That or which?
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- Опубликовано: 30 май 2017
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'Which' or 'that'? What’s the difference?
If you’re confused by them, you’re not alone. Let me help you get your head around the issue once and for all!
Here’s two sentences:
'The dog, which my mother gave me, is called Jack.'
and
'The dog that my mother gave me is called Jack.'
The first difference to note is the punctuation.
The sentence using 'which' has two commas, here and here.
The sentence using 'that' doesn’t have any commas at all. In fact, a good rule of thumb is you should never put a comma before that.
So this….
'The dog, that my mother gave me is called Jack.'
And this…
'The dog, that my mother gave me, is called Jack.'
Will always look wrong.
But there’s also a subtle difference in meaning - and those two commas in the sentence with which are key to helping us see it.
Notice how they function almost like brackets.
'The dog (which my mother gave me) is called Jack.'
The bit about my mother is almost incidental. The sense of the sentence is: 'I’ve got a dog called Jack and, oh by the way, he happened to be given to me by my mother.'
'The dog that my mother gave me is called Jack' has slightly different overtones. In this case, the information provided after 'that' is essential to the meaning of the sentence.
It implies there may be other dogs - for example:
'The dog that my mother gave me is called Jack …. but I also have another dog called Bob.'
To remember difference, just think 'WHITE'
Use which, for incidental information; that for essential information.
Now, these days, many writers use which without commas, when a careful writer would use that. For example:
'The dog which my mother gave me is called Jack, while the dog which my brother gave me is called Bob.'
Using the comma-less which instead of that here is so common, I’d say it’s become acceptable usage - except among the most pedantic of writers.
But that doesn’t mean which and that are completely interchangeable.
'The dog, that my mother gave me, is called Jack.' still always looks wrong. The that here needs to be a which,.
So just remember these three pieces of advice.
First, Never use a comma before 'that'.
Second: Remember: 'WHITE' - 'which', incidental, 'that' essential.
Third: If in doubt, use 'which' - it’s used more often, so you’ve got more chance of not being wrong!
I’m Dr Clare Lynch of Doris and Bertie. Subscribe to the channel for more quick writing tips!
![Stop Making Mistakes with Relative Clauses! [Which & That]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/apBUEsF7mrw/mqdefault.jpg)
![Finesse2Tymes - Pretty Ricky [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/xIoP_mhYRT0/mqdefault.jpg)
The clearest explanation that I have heard and seen. Thanks a lot.
You manage to make grammar easy. Clear as a bell! Thanks.
I had big problems with "which" and "that", and this video has helped me a lot. Thank you very much. I'm from a Spanish-Speaking country and videos like this help us in our knowledge. Greetings from Peru.
i was very confused about that and which , you saved my life . thank you for this helpful video
Objective and clarifying! Thank you so much!
Love your videos! Thank you so much for them, they clarify many things.
Thanks, Roxana. I'm so pleased you find them useful. Let me know if there are any quick-tips you'd like to see me tackle.
Thank you! I was just wondering about this (again) last night. :)
Pleased I could help.
English is my second language and videos like this one are so helpful in understanding the subtleties. Thank you Clare, I now know how use which and that.
0:17
Fruitful video 👌👌👌Thanks a bunch 😊😊😊
Thank you!
Thank you for that clear explanation. The comma is key for me to remember.
Thank you for watching, Carol. Yes, the commas are a good starting point.
Thank you.
Very well explained Clare, thank you.
Thanks, Andy. I try to explain things as clearly and simply as possible.
Thank you, my mom said I use which very often
Wow! that was very useful information. You are GORGEOUS too and I LOVE your smile!! Your voice is amazing as well!!
Salute sir...
Respected Ma'am, you are earnestly entreated to join the following sentences with Relative Clause -He had a duty to do.The duty was difficult.(Join with Relative Clause)
More Beautiful explanation by most beautiful teacher
Thank you, I´m glad I found you.
Thanks, Francis.
Thank you ma'am
Respected Ma'am, you are earnestly entreated to join the following sentences with Relative Clause -He had a duty to do.The duty was difficult to do.Join with a Relative Clause).
Good explanation ..great mam
This is so timely---I'm currently writing a book and swimming in facts. Many thanks for these helpful tips!
I'm glad the video was helpful, Sue. Good luck with the book!
Thanks for that. A very useful video which I'll refer to later ;-)
Thanks, Russell - glad you found it helpful!
Hello professor
Thank you so much for your priceless advice and interesting guidance. I have been improving my English through your best method of teaching and excellent explanation. I wish you peace and happiness under the sky of prosperity.
Your Student from Algeria.
Thank you for your kind words!
you're awesome..thank you
Thanks, Joanna! Glad you liked it.
Very good explanation, thanks for it! Thumbs up!
Thank you!
Thanks to you for the videos, they are great
Thanks, Marcos. Glad you find them useful. Let me know if there are any other grammar points you'd like explained.
Can you explain to us when to use the dash ? Is it possible to write a compound sentence after the dash ?
Hi i've seen a lot of videos about which and that and honestly i still don't get is like what i understood is whenever there is one thing of the thing that you're talking about or mentioning we use which and if there is more we use that,is there any differences?
Screen shot-ed all the points!!
Hi Jessica. That's a great idea!
Great!
Thanks!
You can also remeber it by singing 'which is incidental, that is esential' over and over again like a mad person for hours.
😆
Thank you very much for nice videos you post. I also have a question about What vs Which. I will be very grateful to hear an explanation.
'Which' and 'What' can be interchangeable when referring to a choice between one or more options. For example, 'Which train do you plan to take?' could also be 'What train do you plan to take?'. Both are potentially correct, although the version with 'what' is more common in conversational rather than written English.
@@DrClareLynch Thank you very much for clarification.
I have one that has me scratching my head sometimes. When to use who/whom.
Excellent suggestion - I've put it on my to-do list.
great
Can you please tell me what I should write here:
"Have you got anything which/that these people could take for their children?"
I think it is that, because the clause "these people could take for their children" is essential for the meaning of the sentence.
Excellent advice. However, I've developed an aversion to the first word in the title of your video. I'd rather someone beat me with a metal pipe than use it in my writing. It's not my fault. Writers overuse the word, and it drives me freakin' bananas.
"The dog my mother gave me is called Jack."
See? I can't (won't) write it because it feels like donning an extra pair of skivvies when I don't like wearing the damn things in the first place. I'm sorry. Not going to happen... never, ever in my writing. But good advice for those who do.
👍👍
What about dropping both words and just saying 'The dog my mother gave me is called Jack'. When I was working in a newsroom we were banned from using 'that'.
Great idea, Jacqui! The fewer words the better.
Never use a comma before "that"? Gadzooks! "Meanwhile, that dog ran off, while mine stayed put. Furthermore, that was the one I'd even told myself to watch closely. So suddenly, that same old problem was back. But wait - is it this one, that one, or one we haven't noticed?" And I'd guess that there are many other common constructions, even more common than those four, that are exceptions to your "rule," or non-rule, that is, such as the two in this sentence itself.
Thanks for your comment! Perhaps I should have made it more explicit that this rule of thumb only applies when you have the option to choose between 'which' and 'that'. As you'll no doubt know, the examples you cite are all instances of the demonstrative 'that' as opposed to the relative 'that' - and replacing them with 'which' would create nonsense (e.g., 'Meanwhile, which dog ran off, while mine stayed put'*.) But I fear if I'd gone into that level of detail, I would have gone off topic and would have lost my audience! Thanks for stopping by!
The "that" I used in "four, that are exceptions" can be replaced by "which" and has a comma beforehand. I think the best solution is to abandon your that/which prescriptiveness almost altogether, as top dictionaries do (www.merriam-webster.com/video/that-vs-which), thus eliminating the rule of thumb and the entire issue.
I agree completely with the Merriam-Webster editor - see 1.34-1.58, where I talk about feeling free to ignore the pedants!
I don't think she's arguing that it's correct to use commas before 'that' - indeed, she doesn't include a comma before the 'that' in her example. She's arguing a different point (the same point I am arguing - that you can replace a comma-less 'that' with 'which'). That's not to say she wouldn't agree with you, of course - it's just she's making a different point!
That said, I think most careful writers would consider 'those four, that are exceptions' as uncommon usage. That's what I take away from this more detailed Merriam-Webster explanation at least: www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/when-to-use-that-and-which
Thanks for posting!
This video could create the impression that excellent writers do not use “which” to introduce essential relative clauses. But such an impression is I think misleading.
Did you watch it all?
I withdraw my comment. I gave too much weight to what is said around 2.24. Sorry.
@@MrAlexsegal No problem. I only pointed it out because I'd hate anyone to think I'm a prescriptivist!
Expert linguist here... This is prescriptive grammar and does not reflect the way real English speakers talk... That is all.
Did you watch the whole video?