Asked by: Yanis Manzano
books and literature fiction

How do you know when to use which or that?

31
The clause that comes after the word "which" or "that"is the determining factor in deciding which one to use. Ifthe clause is absolutely pertinent to the meaning of the sentence,you use "that." If you could drop the clause and leave themeaning of the sentence intact, use "which."


Similarly one may ask, when should I use which or that?

When To Use “That” and When ToUse “Which” When referring to objects, though, the rule forusing “that” and “which” correctlyis simple: THAT should be used to introduce a restrictiveclause.

Beside above, what is the difference between which and that? To start with, we use “that” when we referto people, animals, and things. We use “which” when werefer to animals and things. However, the main differencebetween both depends on the clause. If the clause isrestrictive, you need to use the relative pronoun that, without it,the meaning would be unclear.

Furthermore, when should you use which instead of that?

Rule for using That instead ofWhich The general rule requires that you use that onlyto introduce a restrictive (or defining) relative clause,which identifies the person or thing being talked about. Forexample, The building that I was telling you about is justdown the road.

When to use which vs what?

2 Answers. "Which" is more formal when asking a questionthat requires a choice between a number of items. You canuse "What" if you want, though. Generally speaking,you can replace the usage of "which" with "what" and be OKgrammatically.

Related Question Answers

Baljinder Rick

Professional

Where do we use in and on?

The correct use of "is" and "are" are determinedby the number (singular or plural) of the noun or pronoun beingused. "Is" is used with the singular, "are" isused with the plural. He is going to the store. They aregoing to the store.

Nouhou Rochegov

Professional

Where AT is used in English?

Prepositions and Place
When English speakers refer to a place, we usein for the largest or most general places. You can say that“VOA is located in Washington, D.C.” And “for thebest food, try the restaurants in Chinatown.” For morespecific places, like certain streets, we use the prepositionon.

Ernestino Rödelheim

Professional

What is the comma in a sentence?

Comma Before Which
  • Use a comma before which when it introduces a nonrestrictivephrase.
  • Don't use a comma before which when it's part of aprepositional phrase, such as “in which.”
  • Don't use a comma before which when it introduces an indirectquestion.

Treva De Los Rios

Explainer

Can you start a sentence with which?

An Alternative to a Standalone “Which”Clause
An easy way to achieve this is to end thesentence before the “which” clause, add aperiod, and then start a new sentence with“That” or another word that refers back to the previoussentence. An example will help!

Diogenes Honisch

Explainer

Can which and that be used interchangeably?

These two words are often used interchangeably,even though they're not necessarily interchangeable.Historically, that and which may have carried the same meaning, andsome English dialects may allow for that and which to be swappedwithout affecting the meaning of a sentence.

Lorrine Gabicagogeascoa

Explainer

How do you use which in a sentence?

Use that for things and, informally, for people.Sometimes, you need a comma before which and who. The rule is this:If the information added by the who or which clause is justadditional information (i.e., it's not essential to identifyanother word in the sentence), then you should offset theclause with commas.

Filofteia Barycz

Pundit

What is the different between AT and in?

3 Answers. The main difference between "in" and"at" in everyday speech and locating people or thingsgeographically is this: The preposition at is used to describe thefact of a person or thing being at a geographical location but doesnot describe the person or thing actually being inside of thestructure or place.

Ameur Daeschler

Pundit

Which of these singular or plural?

Everything else is the same. For example, bothDemonstrative Ajectives and Pronouns use the wordTHIS (singular) to talk about something that is closeto you and the plural of THIS isTHESE.

Duncan Bendermacher

Pundit

What is a defining clause?

Defining relative clauses. We usedefining relative clauses to give essentialinformation about someone or something – information that weneed in order to understand what or who is being referred to. Adefining relative clause usually comes immediatelyafter the noun it describes.

Priya Ingenhutt

Pundit

What is the rule for using that or which?

The Rule is Not “A” Before Consonantsand “An” Before Vowels. The real rule is this:You use the article “a” before words that startwith a consonant sound and “an” before words that startwith a vowel sound. For example, He has a unique point of view onthe subject and talked about it for an hour.

Regena Lengg

Pundit

Which is why meaning?

In that is why, that is a demonstrative pronoun. Inwhich is why, which is a relative pronoun. That in that is why isusually the subject of a sentence or a clause that can stand alone:I want to be involved in town government, and that is why I'mrunning for mayor.

Dorinela Powers

Teacher

What do you call the long dash?

The hyphen, the em dash and the en dashare the straight arrows among punctuation marks, an otherwisefairly curvaceous lot. The hyphen (-), the shortest of thethree marks, is familiar (sometimes wretchedly so) to most writers.So is the em dash (—), more often called the longdash, or sometimes just the dash.

Floare Uthenwuldt

Teacher

How do you hyphenate a word?

Generally, hyphenate two or more wordswhen they come before a noun they modify and act as a single idea.This is called a compound adjective. When a compound adjectivefollows a noun, a hyphen is usually not necessary. However,some established compound adjectives are alwayshyphenated.

Giorgian Wrosch

Teacher

What is a nonrestrictive clause?

A nonrestrictive modifying clause (ornonessential clause) is an adjective clause that addsextra or nonessential information to a sentence. The meaning of thesentence would not change if the clause were to be omitted.Nonrestrictive modifying clauses are usually set offby commas.

Jeramy Vassoevich

Teacher

Is it in or at school?

At school means the person is literally,physically, inside the school. “He's at school.In school means the person is studying in general (usuallyat college or university) but not necessarily inside theschool building at that moment.

Raheela Ruhweder

Reviewer

How do you use who?

Whom should be used to refer to the object of a verb orpreposition. When in doubt, try this simple trick: If you canreplace the word with “he”' or “'she,”use who. If you can replace it with “him” or“her,” use whom. Who should be used to refer tothe subject of a sentence.

Mariflor Mallarriaga

Reviewer

Are you in or at the office?

"in office" = "having taken up their officialposition" (e.g. as an MP, president) "in the office" ="present in the office" "at the office" = "in theoffice for the purpose of carrying out hisduties"

Ashlee Hullebrand

Reviewer

When can I use to or for?

Use “a” before words that start witha consonant sound and “an” before words that start witha vowel sound. Other letters can also be pronounced eitherway. Just remember it is the sound that governs whether youuse “a” or “an,” not the actualfirst letter of the word.

Xiaoying Ortiz De Mendivil

Reviewer

Which vs that vs who?

The main difference between who and that or whichis that you should only use who to refer to a person orpeople – who is never used to refer to things. This rule alsoapplies to organizations, but it's a common mistake to use whoinsuch contexts: √ Firefighters had to help a man who wastrapped in the car.

Co-Authored By:

EveryThingWhat Staff Editor

11

19th April, 2020

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