[General] The food which or that you like best

[Snappy]

The relative pronoun "that" is more restrictive than "which."


Which one of the following sentences sounds more natural?


1. What is the food that you like best?
2. What is the food which you like best?

 

[Johnson_F]

'That' is not more restrictive than 'which'. Both are possible in defining relative clauses, with 'that' preferred by many people.
'That' is most unusual in non-defining relative clauses.

 

[Rover_KE]

This question was comprehensively answered here:

The food which or that you like best - WordReference Forums

Rover

 

[Snappy]

'That' is not more restrictive than 'which'. Both are possible in defining relative clauses, with 'that' preferred by many people.
'That' is most unusual in non-defining relative clauses.

Longman English Grammar says:
1.40 'That' after 'all', etc. and superlatives
That (Not 'which*) is normally used after words like all any anything
everything, a few and the only one when they do not refer to people.
Clauses of this kind are always defining:
All that remains for me to do is to say goodbye
Everything that can be done has been done
I'll do anything (that) I can

It says "that" is normally used after superlatives.
In the case of "What is the food which you like best?" the superlative (best) comes before the relative pronoun (which).

My point is whether it is okay to use "which" in sentences that contain superlatives.

 

[corum]

The relative pronoun "that" is more restrictive than "which."

 

[lauralie2]

The relative pronoun "that" is more restrictive than "which."


Which one of the following sentences sounds more natural?


1. What is the food that you like best?
2. What is the food which you like best?

The one without a relative pronoun:

3. What food do you like best?