Kitchen gloves that/which we use to prevent cuts

[Ashraful Haque]

What kind of objects are commonly found around the home that help people to avoid injuries?

"There are a lot of them. Like kitchen gloves that/which we use to prevent cuts and burns. Apron that/which we use to keep our cloths clean. One of the things that's become very popular here these days is auto power cut off circuits that/which cut off the power whenever there's a problem."

It's a question from an IELTS exam and this was my answer (I know it's a bad answer). I'm confused between 'that' and 'which.' Help!

 

[Tdol]

What was your answer?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

What kind of objects are commonly found around the home that help people to avoid injuries?

"There are a lot of them, like kitchen gloves, which we use to prevent cuts and burns, and aprons, which we use to keep our clothes clean. One of the things that's become very popular here these days is auto-power cut-off circuits, which turn appliances off whenever there's a problem."

It's a question from an IELTS exam and this was my answer (I know it's a bad answer). I'm confused between 'that' and 'which.' Help!

In American English, we use "that" in dependent clauses and "which" after independent clauses. Notice the commas. No commas would be needed if those were dependent clauses.

You might want to review dependent and independent clauses.

Don't use words you're defining in their definitions, as in "auto power cut off circuits . . . cut off the power."

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

What was your answer?

Let's assume the answer is the part in quotation marks. The question is about whether to use "that" or "which."

 

[emsr2d2]

I've never heard of gloves that are designed to stop people cutting themselves in the kitchen. The gloves we use to avoid burning our hands when taking things out of the oven are called "oven gloves" (BrE).

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I've never heard of gloves that are designed to stop people cutting themselves in the kitchen. The gloves we use to avoid burning our hands when taking things out of the oven are called "oven gloves" (BrE).

Actually, I've seen ads for safety gloves that prevent cuts, but I've never seen a pair.

In the U.S., your oven gloves are our oven mitts.

 

[probus]

I've seen butchers wearing chainmail gloves on the hand which is not wielding the knife. They look positively medieval. But apparently there are also cut-proof gloves for home use. They are made of washable textiles from synthetic fibres.

 

[Ashraful Haque]

In American English, we use "that" in dependent clauses and "which" after independent clauses. Notice the commas. No commas would be needed if those were dependent clauses.

You might want to review dependent and independent clauses.

Don't use words you're defining in their definitions, as in "auto power cut off circuits . . . cut off the power."

Thank you. I'll look up dependent and independent clauses and come back if I need further clarification.

 

[tzfujimino]

Also, please do some research about "restrictive/nonrestrictive clauses".