在竞争激烈的商界里，你需要占据每一个可能的优势。标准的英文会将你带至竞争的前头。你觉得很难达成吗？一点也不会！看一看我们列出你的竞争者犯的商务英语错误然后迅速跟进：

In the competitive world of business, you need every advantage you can get. And flawless English can put you way ahead of the competition. You think it's too hard to achieve? Not at all! Check out our list of business English mistakes your competitors make and get the edge immediately:

Personal vs. Personnel

请特别注意单字拼法及重音！"Personnel" 是名词指的是公司的员工。例如"Our company has the best personnel in the industry." 重音在字尾。"Personal" 是形容词，是指私人的或是个人的。 "I'm requesting a day of annual leave for personal reasons." 重音前缀。如果你不小心，你会说成一个"personal meeting" 而不是一个"personnel meeting."

Pay close attention to the spelling and stress on these! "Personnel" is a noun meaning a company's staff. E.g. "Our company has the best personnel in the industry." The stress is placed at the end of the word. "Personal" is an adjective meaning private or individual. "I'm requesting a day of annual leave for personal reasons." The stress is placed at the beginning. If you're not careful, you could call for a "personal meeting" rather than a "personnel meeting."

Executive

一位"executive"是指公司的某个管理人员。如果你正向访客或是顾客介绍你公司的顶尖executives，小心你的发音！如果重音在"u"，那么 "executive"剎那间听起来像是"execute"-杀或置人于死。

An "executive" is someone in company management. If you're introducing your company's top executives to visitors or customers, watch your pronunciation! If you place the stress over the "u", then "executive" suddenly sounds more like "execute" - to kill or put to death.

Present? Presentate? Presentation?

当你在做presentation的时候你需要present你的资料。Present是动词，指的是介绍某样东西或引起某人对某物的关注。一个presentation 是一种常用在商业上用来介绍新信息的固定形式。很多人-即使一些说英文的外籍人士-认为"presentate" 是"presentation." 的一种动词形式。不要再犯同样的错误！

You present information when you give a presentation. Present is a verb meaning to introduce something or bring something to someone's attention. A presentation is a format¹ often used in business to introduce new information. Many people - even some native English speakers - think "presentate" is the verb form of "presentation." Don't make the same mistake!

"I look forward to hearing from you."

这个词组通常使用在商业书信的结尾。但是英文学习者经常会写，"I look forward to hear from you."这并不正确而且让以英语为母语的外籍人士听起来觉得很滑稽。这个动词"hear"必须要加上"ing"在这词组上。

This phrase is commonly used to end business letters. But English learners frequently write, "I look forward to hear from you." This isn't correct and sounds funny to native English speakers. The verb "hear" always has to have the "ing" in this phrase.

Headquarters and Information

有很多英文学习者会去掉"headquarters"的"s"然后把"information"加上"s"这两个字都不正确。Headquarters是单数名词指的是一家公司的总部： "I'm going to headquarters this weekend to meet with the CEO."总部这个字是很微妙的，因为它的字尾是"s"。看起来像复数名词！但是去掉"s"就会将headquarters变成动词"to headquarter."

Headquarters and Information

Many English learners leave the "s" off "headquarters" and add an "s" to "information." Both are wrong. Headquarters is a singular noun and means a company's main office: "I'm going to headquarters this weekend to meet with the CEO." Headquarters is tricky² because it ends with an "s." It seems like a plural³ noun! But leaving the "s" turns headquarters into a verb, "to headquarter."

另一方面，很多学习者会在信息这个字的字尾加上"s"。大部分的人推断如果他们需要很多信息，他们就会改为复数，例如，"I need informations on overseas study programs."但是信息是不可数名词(信息这个字是没有复数形式的。你所能说的就是"I need some information."

On the other hand, many learners add an "s" to information. Most people reason that if they need a lot of information, they need to make it plural, e.g., "I need informations on overseas study programs." But information is an uncountable noun (it doesn't have a plural form). All you have to say is, "I need some information."