{"id":984,"date":"2015-08-14T08:40:42","date_gmt":"2015-08-14T08:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/writing-geeks.com\/?p=984"},"modified":"2015-08-14T09:04:27","modified_gmt":"2015-08-14T09:04:27","slug":"that-vs-which","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/that-vs-which\/","title":{"rendered":"That vs. Which"},"content":{"rendered":"

That vs. Which<\/span><\/h2>\n
When To Use \u201cThat\u201d and When To Use \u201cWhich\u201d<\/span><\/h5>\n

Before coming to the \u201cthat\u201d\/”which\u201d <\/strong>rule, just a reminder that \u201cwho\u201d<\/span> should always be used when referring to people.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • The boy who<\/u> threw the ball.<\/li>\n
  • This is the woman who<\/u> always wears a black shawl.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    When referring to objects, though, the rule for using \u201cthat\u201d and \u201cwhich\u201d correctly is simple:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • THAT<\/strong> should be used to introduce a restrictive clause.<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n
    • WHICH<\/strong> should be used to introduce a non-restrictive or parenthetical clause.<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      A restrictive clause<\/strong> is one which is essential to the meaning of a sentence \u2013 if it\u2019s removed, the meaning of the sentence will change. For example:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Chairs that don\u2019t have cushions<\/em> are uncomfortable to sit on.<\/li>\n
      • Card games that involve betting money<\/em> should not be played in school.<\/li>\n
      • To our knowledge, it is the only body in the solar system that currently sustains life\u2026<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        A non-restrictive clause<\/strong> can be left out without changing the meaning of a sentence. Non-restrictive clauses are either in brackets or have a comma before and after them (or only before them if they come at the end of a sentence):<\/p>\n

          \n
        • Chairs, which are found in many places of work,<\/em> are often uncomfortable to sit on.<\/li>\n
        • I sat on an uncomfortable chair, which was in my office.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          \nWhy You Need to Use \u201cThat\u201d or \u201cWhich\u201d Correctly<\/span><\/h5>\n

          Changing that<\/strong> to which<\/strong> or vice versa can completely change the meaning of a sentence. Consider the following examples:<\/p>\n

            \n
          • My car that is blue<\/em> goes very fast.<\/li>\n
          • My car, which is blue,<\/em> goes very fast.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            The first sentence uses that<\/strong> \u2013 suggesting I own more than one car (and even implying my other cars might not be so fast). This is what happens if we leave out the clause and write:<\/p>\n

              \n
            • My car that is blue<\/s> goes very fast.<\/li>\n
            • My car goes very fast.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              The sentence\u2019s meaning has changed: the reader does not know which one of my cars goes very fast.<\/p>\n

              However, the sentence using which<\/strong> simple informs the reader that my car is blue. We can take the clause out without losing any essential information:<\/p>\n

                \n
              • My car, which is blue,<\/s> goes very fast.<\/li>\n
              • My car goes very fast.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                \n\u201cThat\u201d and \u201cWhich\u201d in Common Usage<\/span><\/h5>\n

                It is common today for which<\/strong> to be used with both non-restrictive and restrictive clauses, especially in informal contexts:<\/p>\n

                  \n
                • Who ate the cake that<\/em> I bought this morning?<\/li>\n
                • Who ate the cake which<\/em> I bought this morning?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  The clause \u201cthat I bought this morning\u201d<\/em> is essential to the meaning \u2013 I\u2019m not asking about a cake which I bought yesterday, or this afternoon. Therefore, the first example using \u201cthat\u201d is the correct one, but many people would not consider the second ungrammatical.<\/p>\n

                  It is, however, incorrect even in informal contexts to use that <\/strong>for a non-restrictive or parenthical clause. For example, these sentences would be considered incorrect:<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  • This computer, that I have never liked, is very slow.<\/li>\n
                  • The blue desk, that my father gave me.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                    An easy way to watch out for these is to look for instances where you have a comma followed by the word that<\/em>.<\/p>\n

                    Even though the usage of which has been relaxed to some extent, it is still better to keep your writing as clear as possible by using which <\/strong>for only non-restrictive clauses, and that<\/strong> for restrictive ones.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                    That vs. Which When To Use \u201cThat\u201d and When To Use \u201cWhich\u201d Before coming to the \u201cthat\u201d\/”which\u201d rule, just a reminder that \u201cwho\u201d should always be used when referring to people. The boy who threw the ball. This is the woman who always wears a black shawl. When referring to objects, though, the rule for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":995,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-984","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-grammar"},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/that-or-which1.jpg?fit=800%2C521&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"Writing Geeks","author_link":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/author\/writinggeeks\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/that-or-which1.jpg?fit=800%2C521&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6uhmH-fS","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=984"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":994,"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/984\/revisions\/994"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}