(Thought-Random)
From: Get it Write
Writing Tip: October 31, 2003
Which or That?
While both
which and
that can be used in other constructions,
the confusion usually arises when they are being used as relative pronouns to
introduce adjective (or relative) clauses. In the examples below, we have
bracketed the adjective clauses. (Remember that a clause is simply a group of
words containing a subject and a verb):
1. Our house [that has a red door and green shutters] needs painting.
2. Our house, [which has a red door and green shutters], needs painting.
3. The classrooms [that were painted over the summer] are bright and
cheerful.
4. The classrooms, [which were painted over the summer], are bright and
cheerful.
In all four cases, the adjective clause tells us something about either the
house or the classrooms, but the choice of
which or
that changes
the way we should read each sentence.
In the first sentence, the use of
that suggests that we own more than
one house and therefore must explain to you that we are talking about a
particular house of ours--the one with a red door and green shutters. We cannot
leave out that adjective clause because it is essential to your understanding
of the sentence; that is, you wouldn't know which one of our
houses needs the paint job without that adjective
clause.
The second sentence tells you that we own only one house and we are simply
telling you--in case you want to know--that it happens to have a red door and
green
shutters. We could leave out the information in
that adjective clause and the sentence would still make sense.
The third sentence, because it uses
that to launch its adjective
clause, tells us that only SOME of the classrooms were painted over the summer.
If we omitted the clause "that were painted over the summer," we
would be left with "The classrooms are bright and cheerful," a
statement that would not be accurate since it would imply that ALL the
classrooms are bright and cheerful. In this sentence, therefore, the adjective
clause is essential to the meaning of the sentence.
We call the adjective clauses in sentences one and three
restrictive
because they restrict--or limit--the meaning of the nouns they modify. In the
case of sentence three, they tell us that we are talking ONLY about the
classrooms that were painted over the summer--not the others.
The
which clause in the fourth sentence is what we call a nonessential--or
nonrestrictive--clause. Since that sentence intends to tell us that ALL the
classrooms were painted, the information in the adjective clause is not
essential. The sentence would be clear even if the clause were omitted.
The rule of thumb, then, is that
which clauses are nonrestrictive
(nonessential) while
that clauses are restrictive (essential).
Nonrestrictive clauses and phrases are set off from the rest of a sentence by a
pair of commas (as in our examples above) or by a single comma if they come at
the end of the sentence. (Example: "I took a vacation day on my birthday,
which happened to fall on a Monday this year.")
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (10th edition), regarded by
most writers as the authority on such matters, tells us that it is now common
for
which to be used with either kind of clause, while
that must
be used only for restrictive clauses. In fact, though, careful writers
continue to make the distinction we describe
above. Attorneys are taught to use
which for nonrestrictive clauses and
that
for restrictive clauses so as not to cause a misreading in legal documents. It
seems just as important that we work to avoid misreadings in all writing, not
only in situations when a legal ruling might be at stake.
TEST YOURSELF: Which pronoun--
which or
that--belongs in each
blank below?
1. Carlos gave Maria a study guide for material ________ was going to be on
the test.
2. Carlos gave Maria notes from chapters 3 through 7 _________ were going to
be on the test.
3. Mark and Sarah took their children on every vacation _________ they took
to the coast.
4. The teachers gave awards to all paintings ________ showed originality.
ANSWERS
1.Carlos gave Maria a study guide for material *that* was going to be on the
test. [To say simply "Carlos gave Maria a study guide for material"
would not be complete information. We need the adjective clause to tell us
which material, in particular. Since the information is, therefore, essential,
we use
that and no comma.]
2.Carlos gave Maria notes from chapters 3 through 7, *which* were going to
be on the test. [The fact that chapters 3 through 7 were going to be on the
test is not essential to our understanding exactly which notes Carlos gave
Maria, so we use a comma and
which.]
3.Mark and Sarah took their children on every vacation *that* they took to
the coast. [If we said simply "Mark and Sarah took their children on every
vacation," we would be inaccurate. The information in the adjective clause
is essential to our understanding that the children went on certain vacations
and not others. Therefore, we use
that and no comma.]
4.The teachers gave awards to all paintings that showed originality. [To say
simply "The teachers gave awards to all paintings" would be
inaccurate. The information in the adjective clause is, therefore, essential to
the meaning of the sentence, so we use
that and no comma.]
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