Even if you are not a stickler for grammar, you PhD would demand from you to be immaculate in your grammar. Some scholars go forward and end up becoming grammar geeks because all the time they are busy in rectifying the grammatical errors in their writing. Here I will discuss some of the most unusual grammar rules that you must know. After knowing this you would get an eye for noticing grammatical errors in almost every document you go through from time to time.
The use of which and that: Most of the professional writers often make a mistake in the use of which and that. Most of us think that these two pronouns can be used interchangeably. But you are wrong if you so think. “That” being in the category of restrictive pronoun it becomes very important for the noun it refers to. “Which” is a more detailing pronoun relatively so cannot be used interchangeably with that.
May & Might: Same like above, a lot of people believe these words can be used interchangeably but there is a difference in their meaning. “May” is a more positive word and implies possibility while “Might” is used for showing uncertainty for a situation that may not happen most likely.
Fewer & Less: This is perhaps the most commonly broken grammar rule that we see happening everywhere. But ironically, the logic for this is very simple. The use of “less” is more appropriate for intangible and hypothetical quantities such as “fun, joy, sad” etc. while we use the word “few” and “fewer” is more appropriate for those items that can be quantified easily and are of tangible characteristics.
Effect and Affect: It is crime for writers in English if they wrongly use the two words, “affect” and “effect”. It is actually very surprising that many people get it wrong most often as the difference between the two is very basic and simple to understand. “Effect” is a noun and “Affect” is a verb. Affect is used for telling about the outcome or consequences of something.
The use of comma: The use of commas is seen mostly with adjectives and adjectives are of varied categories such as coordinate, cumulative, descriptive and so on. The rule of the use of comma at each one is different and should be considered.
So, now when you sit down with your thesis or research documentation, be more particular about the grammar and its small intricacies we generally tend to overlook.
