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Category Archives: Style

Performance

“Performance” is the noun that comes from “to perform”. But it’s not the right word to use for carrying out tasks or doing work: the overtones are too confusing.

Posted byMike WilkinsonDecember 5, 2020December 16, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Overused words, Style, Wrong registerTags:dunglish, engels, prestatie, presteren, uitvoerenLeave a comment on Performance

Dear, dear…

Try to avoid using “Dear” at the start of a message or e-mail unless you know the person’s name. Imagine you’re actually speaking to them, face to face.

Posted byMike WilkinsonNovember 9, 2020November 9, 2020Posted inAddressing, Advanced, Cultural, StyleTags:beste, dunglish, engelsLeave a comment on Dear, dear…

Passive avoidance

You may have been taught to avoid passive verbs. They have their place, however, and avoiding them mustn’t distort the meaning.

Posted byMike WilkinsonSeptember 24, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Passive voice, StyleTags:dunglish, engels, passivum2 Comments on Passive avoidance

Relations and relationships

Dutch uses the same word for both (relatie), but the meanings in English are distinctly different.

Posted byMike WilkinsonSeptember 9, 2020September 9, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Mistranslations, Overused words, Style, Valse vriendenTags:BZK (ministerie), dunglish, engels, relatieLeave a comment on Relations and relationships

English as she is spoken

The Dutch are great communicators who get their message across well in spoken English. But actually putting the spoken word on paper is a pig with a different snout altogether.

Posted byMike WilkinsonAugust 25, 2020September 24, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Punctuation, StyleTags:aanhalingstekens, contractievormen, dubbele punt, dunglish, eens, engels, ja, komma, niet waar, nouLeave a comment on English as she is spoken

The blog’s purpose

There seems to be a common belief that the possessive form must only be used for animate objects. That is (of course) complete bollocks.

Posted byMike WilkinsonAugust 18, 2020August 18, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Grammar, Longwindedness, StyleTags:apostrofje, dunglish, engelsLeave a comment on The blog’s purpose

Woods, forests and jungles

Your everyday, common-or-garden patch of countryside with trees is a wood or woodland. Forests are bigger, darker and nastier; jungles are definitely more exotic.

Posted byMike WilkinsonAugust 17, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Wrong registerTags:bos, dunglish, engels, oerwoud, regenwoudLeave a comment on Woods, forests and jungles

Among other things

Although it’s valid English, it’s not all that common a phrase and often not the most natural equivalent of the Dutch “onder andere”.

Posted byMike WilkinsonAugust 13, 2020August 13, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Overused words, StyleTags:dunglish, engels, o.a., onder andere2 Comments on Among other things

Ambition

Ambition isn’t always purely about positive goals. There can be overtones of being hell-bent on achieving them: being greedy, self-serving and unscrupulous.

Posted byMike WilkinsonAugust 10, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Overused words, StyleTags:ambitie, dunglish, engels, Eurospeak1 Comment on Ambition

The muscles of the legs of the sprinter

Using possessive forms and adjectival nouns rather than “of the” can make your writing a lot more succinct.

Posted byMike WilkinsonAugust 6, 2020August 6, 2020Posted inAdvanced, Longwindedness, StyleTags:dunglish, engels3 Comments on The muscles of the legs of the sprinter

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