Which vs That

By Sean Woods

Many people are confused about which vs that. The problem is that they both “sound right” in a sentence. It takes a bit of thinking, but the easiest way to remember whether to use which vs that is that the word that should always precede a restrictive clause and which should precede a non-restrictive clause.

But what are restrictive and non-restrictive clauses?

Restrictive Clause: Any part of the sentence, that when removed, changes the meaning of the sentence.

Non-restrictive Clause: Any part of the sentence, that when removed, does not change the meaning of the sentence.

Example of when to use that: Cars, that are red, attract more attention from the police.

If you remove, “that are red” from the sentence, it changes the meaning of it. It is an integral part of the sentence.

Example of when to use which: Giraffes, which happen to have long necks, are at the zoo.

If you remove, “which happen to have long necks” from the sentence, the overall meaning does not change. “Which happen to have long necks” is just added information.

A simple way to remember the rule is to use this mnemonic device. “Early residents of Salem thought it was okay to remove Witches from their town.” They key words are witches (sounds like which) and okay to remove. This goes along with the fact that it is okay to remove a non-restrictive clause and which always precedes a non-restrictive clause.

If you can picture a witch being thrown out of Salem, you will have no trouble remembering which vs that.

If you have more questions, feel free to visit http://www.grammarperfection.com or contact help@grammarperfection.com.