Is he staying here tonight?
Do you work in a team?
Did they want to talk to me?
Will they accept that?
Have you got the figures with you?

If there is more than one auxiliary verb, the first auxiliary comes at beginning of the clause, followed by the subject and then other auxiliaries and the main verb.

Has the problem been reported?
Have they been waiting long?

wh-questions

If you are using the present simple or past simple form of be, the verb goes after the wh-word and in front of the subject (see 5.24).

How was your meeting?
Where is the customer?
So where were your auditors during all of this?

If you are using the present simple or the past simple of any verb except be, you put do, does, or did in front of the subject (see 5.24).

Which department did you want?
Who do you work for?
How did she make the decision?
What does he really think about the deal?

When a wh-word is the subject of a verb, or when it forms part of the subject, the word order is the same as in an affirmative clause (see 5.23).

Who invited you?
What happened earlier on?
Which bid won?

other types of question

You can use indirect questions like Can you tell me, Could you tell me, Do you know and Have you any idea in order to be more polite.

For yes/no questions, you use if or whether followed by a clause with affirmative word order.

Can you tell me if he got my message?
Do you know whether the units have arrived?

For wh-questions, you use a wh-word followed by a clause with affirmative word order.

Could you tell me what you’ve got on today?
Have you any idea what it would cost?

You can ask for confirmation that something is true by making a statement, and then adding a question tag such as isn’t it? or doesn’t she? (see 5.15 to 5.20).

They work on Saturdays, don’t they?
You can park there, can’t you?

You can use a negative question to express surprise at a situation.

Didn’t you arrange to meet them at the airport?
Wasn’t the meeting at nine?
Haven’t you finished yet?

Talking about experience

talking about the present

You use the present simple to talk about permanent facts and routines (see 4.9 to 4.11).

We offer a wide range of services for the bio industry.
Every week, Susan drives to Edmonton for a meeting with the factory manager.
The first thing we do is a site survey.

You use the present progressive to talk about current situations when you want to emphasize that they are temporary or in progress at the time of speaking (see 4.17 to 4.19).

We are updating our flight rules to adapt to the new scenario.
Users are looking at other ways of financing IT projects.
He’s staying there as the guest of our Taiwan-based supplier.

talking about finished past situations

If you want to talk about a situation or an event that happened at a particular time in the past which is finished, you use the past simple. Time expressions like last week and a year ago, which refer to finished time periods in the past, can be used to make the time reference clear (see 4.27 to 4.29).

Ballmer flew to California last week and proposed the merger.
After Harvard, he studied at Oxford University.
Ms. Caridi previously worked in the legal department at Lehman Brothers.

You use the past progressive to emphasize an action in progress or to give the background context for events (see 4.31 and 4.32).

The company was losing money, so he decided to sell.

The plant was making a profit of $250,000 a year and the market was growing steadily.

talking about past situations in relation to the present

The present perfect simple can be used to talk about:

experiences, without stating a specific time

events and situations that started in the past and continue up to the present

events and situations that have an immediate effect on the present.

You cannot use time expressions like yesterday, last year, or at Christmas with the present perfect simple (see 4.33 to 4.35).

Yes, I’ve bumped into him a number of times.
We’ve met with all the major shareholders.
Spending has risen steadily since the beginning of the year.
Have you brought the report with you?

You use the present perfect progressive:

when you want to talk about situations that started in the past, that may or may not be completed, but that you see as temporary

when you want to emphasize duration (see 4.36).

We have been looking for a European partner for some time.
The company has been working hard to reduce its overhead.

talking about a particular time in the past

If you want to show that one event happened before another in the past you can use the past perfect (see 4.37).

When people left the meeting, they were more enthusiastic than when they had arrived.
Before the negotiations started, they had decided to give employees a 4% pay rise.