Business Spotlight 08.2019

Word choice

Business talk

Word choice

Business talk Business Spotlight^ 6/19

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Grammar Business Spotlight^ 6/19 Grammar Business Spotlight^ 6/19

LANGUAGE

CARDS

Creative accounting, or creative accountancy, is the use

of methods that may be legal — but are not necessarily

moral — in order to make the financial situation of a

company seem more positive than it really is.

creative accounting ifml. = Bilanzkosmetik

The term deep smarts refers to the detailed knowledge
and skills that you acquire while working for a company.
They are a valuable asset for any employer.

deep smarts ifml. = im Berufsleben erworbenes Fachwissen

“Their biggest problem was unreliable suppliers.”

The verb “be” usually matches the subject in number
(“problem”: singular) and not the complement (“suppliers”:
plural). However, if the verb is a long way from the subject,
it can match the complement in number, for example: “The
biggest problem for their branch in Toulouse, France, were
unreliable suppliers.”

Das Überleben des Unternehmens hing am seidenen Faden.

In a business context, something that hangs by a thread
could easily fail if a solution is not found soon. The
expression can also be used in relation to somebody’s life.

hang by a thread = am seidenen Faden hängen

“ One million euros is a high penalty to pay for not

meeting the deadline.”

When the subject of a clause expresses an amount or

quantity, the verb is normally singular, even when the

noun is plural.

“It’s definitely worth a try.”

or

“It’s definitely worth trying (out).”

You can use this phrase when you are not sure that

something will be a success, but you want to give it a

chance.

“...They were just lucky...”

You are lucky if something pleasant happens to you thanks
to favourable circumstances. Happy refers to how a person
feels about something.

be lucky = Glück haben
be happy = glücklich sein

“That’s their office policy:...”

Policy refers to the rules people need to follow at work.

Politics refers to government or company strategies. Office

politics relates to tactics used to get ahead at work.

policy = Politik, Richtlinie(n)

politics = Politik, Strategie(n)

office politics = Klüngelei