1

Und selbst wenn Ihr eigener Chef kein „Fremdsprachler” ist, vielleicht übernehmen Sie ja eines Tages eine Vertretung,

bei der Sie für einen kleinen Formulie-rungsvorrat dankbar wären. Damit Sie gleich in die richtige Stimmung kom�men, wechseln wir jetzt sofort in Ihre Fremdsprache Nr. 1.

Die richtige Einstimmung: Small Talk zum Big TalkWhen your boss returns from his holi�days (BE)/vacation (AE) he is focused on what lies in front of him, not on looking back. But you are, as you have to brief him about new developments and tasks which have come up during his absence.

• How was the journey?• Did you like Australia?• Was the flight smooth?• Did you enjoy the elephant safari?• Did you have a nice trip?• What do you think about South Afri�What do you think about South Afri�

can hospitality?

All these questions are good icebreakers for meetings with colleagues as well.

And if you feel your boss is under pres�sure and doesn’t want to explain and talk about personal matters at the moment – don’t take it personally.

After mentioning the holidays and the family you can get down to business.

Verschwenden Sie keine Zeit - kommen Sie zur Sache!Don’t dwell on the past too much; focus

Down to Business

Nach Rückkehr des Chefs: Starten Sie durch!In der Juli-Ausgabe ging es um Ihren Urlaub, um Ihre Vorbereitung auf frem-de Kulturen sowie um Ihre Organisation und Delegation von Aufgaben. Heute kümmern wir uns darum, wie Sie sich und dem Chef den Start nach dessen Rückkehr aus dem Urlaub erleichtern. Ein englischsprachiger Vorge-setzter erfordert dabei ein erhebliches Sprachmuskeltraining.

Kommunikation,

liebe Leserin, lieber Leser,ist unser, ist Ihr tägliches Brot. Mit je-der Übung, jedem Newsletter werden Sie sicherer und kompetenter. Und damit das so bleibt, suchen wir immer neue Bereiche, die Sie in Ihren Fundus integrieren können. Der Austausch mit dem Personalbereich gehört auch dazu. Da diese Kontakte eher selten stattfinden, sind Muster dafür sehr willkommen.Ebenso ist es mit „kalten“ Anrufen bei potentiellen Kunden. Die stellen schon in der Muttersprache eine Herausfor-derung dar. Um wieviel größer ist die in der Fremdsprache! Und wie immer kommt auch die Grammatik nicht zu kurz: Damit Sie in der Kommunikation stets das richtige Wort finden, gibt es in dieser Ausgabe einige Übungen zu Wörtern, die man leicht verwechseln kann.

Viel Spaß beim Üben und Anwenden!

EDITORIAL

2 PO BoxSo kommunizieren Sie mit Ihrer Personalabteilung

4 Advanced Learner´s CornerTest your knowledge: German writers’ favourite mistakes

4 Speaker´s CornerSo dringen Sie per Telefon zum Neukunden durch

6 If in doubt – cut it outZum Verwechseln ähnlich: „Confusable words” IN

HALT

1

Maureen Brown ist in London aufgewachsen. Sie hat viele Jahre als Assistentin und Sekretärin im Ma-nagement eines Unternehmens gearbeitet. Heute ist sie für eine Bezirksregierung in England aktiv.

Jennifer Hohensteiner ist in den USA groß ge-worden und lebt seit 1990 in Deutschland. Sie hat den Master’s Degree in Political Science und lang-jährige Berufserfahrung als Fremdsprachensekre-tärin, Wirtschaftsübersetzerin und Trainerin für Business English.

Professionelles Know-how & mehr Kompetenz für Assistenz und Sekretariat

English@work71703

10/2013 August

Maureen Brown (GB) Jennifer Hohensteiner (USA)

Insider tip from your American editor Jennifer Hohensteiner

If your boss is in a hurry don’t con-front him with your agenda right away but ask to fix a convenient time for a meeting. At this meeting you and your boss should have enough time for a more personable start and to go through what needs to be cleared up.

Kostenfrei! Nutzen Sie Ihren Login auf www.english-work.com ABenutzername: englishAPasswort August: lernen13 Heftarchiv, Arbeitshilfen und vieles mehr!

StartformulierungenStart with a question about his holi�days to show that you are interested in whether he had a good time. Here are some suggestions:

2

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on the present and the future.To save yourself and your boss time you should prepare this meeting by checking your ToDo list and memos and sort out what your boss really needs to know and what you can decide and delegate or solve yourself.

What we learnt about organising (BE)/organizing (AE) your own e�mails in the last issue of English@work is also true for any kind of memo or task which might be relevant for your boss.

Sorgfalt walten lassenIt is important for your preparation to run each single piece of information for your boss through the following check list. The result is a ToDo list you can use at the meeting with your boss to make sure you don’t leave out important information.

Alternative: ToDo-MemosIf your boss doesn’t find time to listen to you for long enough you can use your to�do list; work through it and put all the tasks on your boss’s agenda. Now you will only need enough time to talk with him about one issue at a time, going through points 1 to 6 above. That should be possible even for the busiest manager.And for you this means you can turn to your other core tasks.

Isn’t it nice when things run smoothly?

Falls Sie sich intensiver mit strukturierter E-Mail- und Terminverwaltung oder

Selbst- und Zeitmanagement befassen möchten, in den Seminaren der GWI Of�fice Akademie haben Sie dazu verschie�dene Angebote. Hier können Sie sich in�formieren: www.officeakademie.com.

PO Box

So kommunizieren Sie mit Ihrer PersonalabteilungEs gibt viele Dinge, die man im Laufe eines Berufslebens mit der Personalab-teilung (Human Resources/HR) zu klären hat. Besonders in internationalen Unternehmen kann das schwierig sein, weil man diese Mitarbeiter oft gar nicht kennt – und sie zudem auch noch Englisch sprechen und schreiben. Für viele dieser Fälle bieten wir Ihnen heute Formulierungshilfen an.

Denn tatsächlich sind die be�kanntesten Kontakte mit die�ser Abteilung, nämlich die Einstellung und die Kündi-

gung, nur die beiden Endpunkte einer oft langjährigen Beschäftigungsphase.

Veränderungen mitteilenAber auch die gesamte Zeit dazwischen bleibt das HR Department der An�sprechpartner für alles, was mit Ver-änderung zu tun hat: von der Anfrage über die Mitteilung einer Namensände�rung bis hin zur Zusage zur Erlaubnis einer Auskunft an die Bank.

Und falls Sie in einem mittelständi-schen deutschen Unternehmen mit nur gelegentlichen Kontakten ins Aus�land beschäftigt sind: Wer weiß, wann

Sie einmal in engeren Kontakt mit ei�nem “Multi” kommen? Mit einer Kol�legin vielleicht, die Ihnen von ihrem Veränderungswunsch berichtet, oder möglicherweise sogar auf Ihrer eigenen Karriereleiter?

Einfache MitteilungenThere are many occasions when you will have to inform HR about changes in your personal life. In many cases you will just report to your direct boss. But in bigger companies it will be standard

to write to HR yourself, whether by let�ter, memo or e�mail.Here are some samples of what to write.

AnmerkungYou can use the first sentence for any change in your employee records, such as a move, a change of your tax class or something else. What is important is to name the change as precisely as possi-ble, as in the example above: From: … To: …

Weiteres BeispielTo give you another example of a name change we took the example of a divo-rce.

Mitteilung einer Namensän-derung wegen Hochzeit –

Notification of name change (marriage)To HRI am writing to inform you of my mar-riage on 15th September. My employee records should be updated to reflect my new name. Please change itfrom: Peter Mullerto: Peter Schneider.At this time there are no changes to my mailing address.Thank you.

Schnell-Check für Ihre Infos

Here are some relevant questions to ask yourself before meeting with your boss on his return:

1. Does he really need to see this info? If not, delegate or solve your-self. If yes:

❑

2. Briefly fill him in on the back-ground: What, why, who …?

❑

3. Be precise about the task and its aims.

❑

4. Write down relevant dates, times and locations.

❑

5. Name the people involved, contact dates, functions, responsibilities …

❑

6. Write down the next steps and relevant information.

❑

QuoteChange will not come if we wait

for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we‘ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. Barack Obama

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changes in positions or jobs within the company, as in our first sample letter be�low.

AnmerkungThis type of website advertising for va�cancies is quite common today. Many companies offer contact forms on their websites which make it easy to fill in all the relevant data. This makes it possible for HR to react instantly if a candidate seems to fit. They will first contact him or her for further details and decide about an interview after a preliminary selection.All that is required for this kind of in�formal application is:1. the current position,2. a good reason for the wish for change,3. good reasons in the form of benefits

for the company in order for HR to consider the applicant.

A special kind of request is regarding the holiday policy. Here is one example.

AnmerkungIf you want detailed information it is useful to number your questions or use bullet points. This makes it easier for the recipient to consider all aspects of your request. And it makes it easier for you to check whether you got all the answers you wanted.

AblehnungenRefusals are more problematic than re�quests and notifications as you have to contradict a request or suggestion. This is a negative message which can cause some anxiety about the consequences.But it is obvious that sometimes it is im-portant to refuse something when it does not fit into your plans.

We have chosen the situation of being offered a promotion.

AnmerkungThere are of course more situations when a letter to HR could be of use. In case you need a special one, try to use parts of these and adapt them to your needs.

Ablehnung einer Beförde-rung – Declining a promotion

To HRI want to thank you very much for your offer of promotion to Senior Assistant to the Accountants’ Dept. The opening is attractive and would suit my compe-tences.I am very grateful for the confidence the company has in me.However, I respectfully have to decline this offer. It would take me in the wrong direction, away from my career goals.Thank you again for your confidence.Best wishes

Bitte um Berücksichtigung bei Neubesetzung (formlose

E-Mail-Bewerbung) – Request for consideration for job openingTo HRToday I found the position of Assistant to the Head of Customer Care on the company website. I would like to sub-mit my name for consideration.I have worked for XY Company for three years. At the moment I am Executive As-sistant to the CEO PR and perform all of the essential requirements of the job description.In the hope of advancement to such a position I completed three courses on customer care last year.I look forward to being able to answer any further questions you may have in the hope of attaining an interview for this position.Thank you.

year. There was a bit of confusion be-cause of the overtime I put in over the last three months.I would like to request holiday from 15th August until 15th September.- Would you be so kind and confirm the number of days I have left now?- Could you tell me the exact number of days I would have left after 15th Sep-tember?Thank you in advance.

Bitte um Aufklärung über generelle Urlaubsregelung –

Request for clarification of holiday policyTo HRI am writing to find out exactly how many days holiday (BE)/days of vaca tion (AE) I have left for the rest of this

Anmerkung: This letter contains further information about the legal implications – the public authorities, which might be of importance for HR.

LeserbriefMaiden nameSome weeks ago a letter reached us from Stan G. from H. He wanted to know the male form of maiden name. He had ta-ken on his wife’s name when they mar�ried and wanted to tell HR that after their divorce he had changed his name and reverted to his …. Well? What would you say?That is not an easy question, as not so many men take their wife’s name. It would be worthwhile thinking about why they don’t, but that’s not our job now. We are only thinking about the correct wording. It would definitely not be “boy name”, as “boy” refers to a young man only.His mother’s name? No, as she would possibly have taken on her husband’s name. So his father’s name? But what if the fa�ther had married for a second time and taken on his second wife’s name? What about his “name of birth” or “bir�th name”? Could be, but neither one sounds very elegant.We finally agreed that the male equi-valent of “maiden” is “bachelor” for an unmarried man. So, dear Stan G., we would call the old name the “bachelor name”.

Bitten Another general area of correspondence with HR are requests. Requests concern

Namensänderung nach Scheidung – Notification of

name change (divorce)To HRI would like to ask you to update my em-ployee records with my new legal name. As a result of my divorce I have chosen to go back to my maiden name. I have already filed this information with the public authorities.Please change my records as follows:From: Luisa DromelTo: Luisa GarpThank you.

4

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Vocabulary Box

be on the right – auf dem richtigen track Weg seincomb – Kammlight bulb – Aha-Erlebnis moment (ugs.)stumbling block – Stolperstein

Advanced Learner’s Corner

Test your knowledge: German writers’ favourite mistakesNo matter whether false friends or other easily confused words or formu-lations, there are a lot of stumbling blocks in our way as each language has occasions which lead foreign speakers in the wrong directions. Are you on the right track?

Speaker’s Corner

So dringen Sie per Telefon zum Neukunden durchNeukunden zu gewinnen ist eine schwierige Sache – und eigentlich Aufgabe des Außendienstes. Doch manchmal trifft es Sie als Assistentin, den ersten Kontakt herzustellen und den Weg für den Außendienst frei zu machen, der dann das Kundengespräch vor Ort führt. Wir zeigen Ihnen, wie Sie das per-fekt vorbereiten.

We try to send you on an exploring tour, in order to give you a laugh or at least a light bulb moment.

Do whatever is needed in the following sentences: 1. He brought his (Beamer) _________

into the meeting room.a. projectorb. beamerc. video computer

2. What is your (Meinung) ___________ In this matter?a. meaningb. suggestion

c. opinion3. He had China in his hands.

Translation: ___________________4. We will go Dutch on our holidays.

Translation: ________________________________________________

5. If you travel on foot, how are you moving?a. On Lindy’s horse.b. On Edgar’s bike.c. On Shanky’s pony.

6. If you want to pay at the restaurant, what do you take out?a. Your wallet.b. Your briefcase.c. Your portmanteau.

7. If you go Bodmin, what does that mean? _____________________________

8. Icecream Inc. is a very innovative in�ternational (Konzern) ___________a. companyb. concernc. corporate group

9. The boss’s brand new SUV is a Japa�nese (Marke) __________a. markb. makec. brand

10. I need the (Konzept) ________ to�night!a. excerptb. draftc. concept Answer key on page 6

Jokebox Emergency callA salesman was demonstra-

ting unbreakable combs in a depart-ment store. He impressed the people watching by putting the comb through all sorts of torture and stress.Finally to impress even the sceptics, he bent the comb completely in half, and it snapped with a crack. Without hesitation he held up both halves of the `unbreakable‘ comb for everyone to see and said, “And this, ladies and gentlemen, is what an unbreakable comb looks like on the inside.“Das Gute an dieser ungewohn�

ten Herausforderung ist, dass Sie als Assistentin genau wis�sen, wie Sie jemanden ab-

wimmeln, um Ihren Chef vor unnüt�zen und zeitraubenden Gesprächen zu schützen. Im Umkehrschluss wissen Sie also auch, was zu tun ist, um diese Hürde zu überwinden. Sie wissen, was im Vorzimmer „gut rüberkommt” und was ein sofortige KO�Kriterium für eine Weiterleitung ist.

Das Schlechte ist, dass wir hier und jetzt

einmal davon ausgehen, dass Sie all dies auf Englisch tun.

Aber kann Englisch überhaupt etwas Schlechtes sein? Natürlich nicht, denn Sie investieren schließlich regelmäßig in Ihre Fremdsprache Nr. 1. Und wie im�mer: Wir geben Ihnen Formulierungs�beispiele für Ihre tägliche Praxis.

Aber gehen wir einen Schritt nach dem anderen, denn die Vorzimmerdame ist oft nicht die erste Hürde, die zu neh�men ist.

Die Hürden erkennenIf you can find out the name and phone number of the decision maker you want to talk to and whom you want to convince that he should meet with your compa�ny’s representative, that is good. You can start right away. But it is more likely that you have to call the company to find out who your target person is and you will be blocked by the switchboard or, if you get past them, by the personal assistant.

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Die TelefonzentraleUsually the switchboard is no big prob-lem, but it will help if you think about how to approach the company before you call.

So it is advisable to undertake some gen-eral research before you make your call:• Visit the company website to find out

if there is a person you can speak to directly. If a phone extension is given you can avoid the switchboard and the assistant. If not take the following step:

• Find out how your company’s offer fits in the target company’s needs.

If possible look for a good time to call, i.e., days with customer events are not the best choice for a call. Bear these in mind and you should be able to get the switchboard to put you through.

And here are some possible formula-tions:• Good Morning, this is Erika Steiner

calling from XY company. I would like to talk to somebody responsible for the field of innovative printer soft�ware. Could you tell me who that is? And connect me?

• Hello Ms Muller. Erica Steiner is my name, calling from XY compa�ny. Please tell me who is responsible for printer software in your compa�ny. Could you give me his extension number? And put me through?

• Good afternoon Ms Muller. My name is Erica Steiner and I’m representing XY company. I’m calling about inno�vative printer software and would like to talk to somebody in charge. Would you be so kind and give me the phone number and connect me?

By asking for the target person’s phone number you will be able to call again without going through the switch�board.

But sometimes the switchboard will not cooperate and put you through only to the target person’s assistant.

Die AssistentinAs you will know from your own experi�ence it is one of the most important tasks of a perfect secretary to protect the boss from any unnecessary calls. His time is limited. So this is a huge obstacle for you as a caller. But you can handle it.

What you need is a telephone script for a “cold call”, which is an unexpected and in most

cases unwanted call. You have already put some research into this matter, and the strategies mentioned above are use�ful openings with the assistant too.

But there is more to this obstacle, because she will want to protect her boss.

Der TelefonleitfadenNow you need to figure out:1. what makes your company’s offer at-

tractive to the target person,2. what objections he or she might raise,3. what arguments you can use to coun�

ter these objections.

In the end this will become a guideline for the conversation with the assistant and the responsible person, the deci�sion maker, from whom you want an appointment with your specialist.

StichworteAs these are two different target people – the assistant and the decision maker – you should keep your formulations flexible.

Das WesentlicheBoth the assistant and the decision mak�er are short on time. So it is important not to be too tedious with your explana�tions. Be precise and short, point out what is important for them, not for your company.

Fragen und Einwände sammelnIt is best to consider all possible ques-tions and objections beforehand as this makes it easier to identify what is attrac�tive to the other company.

• Why is your company’s offer attractive for this special target company?

• Is there any tangible value (e.g., less time�consuming, money saving) for the company?

• What is really new about this offer?• What makes it different from other

companies’ offers?• What is special about your company’s

offer (maybe a discount in the start�up phase)?

Once you have collected all these ar�guments and your possible replies, it should be easy to pick out the best point to start off your pitch to the tar�get person.

Usually the most important selling argument is money, whether it is in the form of costs,

time�saving or winning new customers. But sometimes it is something else, like in�novation. You will find out when you look at what your competitors offer.

You can tell by the reaction to your lead�in if you are on the right track. If you are talking to the assistant, this is the mo�ment to ask to be put through.

Der EntscheiderIf you are already talking to the decision maker you can go on and talk about the

ImpressumHerausgeber: GWI – eine Marke der WEKA MEDIA GmbH & Co. KGPostanschrift: Römerstraße 4, 86438 Kis-sing, Tel.: 08233 23 7850, Fax: 08233 23 7860, E-Mail: service@gwi.de, Internet: www.gwi.dePersönlich haftende Gesellschafterin: WEKA MEDIA Beteiligungs-GmbH, Sitz in KissingGeschäftsführung: Stephan Behrens, Michael Bruns, Werner PehlandRedaktion: Ulrike Rudolph (Chefredak-teurin, V.i.S.d.P.), Anschrift siehe obenObjektleitung: Michaela TimeusHerausgeberinnen: Maureen Brown (GB), Jennifer Hohensteiner (USA)Satz & Layout: contentsign, AltenahrDruck: Druckkultur GmbH, MünchenErscheinungsweise: monatlichAlle Angaben in „English@ Work“ wurden mit äußerster Sorgfalt ermittelt und überprüft. Sie basieren jedoch auf der Richtigkeit uns erteilter Auskünfte und unterliegen Verän-derungen. Eine Gewähr kann deshalb nicht übernommen werden, auch nicht für telefo-nisch erteilte Auskünfte. Wiedergabe – auch auszugsweise – nur mit schriftlicher Einwilli-gung des Herausgebers. ISSN 1862-4316

QuoteEnthusiasm is the best pro-

tection in any situation. Wholehearted-ness is contagious. Give yourself, if you wish to get others.

David Seabury, American psychologist and author

6

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Auch im Deutschen gibt es leicht verwechselbare WörterHand aufs Herz: Wissen Sie mit Si�cherheit, wann Sie „grammatikalisch“ im Gegensatz zu „grammatisch“ ver�wenden sollen? Und wie sieht es mit „Worte“ und „Wörter“ aus? Auch in der deutschen Sprache gibt es Wortpaare, die sich in so vielen Aspekten ähneln – Lautbild Schrift, Verwendung, Bedeu�tung – dass der feine Unterschied ver�

gessen oder gar nicht wahrgenommen wird.

Wenn diese Unsicherheit weit verbreitet ist oder eher spezielle Wörter betrifft, ist es nicht so schlimm, falls Sie mal das fal�sche Wort verwenden. Aber stellen Sie sich vor, Sie würden im Meeting „öku�menisch“ für „ökonomisch“ verwenden! Das würde das Meeting bestimmt auf�heitern – auf Ihren Kosten. (Am bes�

If in doubt – cut it out

Zum Verwechseln ähnlich: Confusable WordsWörter, die sich in Aussprache und Rechtschreibung ähneln, sind leicht zu verwechseln. Wenn hinzukommt, dass sie sich in der Bedeutung oder gram-matischen Funktion nahe stehen dann ist die Verwirrung komplett. Auf Englisch gibt es jede Menge „confusable words“, und auch englische Mut-tersprachler tappen immer wieder in diese Falle. Aber da nur Unwissende in eine Falle tappen, machen wir Sie jetzt mit den trickreichsten Wortverwech-selungsfällen bekannt. Somit bleiben Sie auf dem sicheren Weg.

other advantages of your company’s of�fer until you have the impression he or she is convinced. Then you can ask to schedule a visit by your specialist. Some suggestions:• May I ask which date would suit you

best for a visit?• Our representative will be in your area

on …, would that fit into your sched�ule?

• I would like to suggest the …. for a meeting with Mr. Frommel. Would that be okay for you?

• Do you prefer a particular date?• Would you like to suggest a date for

a meeting?

Worst Case ScenarioAnd what can you do if the worst happens, if the assistant or the decision maker reacts negatively to your open�ing?

If they say something like:• I know your catalogue already, there is

nothing interesting in it for us!• We have a contract with a competitor

already. He offers much better condi�tions!

• We don’t need XY.

Ihre ReaktionHere is how you can react:• This new software is really innova-

tive and absolutely new on the mar�ket. None of our competitors has it on offer right now.

• We offer a special discount at the mo�ment which might be interesting for you.

• So what would be interesting for you?

Gute NervenIf you have to deal with a worst case sce�nario, this needs good nerves, a strong will and a good repertoire of formula�

tions which you can adjust to the other person’s needs. Stay focused and go through your catchwords.

And if you don’t succeed, just don’t take it personally. Chalk it up to experience and try to find a new approach for simi�lar reactions in the future.

Insider tip from your Britisheditor Maureen Brown

If you put down whole sentences in your script you are likely to just read them out loud, even if the questions asked are slightly different, just be-cause you had determined what you wanted to say before. This might sound studied and not really convin-cing. It is much better to write down catchwords only. This makes it a lot ea-sier to find formulations which sound natural and honest.

Answer key exercise: Favourite Mistakes1 a.; 2 c.;3. Er hatte Porzellan in den Händen.;4. Wir haben im Urlaub getrennte Kas-

sen.;5. e.; 6. a.;7. You go crazy. This is a very Cornish

expression.8. c.; 9. c.; 10. b

Vocabulary Box

catchword – Stichwortobjection – Einwandobstacle – Hürdestorey – Stockwerkstudied – einstudiertswitchboard – Telefonzentraletedious – weitschweifig

ten lachen Sie in solchen Fällen ein-fach mit …und dann prägen Sie sich die richtigen Begriffe ein!)

Sie müssen sich aber nicht schämen, wenn Sie auf Englisch die Wörter aus diesem Abschnitt hin und wieder ver�wechseln. Dennoch können Sie An-erkennung und Respekt verdienen, wenn Sie sie richtig verwenden. Um das zu können, müssen Sie den Unter�schied 1) bewusst wahrnehmen, 2) ver�stehen und 3) sich merken. Die bes�te Methode, die wir kennen, um diese drei Ziele möglichst effizient zu er�reichen, ist „Learning by Doing“. Al�so spitzen Sie Ihren Bleistift, holen Ihr Lieblingswörterbuch auf den Schreib�tisch oder den Bildschirm und legen Sie los!

Exercise: HomophonesThese are words that are spelt different�ly but have the same pronunciation and mean different things, which means that people often get them mixed up. Some�

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Exercise: Verwechselbare BedeutungPart of the confusion with these words does come from the fact that even if they are not true homophones, they of�ten sound alike. But in the following cases, it is not so much the spelling as the meaning of the word that gets mixed up. They are used as synonyms although they mean different things.

First consider the groups of words with confusable meanings. (There is one group with three words.) Then read the definitions and write the correct word in the space provided: oral/au�ral, ambiguous/ambivalent, alternate/alternative, disinterested/uninterested, economic/economical, flammable/in�flammable/non�flammable (note: two of these mean the same thing):1. neutral, objective _______________________________2. quickly catches on fire _______________________________3. having opposing attitudes or feelings about something _______________________________

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times people are not even aware that there are two different spellings and meanings for these words. (And when we say “people”, we mean “native speak�ers”!) So think carefully, consult your dictionary if necessary, and choose the right word from the following pairs of homophones for the sentences below. Some words may be used more than once.

Accept/except, affect/effect, capital/cap�itol, practice/practise, principle/princi�pal, storey/story, whether/weather1. It is company ______________ to put

the customer first.2. Putting the customer first is one of our

company’s main _____________s.3. Everyone knows that London is the

____________ of Great Britain.4. We expect them to ________ our of�

fer.5. If you tell a __________ during a pres�

entation to keep your audience inter�ested, remember to keep it short or it will have the opposite ____________.

6. _____________ in times of rainy _______________, I always take a walk on my lunch break.

7. The new company policy comes into ____________ next month and will not _________ contracts concluded before this date.

8. If you want to see where the leg�islature meets, you can visit the ____________ downtown.

9. The __________ issue is ___________ or not we have approval from the Works Council.

10. Our office is on the second ________ of the building, next to a doctor’s ________________.

11. The best way to improve your Eng�lish is to ___________ speaking it as much as possible.

Answer key on page 8

Exercise: Kniffelige RechtschreibungThe words in this exercise don’t sound exactly alike, but their spelling is often misleading. It’s hard to remember which word is spelled which way. Some of the following sentences contain errors, while others are correct. Please identi-fy the errors and correct them.1. Always make a backup or you might

loose your data.

2. I would advice you not criticise Ms Jenner.

3. What kind of cloths are appropriate for the off�site seminar?

4. If it were up to me, I would chose a different strategy.

5. You should ask Steven in Human Resources — he always gives good advise.

6. He did not choose to work on the project — he was assigned to it.

7. After I lost weight, most of my clothes were too lose.

8. We need some old cloths to clean up the spill. Answer key on page 8

Exercise: Wortpaare auflistenCan you now list four pairs of confus�able words from the above exercise — and state their meaning in German?

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________Answer key on page 8

8

Ausgabe 10 | 2013

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English@work

4. relating to the mouth, or speaking rather than writing _____________ _____________________________

5. careful (not wasteful) use of money _______________________________6. not interested _______________________________7. unclear _____________________________________________________8. every other (in a series) __________________________________________9. relating to the ear or hearing _______________________________10. another choice or option _______________________________________11. cannot catch on fire _______________________________12. of or relating to economics _____________________________________

Answer key on the right

Exercise: GrammatikThe words that get confused in this cat�egory are often homophones and al�so have confusable meanings. But the confusion they cause also has a gram-mar aspect. Test your knowledge of these grammatical subtleties by decid�ing which of the following statements are true and which are false.

1. The difference between the verbs “lay” and “lie” is that “lay” takes a direct ob�ject and “lie” is an intransitive verb and does not.

2. “Farther” is used when talking about physical distance and “further” is used when talking about metaphori�cal or figurative distance.

3. “It’s” is a contraction for “it is”.

4. “It’s” is both a contraction for “it is” and also the possessive of “it” because in English possessives are constructed with an apostrophe and an ‘s’.

5. “Awhile” and “a while” can be used in�terchangeably.

6. This is a correct sentence: “The con�ference was altogether successful.”

7. “All together” is a phrase meaning “all in one place” or “all at once” and the terms can also be separated as in the following examples: “Do you have the materials all togeth�er?” “Do you have all the materials together?”

8. The possessive of “you” is “you’re”.

9. This is a correct statement: “Your scheduled to attend a meeting after lunch.”

10. “Whose” is the possessive of “who” and “who’s” is a contraction for “who is”.

11. The following sentence contains a mistake: “They left they’re calendar on the desk over there but their com�ing back to get it.”

Answer key exercises: Homophones1. Practice; 2. Principle(s); 3. Capital (The term “capitol” and what it refers to is spe-cific to AE, so this confusable pair only exists in AE.); 4. Accept; 5. Story/effect (In AE there is only one spelling, “story”, so this confusable pair only exists in BE.); 6. Except/weather; 7. Effect/affect; 8. Capitol (The term “capitol” and what it refers to is specific to AE, so this confusable pair only exists in AE.); 9. Principal/whether; 10. Storey/practice (In AE there is only one spelling, “story”, so this confusable pair only exists in BE.); 11. practiseKnifflige Rechtschreibung1. „lose“ statt „loose“, 2. “advise” statt “advice”, 3.”clothes” statt “cloths”, 4. “choose” statt “chose”, 5. “advice” statt “advise”, 6. Richtig, 7. “loose” statt “lose”, 8. RichtigWortpaare auflistenlose (verlieren)/loose (locker), choose (Gegenwart von wählen)/chose (Vergangenheit von wählen: gewählt), advise (Verb – beraten)/advice (Substantiv – Ratschlag), clothes (Kleidung)/cloths (Tücher/Stoffe)Verwechselbare Bedeutung1. Disinterested, 2. Flammable AND inflammable, 3. Ambivalent, 4. Oral, 5. Economi-cal, 6. Uninterested, 7. Ambiguous, 8. Alternate, 9. Aural, 10. Alternative, 11. Non-flam-mable, 12. EconomicGrammatik1. True: “I lay my book in the table”./”I lie on the couch to watch TV.”, 2. True, 3. True, 4. False: The possessive of “it” is “its”– there is no apostrophe in this case, 5. False. “Awhile” is an adverb used to modify a verb: “You will have to wait awhile,” whereas “a while” is a noun phrase usually used with “in” and “for”: I will see you in a while”, 6. True. “Altogether” is an adverb meaning “completely” or “on the whole”, 7. True, 8. False. The possessive of “you” is “your” (no apostrophe), 9. False. It should be “You’re (=you are) scheduled…”, 10. True: “Whose book is that?”/”Who’s coming to lunch with us?”, 11. False. The sentence contains two mistakes. The correct sentence is: They left their calendar on the desk over there but they’re coming back to get it.

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