1) Can and May

May relates to permission
Can relates to possibility.

‘Can I go to the toilet?’
‘Well you know where it is, you have two legs and are thus capable of going to the toilet’
‘May I go to the toilet?
‘Yes you may!’

In everyday usage the shadings between may and can have become so blurred that there is less of a distinction, if at all, between the two words.

2) Different To, From, or Than

Should it be;
different to?
different from?
different than?

Could be any of them to be honest. The first two are more acceptable, with a general preference for from. In the US, it is more common to see different than.

3) Double Negatives

A double negative reverses the meaning.

I didn’t do nothing!
If you didn’t do nothing, then you must have done something.
I didn’t never do nothing.
Well that’s ok then.

In the first line there a double negative appears. In the third line a triple negative appears which then reverses the already reversed meaning (taking it back to the way it should be!). It is interesting to note that other languages accept and even require double negatives to be used (for example: French) but in English it is best to try and avoid using them for reasons of clarity.

Contradictorily though, double negatives are used in the English language to express understatement. These are known as litotes. They are useful for expressing a though that is not completely opposite. Eg: ‘not unhappy’ might not mean that they are happy, more that they are content.

Just goes to show how varied and contradictory the English language can really be.

4) Each and Every

Each requires a singular verb because it concerns a single person. But so does every, when you say ‘every person’ in the world you would be referring to each and every single one.

Each man, woman and child in the world is alive.
Every man, woman and child in the world is alive.

When each is preceded by a plural subject it needs a plural verb.

Their strips were each given a good clean after the football match.

5) Hopefully

In the following sentence, the word however is used to mean it is hoped.

Hopefully, the weekend will have good weather.

In the 18th century, German immigrants introduced the word hoffentlich (I hope so) to the US. It was translated as hopefully. Nowadays it sits beside the original English meaning of the adverb hopefully; meaning full of hope.

6) If and Whether

If is such a versatile word and can often be used to replace whether, although it is best to make sure it doesn’t lead to ambiguity.

Did you notice if he had dandruff?

The use of if in that sentence places the emphasis on notice. What if the person wasn’t alert? They might not have been able to tell if the person had hair, let alone suffered from dandruff. It would have been more clear to ask;

Did you notice whether or not he had dandruff?

7) -ise or -ize

The -ize ending is used mainly in the US. In Britain there is a preference for -ise. Some words however have always been spelt with the -ise ending, such as advise, despise and enterprise. Other words may appear odd with the -ise ending (eg: capsize) so are best left with the -ize ending.

Lay and Lie

The use of lay and lie can cause confusion. The confusion about these verbs arises due to the different tenses.

lay     laid     laid
lie      lay      lain

The confusion can be avoided by remembering that to lie is to recline and to lay is to put something down.

You lay down the law, an egg is laid, you lie on the bed, she lay there, she had lain there for hours.

9) Less and Fewer

Use less for size and non-count nouns; use fewer for numbers and plural nouns.

At the pub last night, fewer pints were drunk and less beer was consumed than the night before.

10) Metaphorical Mixture

Really it is just bad practice to mix up metaphors and can make the writing appear sloppy (or funny)

The company chairman said he had been standing on the edge of a precipice for far too long and he was now going to take a major step forward.

11) Only

During conversation we use stresses to make our meaning more clear; in writing, unfortunately, we cannot. Depending on where the word only is placed in a sentence it can change the meaning totally.

I can only lend you £50
I can lend you only £50

The first one means ‘I can’t give you £50 but can lend you it’
The second one mean ‘I can lend you £50 but can’t lend you anymore than that.’

12) Quite

This is a tricky one as quite has two different meanings.

I am quite certain that Scotland will qualify for a World Cup again! They are great at defending and quite good at attacking.

In that sentence, the first quite qualifies and strengthens certain (meaning I am absolutely certain), the second quite weakens the word it qualifies (meaning they are good at attacking but not that good).

13) Spelled or Spelt

Many different words could fit in to this category:

spell, smell, spill, kneel, learn, leap, burn, dwell, spoil, dream

It appears that there is a growing preference for the -t ending, although the choice (for now) is still yours to make. In the US, the -ed ending is generally used.

14) Split Infinitives

Apparently the split infinitive is a big grammatical no-no, but the careful user has nothing to fear using one on occasion. A split infinitive results from an adverb or adverbial phrase being placed between to and the infinitive.

She wanted her daughter to confidently grow into the job.

A purist would have rewritten that:

She wanted her daughter confidently to grow into the job.

Generally though, not many people are going to split hairs over the use of a split infinitive.

15) That

As long as the meaning of a sentence still remains clear, the dropping of the word that is acceptable.

He believed that he was a good writer.
He believed he was a good writer.

Word economy is great.

16) That, Which and Who

That refers to people, animals and things
Which refers to animals and things
Who (and whom) refers to people only

17) Whatever

Here is a word that has certainly been hijacked from its original, and correct, meaning. The word whatever means no matter what.

Whatever the weather, we will still have fun.

18) While and Whilst

Both while and whilst mean exactly the same thing so either or would suffice. Although it should be noted that using while instead of whilst will save you a grand total of one letter when typing!

19) Who and Whom

For practical reasons (and without going in to too much discussion) a simple rule exists that will help.

If you relate:
he to who
him to whom
you are halfway there.
(doesn’t work with she/who & her/whom but when in doubt just substitute he)

I didn’t know who/whom had the tickets.

In this case you wouldn’t say him had the tickets, you would say he had the tickets; therefore, in this case, who would be correct.

Who/whom are you fighting with?

In this case you wouldn’t say I am fighting he, you would say I am fighting him; therefore, in this case, whom would be correct.

Of course, to actually say whom are you fighting with just sound pompous with a hint of being pedantic. That is the reason why more and more people are inclined to safely say who.

20) You and I or You and Me

To over simplify matters, think of

you and I = we
you and me = us

We are good together – You and I are good together
They don’t believe us – They don’t believe you and me

Hope you enjoyed this article, feel free to browse through more articles about hints and tips with grammar.

How Important Is Spelling and Grammar
Clarity of Writing: Seeing Through The Fog
The Use of a Comma, a Problem in Itself
Avoiding the Catastrophe of the Apostrophe
The Spell Check and Some Potential Pitfalls