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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Linguistics Studies

matter: who or that?

0Hello everyone, 02br
00I have a burning question (i.e. the sonner I get the correct answer, the better). 01u00Speaking of people02u00, what is gramatically correct: "the ones 01b00WHO 02b00matter" or "the ones 01b00THAT 02b00matter?" English is my second language, but something is telling me that it's WHO, and the explanation I have is that I should use WHO when speaking of people, and THAT when speaking of things. 02br
00Am I right?02br
00Thanks a LOT! 0-
  

Top answer

0You are right. 02br 02br 00 ("sooner" not "sonner")0-

— BarbaraPA

  • 0You are right.
  • 02br 02br 00 ("sooner" not "sonner")0-
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15 Answers
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0You are right. 02br
02br
00 ("sooner" not "sonner")0-
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1blockquote
01cite10Anonymous12cite10 and the explanation I have is that I should use WHO when speaking of people, and THAT when speaking of things.12blockquote
10Hi,02br
00I'm a non-native speaker too, but I've never heard of such rule, not even intended as a prescriptive rule (and I've read several grammar books). I've alw
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0****! I know about sooner, I just misspelled it. 05002br
02br
00Geek, thank you very much!010id1
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0There are many things in any language that even native speakers don't really know. I'm talking here about proper use of language, which is something that often sounds awfully "proper", or formal. The thing that reminded me of this rule is a book called 01i00A Grammar Book for You and I....oooops, Me! 02i00by Ed Good. Now I am not completely sure that I ever read this i
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0Lordy, Kooyeen - you haven't been paying much attention to Philip! He and I share a VERY strong preference for using "who" for people whenever possible.02br
02br
00Sometimes it is okay to use "that" restrictively for people, especially when you don't know exactly who the person is: The man that I marry for my third marriage will be rich and on life support. 02br
02
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0 01b05202b05301blockquote
01cite10Grammar Geek12cite10Lordy, Kooyeen - you haven't been paying much attention to Philip! He and I share a VERY strong preference for using "who" for people whenever possible.12blockquote
10LOL, no I actually paid attention! I just wanted to say I don't remember reading much about
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0I disagree with nothing you posted! Note I said a strong 01i00preference02i00! 05002br
02br
00My error was in my first response - I should have said "Many writers -- including me -- will agree with you, although technicially you can use 'that' for people too."010id1
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1blockquote
01cite10Anonymous12cite10There are many things in any language that even native speakers don't really know. I'm talking here about proper use of language, which is something that often sounds awfully "proper", or formal.12blockquote
10 I hadn't read your post. Hmm, I doubt native speakers can't speak their own language. If t
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0Kooyeen, have you ever read actual transcripts of speech? 02br
02br
00I had to read.. what are they call it? When people have to give tesimony in a law suit... oh yeah, depositions. And when you read, word for word, what people actually say... well, it's amazing we can communicate at all!02br
02br
00When people post here, having listened to something on t
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0 I think I once read something similar... yeah, they looked quite confusing, LOL.01blockquote
01cite10Grammar Geek12cite10When people post here, having listened to something on the radio or seen someone on TV, and want to know if what that person said was "correct" or not... well, let's just say, the answer is just about always "not" -- according to t
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