[Grammar] Which vs That

[fahad_a11]

Please explain the use of which and that??

 

[Rover_KE]

Please explain the use of 'which' and 'that'. [STRIKE]??[/STRIKE] It's not a question.

Click here and read similar threads on this topic.

Ask again if you have any specific questions.

 

[fahad_a11]

There is no explaination for the use of these words.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Your question is very broad. Have you tried searching with Google?

 

[fahad_a11]

Yes I checked but unable to get it.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Try again.

 

[emsr2d2]

Are you studying English with a teacher? Do you have a grammar book? Have you read the "Similar Threads" below?

 

[Rover_KE]

Actually, ems, there are no similar threads below, but there are plenty in the link I gave in post #2.

fahad, I have been reading some of your essays in the Editing & Writing Topics forum, in which you have correctly used 'which' and 'that'.

You are certainly literate enough to ask us specific questions about these words rather than expect us to give a lesson on them as though you had never heard of them before.

 

[fahad_a11]

I am not stuyding with a teacher. There is no "Similar Thereads" below.

 

[emsr2d2]

Sorry about the "Similar Thread" confusion. I should have asked you if you had clicked on the link given by Rover. As you've been told, we can answer specific questions. We can't give entire grammar lessons here. There are lots of sites online on which you can read extensively about the "which vs that" aspect of English. Once you've studied, if you still have questions, you can post specific sentences in which you're not sure whether to use "which" or "that".

 

[fahad_a11]

Actually sometime while writing essays, these two words make me confused. That is why I did not asked any specific sentence.

Anyhow I will try google.

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello, Fahad:

I have found some information that may interest you.

1. "Any house that/which is burned will be rebuilt."

a. If I say "Any house will be rebuilt," that is NOT true.
b. Only burned houses will be rebuilt.
c. Thus, the information "that/which is burned" is ABSOLUTELY necessary.
d. If the information is absolutely necessary, one uses "that" or "which."

i. Here in the United States, many (most?) teachers prefer "that."


2. "Chicago, which is the metropolis of the Middle West, is a great industrial center.

a. If you say "Chicago is a great industrial center," that is true.
b. The information "which is the metropolis of the Middle West" is NOT absolutely necessary. It is just some nice extra information.
c. In such a sentence, one must use "which" and commas. (And one cannot use "that.")

When you get time, please check your books or the World Wide Web for defining and non-defining adjective clauses. (Some people prefer the terms restrictive and non-restrictive adjective clauses.)

Source: Walter Kay Smart, English Review Grammar / Fourth Edition (1940), Prentice-Hall, Inc.

 

[fahad_a11]

Thank you TheParser, your comments are really helpful.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I advise the OP to google 'relative pronouns', but I am not a teacher.

 

[Elitez]

Please explain the use of which and that??

I am not a teacher.

Some more information on this topic which I found through google search with more examples.

If the phrase is essential to the meaning or context of the sentence, then we use THAT.
If the phrase is not essential to the meaning or context of the sentence, then we use WHICH.


Examples:

1. I quickly saved the document that I had been working on all morning.


The information here is essential in letting the reader know which document the narrator saved.

2. I made sure to grab my warm coat, which was hanging in the closet, before I left for the meeting.


The information here is not essential in letting the reader know that the coat was grabbed.

3. The storm, which was approaching us quickly, inspired a fear that stayed with us all afternoon.


In the first phrase, "which was approaching us quickly" is not necessary information; it adds the speed of the
storm. "That stayed with us all afternoon" is essential in understanding the type of fear "they" experienced.

 

[Matthew Wai]

If the phrase is essential to the meaning or context of the sentence, then we use THAT.
If the phrase is not essential to the meaning or context of the sentence, then we use WHICH.

I consider it a relative clause instead of a phrase, but I am not a teacher.

 

[fahad_a11]

Easy and to the point explanation!