Use the pronoun "you." In some situations, the pronoun "you" can be used. Use the noun "one." Another alternative is to use the noun "one." Using this technique, the first example would be rewritten as "One should always keep one's thermometer handy," and the second example would be "One must always give one's instructions to the jury." As you can see, however, the use of "one" often results in a vague sentence that is stuffy in tone. "That" introduces essential information "which" seldom does.".A clause beginning with "that" is not set off by commas.A clause beginning with "which" is usually set off by commas.If you can drop the clause and still retain the meaning of the sentence, use "which." If you can't, use "that.".Many writers have difficulty determining whether to start a clause with "that" or "which." Remember these hints: On the other hand, review the sentence, "The pens, which were on the desk, are missing." This sentence tells us that all of the pens were on the desk, and they are all missing. Presumably, there are other pens that were not on the desk, and those can still be found. For example, in the sentence "The pens that were on the desk are missing," the word "that" tells which particular pens are missing (namely, the ones on the desk). ""That" is used in a restrictive clause (a clause that is essential to the meaning of a sentence), whereas "which" is used in a non-restrictive clause (a clause that merely adds an idea to a sentence that would be complete without the clause). Use "that" or "which" to refer to non-humans, places, or objects (as in "the deposition that was taken," "the exhibits, which were omitted," or "the dog that barked"). Note that many writers object to the use of the word "that" to refer to persons, although it is commonly used colloquially. Use "who" or "that" to refer to humans (as in "the paralegal who was hired," "the project manager who proofread the document," or "the paralegal that was hired"). The attorney asked me to review the pleadings thoroughly.ĭo not insert "not" or "never" in an infinitive because the result is awkward and incorrect. The attorney asked me to thor-oughly review the pleadings. Because many split infinitives are so easily corrected (by merely moving the adverb that causes the "split" after the infinitive), correct them when you can, and avoid splitting an infinitive unless you want to place emphasis on the adverb. Writing experts now recognize that there is no formal rule against splitting an infinitive, and split infinitives are commonly seen in nonlegal writing, including newspaper articles however, legal readers tend to be conservative and may be annoyed or distracted by a split infinitive. An infinitive is said to be "split" when a word (usually an adverb) is inserted between the word to and the verb, as in to quickly run or to convincingly plead. An infinitive is the word to with a verb, as in to run or to plead.
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