paragraph

Hi Barb,

"Read" in your example is (most likey) in the past tense. Read is a funny word. It's pronounced one way in the present, and another in the past.

So "he reads" in the present but "he read" in the past.

(By the way, I would have said "that" instead of "which," but I realize that I'm one of the few people who is a strong proponent of keeping these words dis

Good morning Barbara,

What's the difference between using which and that? I've read about it but now I forget how.

May I **** in, GG?

"That" is / should be used in a defining relative clause - the kind of clause you can't do without if you want to keep the meaning of your sentence. "This is the paragraph that interested him most"

I tend to use "which" in undefining relative clauses - those you can do without. "The paragraph, which interested him a lot, was about English grammar

Pieanne,

Thanks, but in our case(The paragraph that interested him most read:...), if we take out "that interested him most", the sentence would still make sense: The paragraph read:...

So should we use "that " in this case at all, since we can do without it?

If you need the phrase to answer the question "which paragraph?" then use "that." (He found the one THAT interested him most.)

If you can use the phrase to answer the question "what else can you tell me about the paragraph?" then use "which." (The paragraph, which had 48 words and used two semi-colons, was difficult to read.)

That really helps, Barbara. Thanks.

But don't worry a lot about it (other) Barb. I believe that I'm one of about six people on the planet who care about the distinction these days.

Okay, I'll try not to; I've got too much to worry about already .