Bull's Eye Business Writing Tips

Tip # 430:  Prepositions: 

A preposition links a noun or pronoun (its object) to another sentence element, by expressing relationships as direction (to, into, across, toward); location (at, in, on, under, over, beside, among, by, between, through); time (before, after, during, until, since); or figurative location (for, against, with).  Together, the preposition, its object and the object’s modifiers form a prepositional phrase that acts as a modifier.

The object of a preposition is always in the objective case.  A typical problem is in constructions such as “between you and me,” a phrase that is frequently and incorrectly written as “between you and I.”  “Me” is the objective form of the pronoun, and “I” is the subjective form.

Please correct the following sentences:

1. The branch office is where he was at.
2. He was oblivious and not distracted by the view from his office window.
3. The client arrived at about four o’clock.

“If you can fit your problem into a single sentence, short enough to be written on a business card, you can solve it by 4 p.m.”  ( An astrology message)

Answer to this week's exercise:

1. He was at the branch office.

2. He was oblivious to and not distracted by the view from his office window.

3. The client arrived about four o’clock.