grammar

may or might?

The subtle distinctions between these (and between other so-called modal verbs) are gradually disappearing, but they still matter to many readers and can be useful.

meet, met

Do not add the word "with" after meet or met. Write:

I met John the other day and tomorrow I will meet his wife. 

Not:

I met with John the other day and tomorrow I will meet with his wife. 

ndash

Use "ndashes" – like these – to separate clauses in sentences. The HTML code to use is –

Use hyphens elsewhere (compound adjectives, for example). 

The particle detector – housed in a custom-built cavern 100 metres below ground – is made up of concentric subdetectors. 

none

It is a (persistent) myth that "none" has to take a singular verb: plural is acceptable and often sounds more natural, e.g. "none of the current squad are good enough to play in the Premiership", "none of the issues have been resolved"

very

Don't use it – it's usually redundant. Just think of a better word. Not “very big”, but huge, vast, etc. Not "very small", but tiny, minute, etc.

The exceptions are when "very" is used to mean "actual; precise" as in those were his very words, or to mean "without addition; mere" as in the very thought made her shudder. Those uses are fine.

See words to avoid in web texts.

which or that?

This is quite easy, really: "that" defines, "which" gives extra information (often in a clause enclosed by commas):

This is the house that Jack built; but this house, which John built, is falling down.
The Guardian, which I read every day, is the paper that I admire above all others.
I am very proud of the sunflowers that I grew from seed (some of the sunflowers);
I am very proud of the sunflowers, which I grew from seed (all the sunflowers).

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