That or Which?

[Fourmarks]

I was recently asked a question about this sentence: I have a large bed in my bedroom which is white.

Is this correct? Or should it be that is white?

 

[5jj]

I assume that the bedroom is white; if so, then your sentence should read, " I have a large bed in my bedroom, which is white.

 

[SoothingDave]

On the other hand, if the bed is white, say "I have a large white bed in my bedroom."

 

[Fourmarks]

Thanks. As a matter of interest would it make any difference if it was the bed being referred to?

 

[5jj]

Thanks. As a matter of interest would it make any difference if it was the bed being referred to?

Yes. It would be a clumsy, ambiguous sentence. That is why I assumed it was the bedroom, and added the comma, and why SoothingDave made his suggestion.

 

[TheParser]

I was recently asked a question about this sentence: I have a large bed in my bedroom which is white.

Is this correct? Or should it be that is white?

NOT A TEACHER


(1) Teacher 5jj told you the answer if the bedroom is white; Soothing Dave told you the

answer if the bed is white.

(2) May I also suggest another sentence if the bed is white:

Tom: I am looking for a large bed. And it has to be white.

George: Really? What a coincidence! I just happen to have a large bed that is white in my bedroom. I am willing to sell it for the right price.



(3) In the United States, most teachers feel that "that" should be used for defining/ restrictive clauses (as you know, a defining/restrictive clause cannot be erased without changing the sense of the sentence):

I want the bed that is white, not the bed that is brown.

I hear that in some varieties of English, speakers would have no trouble using "which" in that sentence.


P.S. In Teacher 5jj's sentence, the clause is non- defining/non-restrictive. If you delete (erase) that clause, the sentence still maintains your main idea:

I have a large bed in my bedroom, which [the bedroom] is white. The fact that the bedroom is white is nice to know but not necessary to your main idea of "I have a large bed in my bedroom."

 

[Fourmarks]

Thank you for your replies. I am well aware that the grammar can be changed so neither "that" or "which" are used. I believe that the author intended to say that the room is white, (As far as I know.)

The problem I had was how to decide which word was correct for that sentence, "that' or 'which" I have to say, I thought the answer was "that', but I am not a teacher.

 

[5jj]

The problem I had was how to decide which word was correct for that sentence, "that' or 'which" I have to say, I thought the answer was "that', but I am not a teacher.

As I have suggested, neither word is right in that sentence, because the sentence itself is not right. If you want the non-defining clause, you need a comma, and then only 'which' is appropriate.

If you want a defining clause, then 'my' (which itself defines) is inappropriate. You'd need to say, " I have a large bed in the bedroom that/which is white". However, this itself is unnatural - we'd actually say, "I have a large bed in the white bedroom".

 

[Fourmarks]

Thank you.