Well, I never actually was you in the first place, so that’d be pretty hard!Įven so, it pains me to say it that using revert in an email to mean reply or get back, isn’t completely wrong. So what someone’s saying when they use revert back to me is transform back into me. It’s basically similar to return, but is more specifically similar to transform back.
A werewolf, with the passing of the full moon, might revert to its human state. So for example, someone might revert to a childlike state after a traumatic incident. Revert means to change to a previous state or action. The main reason for that is because the word is basically being used incorrectly. And while a lot of these short-lived buzzwords can be annoying, revert back to me tends to be the focus of particular anger. It’s part of the strange new world of business jargon: blue-sky thinking, move the needle etc. Revert back to me when you’ve finished the report.įind out what time they want to have the meeting, then revert back to me when it’s been organised. Basically, it just means get back to me or reply to me.
Whether or not you wanted us to advise, that’s advice you can live by.This phrase is one that’s become increasingly common in business emails in the last couple of years. That will keep your emails clear and courteous no matter what. But first, just make sure the rest of your email doesn’t seem impolite. If you like the formality of “please advise,” go ahead and use it. Other people think it’s redundant: just ask your question and call it a day. Some people don’t like it because it can be interpreted as rude or demanding. In the end, there’s nothing grammatically wrong with “please advise.” It’s just a question of usage and style.
Advice is a noun, meaning “suggestions for what to do,” and advise is a verb meaning “to give advice.” Mix up your s and your c and you’ll need advice on your spelling, as well as on the question you’re actually asking. ”Īnother potential problem is the difference between advise and advice.
To get around verb confusion, you can think of “please advise” as a shortcut for “please advise. However, it’s pretty obvious who is to be advised: whoever wrote the email. In other words, someone has to be advised. So, if your message feels complete without “please advise,” just ask your question and leave it at that.Īs far as grammar goes, some experts say that “advise” is a transitive verb, so it needs to have an object. They already know they’re supposed to get back to you with answers, with or without the “please advise” tacked on at the end. Here’s a crazy idea: if you’re writing an email asking for information, advice, or ideas from a colleague, they’ll see your request in the body of the email. In the second example email above, the “please advise” doesn’t necessarily come across as rude, but it’s also not strictly necessary. In most cases, the phrase comes after a question, so it ends up functioning as filler words or worse, as in Eric’s email. That’s right: the best way to get around “please advise” is just to leave it out. If you want alternatives for “please advise” that work in a more modern, casual workplace, try these synonyms: In fact, it sounds a bit stuffy and old-fashioned. Jennifer’s email, on the other hand, tries to be polite, even though Jared has clearly caused some delays. In Eric’s email, which already seems passive aggressive, the “please advise” at the end is the bitter cherry on top.
I know you’re swamped, but can you let me know whether it’s okay to move forward with publishing the article? Hoping to get it up mid-week. You were the last person to give these trainings, so I’d appreciate some background on the order and how the exercises are supposed to work. I was hoping you could help me go over the training decks. These example emails give a sense of the different ways “please advise” might come across to a reader. In most cases, this confusion can take place when “please advise” appears as the end of an email. The way readers interpret “please advise” depends not only on what the message is about but also on the tone of the rest of the message. Its primary meaning is a request for information, but it can also come across as having one of those last two meanings-and that’s not so pleasant. Give me the information I already asked for in the body of this emailĪs you can see, “please advise” can be interpreted in a variety of ways.Can you give me your thoughts, answers, or input?.Here are a few possible synonyms for “please advise”: Please advise: What does “Please advise” mean?ĭepending on the context, the person who’s using the phrase, and what that person wants, the phrase can have a few different meanings.