I share these recent email errors to make you smile. Can you figure out what the writer intended? Explanations follow the four items.
- A business friend ended a message to me this way: "I hope you and the fan are doing well."
- A writing class participant forgot to include an attachment. When she remembered, she sent it to me with this simple message: "Whoops!"
- When I told a client it would be two days before I could give her written feedback on her writing, she emailed back, "That's okay. No hurray."
- A man in a writing class searched the dairy counter for Canilla yoghurt, which his wife had emailed him to purchase on the way home. Finally he asked the store clerk whether it was a new brand.
Explanations
1. I was on a break from a business writing class when I read this message on my phone. I could not figure out why my friend was talking about a fan. Class participants told me what he meant: "fam," my family.
2. Whoops are loud cries of exultation or cries from a warrior. The writer meant Oops.
3. No doubt you recognized that the client meant "No hurry." I preferred her "No hurray" version.
4. Are you familiar with canilla yoghurt? How about vanilla?
I welcome any examples you would like to share.
Learn about our upcoming classes, including Proofreading Like a Pro.
Lynn
Syntax Training
