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For clear Business English, state the purpose first, give the detail the other person needs, then make the request or next action easy to identify. Use polite direct language and check an agreement when a task has several parts.
Use can for ability and ordinary permission. Use may for an uncertain possibility and for permission in a formal or careful setting.
Use can for ability and usual spoken permission. Use may for possibility and for permission when the situation is formal or careful.
You can begin a sentence with because when the sentence includes both the reason and the main result. Put a comma after the opening because clause when it comes before the main clause.
Start by naming the purpose of the communication. Then give a true detail about your experience, question, task, or next action. Use polite questions for requests and keep your message focused on the role or work being discussed.
Use cereal for food made from grains, especially a breakfast food. Use serial for something arranged in a sequence or released in connected parts, such as a serial number or a serial story.
Say what you need to check, then ask the speaker to explain, repeat, spell, or confirm it politely.
Use familiar pairs such as flock of birds and bunch of keys. Keep countable group members plural, and choose a verb that fits your meaning.
Singular group nouns usually take singular verbs in American English. British English also uses plural verbs when the focus is on the members.
Use singular agreement when the group acts as one unit. Use plural agreement when you focus on the members as separate people.
Use a singular verb when you see the collective noun as one unit: The committee has reached a decision. Use a plural verb when you mean the members acting separately, especially in British English: The committee are giving their opinions.
A collocation (a common word combination) is a group of words that appear together unusually often. Learning common combinations helps you choose more usual English phrases.