Question 1

When should I use that instead of which?

Accepted Answer

Use **that** for clauses essential to the meaning of the sentence, and **which** — with a comma — for clauses that add extra information.

*The report that we published yesterday is online.* — identifies which report. Remove the clause and the sentence loses its meaning.

*The report, which we published yesterday, is online.* — there is one report; the timing is a bonus detail. Remove it and the sentence still works.

The grammatical terms are **restrictive** (essential, *that*, no commas) and **non-restrictive** (extra, *which*, commas).

The difference is not decorative. Consider:

*The buildings that were damaged will be demolished.* — only the damaged ones.
*The buildings, which were damaged, will be demolished.* — all of them, and incidentally they were damaged.

A reader who knows the convention will take quite different meanings from those two sentences, which is why editors care about it.

The test: read the sentence without the clause. If it still identifies the right thing, the clause is extra — use *which* and commas. If the sentence becomes vague, the clause is essential — use *that*.

Two qualifications worth knowing. This is more strictly observed in American English than British, where *which* is commonly used for restrictive clauses too and is not considered an error. And the commas do most of the work: a restrictive clause with *which* but no commas is generally clear, whereas commas in the wrong place mislead regardless of the word.

For people, use *who* rather than either — *the colleague who wrote it*.

One practical consequence for search and screen readers: because the commas carry so much of the meaning, dictation software and hurried editing frequently drop them and silently change what a sentence claims. It is worth re-reading any sentence where a *which* clause could plausibly be essential.

Question 2

What is the Oxford comma and does it matter?

Accepted Answer

The Oxford comma — also called the serial comma — is the one placed before and in a list of three or more items: red, white, and blue, rather than red, white and blue. It matters because it sometimes

Question 3

What is a dangling modifier?

Accepted Answer

A modifier that is not attached to the thing it is supposed to describe, so the sentence appears to say something the writer did not mean. Walking to the station, the rain started. Grammatically,

Question 4

When should I use a semicolon?

Accepted Answer

A semicolon does two jobs, and both are worth knowing because it does them better than the alternatives. Joining two closely related complete sentences. Each side must be able to stand alone. The

Question 5

What is the passive voice and is it bad?

Accepted Answer

In the active voice, the subject does the action: the committee rejected the proposal. In the passive voice, the subject receives it: the proposal was rejected by the committee — or, with the actor

Question 6

What is the difference between e.g. and i.e.?

Accepted Answer

e.g. introduces examples. i.e. restates or clarifies. They are not interchangeable, and mixing them changes the meaning of a sentence. They are abbreviations of Latin phrases. e.g. is exempli gratia,

Question 7

Are sentence fragments ever acceptable?

Accepted Answer

Yes, when used deliberately. A fragment is a group of words punctuated as a sentence without a complete subject-verb structure, and the difference between a stylistic device and an error is whether

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