What is the difference between that and which in grammar

You may know that this person was born in Mexico, immigrated to the United States, and married someone originally from China. Consider this example:. If you had been discussing various historical events, the answer would be limited to only the events you had already discussed that occurred during the war.

Generally, these are times when there are several options but not infinite choices. This happens a lot, but here are a couple of situations where you might encounter it. Consider the example of asking someone about his or her travel plans. There are only so many possible hours in a day or days in a month. All rights reserved. Home Grammar When to Use What vs. Which for Correct Grammar. What is your favorite kind of ice cream? What makes someone a good friend?

They both identify objects and non-humans, but unlike that , which is appropriate in sentences with non-restrictive clauses. All of these sentences are understandable if you remove the relative clauses that begin with which.

When trying to decide if you should use that or which , look at the commas. If you use a comma to describe an object, use which. Both who and which are also interrogative pronouns, which means that you can use them to ask questions. However, as you might have guessed, they are not interchangeable. Here are some ways to use who in interrogative sentences.

Each of these sentences, whether they are direct or indirect questions, has one goal: to find the identity of a person. But, when using which, the goal is deciding between two or more options.

Unlike who , which is often accompanied by a noun. Both who and which are important pronouns to know when asking for more information. While that is not an interrogative pronoun, it can be used as a demonstrative pronoun to answer these questions. Check out these examples to see how:. Using that to answer questions makes it clear which person or item you are talking about. You can also learn more about subject vs. All rights reserved. Home Grammar Who vs. That vs. Which: Fundamental Grammar Rules Who vs.

Which: Fundamental Grammar Rules. Who vs That vs Which Example. Who : When describing people That : When describing objects or groups Which : When describing objects That overlaps meaning with who and which. Restrictive Clause—That A restrictive clause is just part of a sentence that you can't get rid of because it specifically restricts some other part of the sentence.

Here's an example: Gems that sparkle often elicit forgiveness. The words that sparkle restrict the kind of gems you're talking about. Without them, the meaning of the sentence would change. Without them, you'd be saying that all gems elicit forgiveness, not just the gems that sparkle. And note that you don't need commas around the words that sparkle. As an Amazon Associate and a Bookshop. Nonrestrictive Clause—Which A nonrestrictive clause is something that can be left off without changing the meaning of the sentence.

You can think of a nonrestrictive clause as simply additional information. Here's an example: Diamonds, which are expensive , often elicit forgiveness. Alas, in Grammar Girl's world, diamonds are always expensive, so leaving out the words which are expensive doesn't change the meaning of the sentence.

Also note that the phrase is surrounded by commas. Nonrestrictive clauses are usually surrounded by, or preceded by, commas.