That and Which
The Usual Suspect
It is the car that caused the problem?
That is the cat which ate the canary
The cat that ate the canary
The cat who ate the canary
I am concerned that he's not going to show for work.
That which is too ugly to think about.
When do you use "That" and when do you use "which"?
jerry_f...@yahoo.com
wrote:
I use "that" for restrictive clauses only and "which" for non-
restrictive clauses, immediately after prepositions (which is a
construction that I seldom use), and in "that which" (to which I
almost always prefer "what"). Many people also use "which" for
restrictive clauses.
--
Jerry Friedman
Don Aitken
A short explanation would be incomplete, and probably misleading. Any
book on English grammar will devote several pages to this topic.
--
Don Aitken
Mail to the From: address is not read.
To email me, substitute "clara.co.uk" for "freeuk.com"
Skitt
> The Usual Suspect wrote:
>> It is the car which caused the problem?
>> It is the car that caused the problem?
>>
>> That is the cat which ate the canary
>> The cat that ate the canary
>> The cat who ate the canary
>>
>> I am concerned that he's not going to show for work.
>> That which is too ugly to think about.
>>
>> When do you use "That" and when do you use "which"?
>
> A short explanation would be incomplete, and probably misleading. Any
> book on English grammar will devote several pages to this topic.
Here's one that might be helpful:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/notorious/that.htm
--
Skitt (in SF Bay Area)
www.geocities.com/opus731/
CDB
I agree with the other answers. I would like to point out, though,
that your second-last example, "I am concerned that he's not going to
show for work," uses "that" as a conjunction, not a pronoun. It's a
different word from the pronoun that you might confuse with 'which".
Mark Brader
> It is the car which caused the problem?
> It is the car that caused the problem?
This one depends on what you mean. I guess you are thinking that
we know that some car caused the problem and the question is whether
*this* car is the one that did it. In that case "that" or "which"
is a relative pronoun, which is like a conjunction but also refers
back to "the car" as an antecent. Since the clause is restrictive,
both versions are correct, but the "that" version is usually preferred
and some people will see the "which" version as wrong.
On the other hand, maybe there is only one car and you are asking
whether it caused the problem or something else caused it. In that
case only the "that" version is correct. This is a different sense of
"that", where it is just a conjunction and does not refer to the car.
In either case the question would usually be asked with "is it"
rather than "it is", but "it is" is possible if you think the answer
is yes and you are asking for confirmation.
> That is the cat which ate the canary
> The cat that ate the canary
Again, "that" or "which" is a relative pronoun and the clause is
restrictive. Both versions are correct, but the "that" version is
usually preferred and some people will see the "which" version as wrong.
> The cat who ate the canary
If you use this, you are treating a cat as a kind of person.
Cat-lovers might say this; other people would not.
> I am concerned that he's not going to show for work.
Correct. "That" is a conjunction in this sentence.
> That which is too ugly to think about.
Here, "that" is an ordinary pronoun (with no antecedent) and "which"
is a relative pronoun with "that" as antecedent. Again the clause
is restrictive, so "that" would be correct instead of "which" (that
is, you could say "That that is too ugly..."). But here, most people
who would say this at all would prefer "which" in order to avoid the
repeated word.
> When do you use "That" and when do you use "which"?
This is not a simple question.
--
Mark Brader | Peter Neumann on Y2K:
Toronto | This problem gives new meaning to "going out on
m...@vex.net | a date" (which many systems will do on 1/1/00).
My text in this article is in the public domain.
CDB
> "Ludmillia" writes:
>> It is the car which caused the problem?
>> It is the car that caused the problem?
> This one depends on what you mean. I guess you are thinking that
> we know that some car caused the problem and the question is whether
> *this* car is the one that did it. In that case "that" or "which"
> is a relative pronoun, which is like a conjunction but also refers
> back to "the car" as an antecent. Since the clause is restrictive,
> both versions are correct, but the "that" version is usually
> preferred and some people will see the "which" version as wrong.
AOL
> On the other hand, maybe there is only one car and you are asking
> whether it caused the problem or something else caused it. In that
> case only the "that" version is correct. This is a different sense
> of "that", where it is just a conjunction and does not refer to the
> car.
Hunh? The word "that" is a relative pronoun in both cases. The
difference, as I see it, is between "it" as a regular demonstrative
pronoun in the first case and "it" as a dummy subject in the second.
[AOL to the rest of it]
Mark Brader
>>> It is the car which caused the problem?
>>> It is the car that caused the problem?
>> This one depends on what you mean. I guess you are thinking that
>> we know that some car caused the problem and the question is whether
>> On the other hand, maybe there is only one car and you are asking
>> whether it caused the problem or something else caused it. In that
>> case only the "that" version is correct. This is a different sense
>> of "that", where it is just a conjunction and does not refer to the
>> car.
C.D. Bellemare:
> Hunh? The word "that" is a relative pronoun in both cases.
Oops, so it is. I don't think I would ever use "which" in that version
of the sentence, but on thinking about it again, it is possible to do so,
and so it clearly is a relative pronoun after all. I retract the paragraph.
I was thinking of "that" as used in
"Is it (true) that the car caused the problem?"
where it really is just a conjunction. Sorry.
> The difference, as I see it, is between "it" as a regular demonstrative
> pronoun in the first case and "it" as a dummy subject in the second.
Right.
--
Mark Brader | "Don't you ever want to change your life?
Toronto | "You talk about life as if it was something you buy
m...@vex.net | in the shops: 'I'm sorry, but when I got it home,
| it didn't suit me.'" -- Butterflies
The Usual Suspect
Thanks, all! I will use this as a reference!