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Nina_Nia Posted 13 years ago
Vocabulary
That or which?
Hello
Could you tell me why it is a mistake to use 'that' in this test question?
My daughter is planning to spend a year before university working in Australia, _____ seems to me to be a sensible idea.
that
which
what
whereI
Thanks
Could you tell me why it is a mistake to use 'that' in this test question?
My daughter is planning to spend a year before university working in Australia, _____ seems to me to be a sensible idea.
that
which
what
whereI
Thanks
Top answer
You can't use "that" to introduce a non-restrictive clause. The part before the comma is the antecedent of the relative pronoun. If you wanted to use "that", however, you would have to say something like: My daughter is planning to spend a year before university working in Australia, and that seems to me to be a sensible idea.
- You can't use "that" to introduce a non-restrictive clause.
- The part before the comma is the antecedent of the relative pronoun.
- If you wanted to use "that", however, you would have to say something like: My daughter is planning to spend a year before university working in Australia, and that seems to me to be a sensible idea.
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11 Answers
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You can't use "that" to introduce a non-restrictive clause.
The part before the comma is the antecedent of the relative pronoun.
If you wanted to use "that", however, you would have to say something like:
My daughter is planning to spend a year before university working in Australia, and that seems to me to be a sensible idea.
The part before the comma is the antecedent of the relative pronoun.
If you wanted to use "that", however, you would have to say something like:
My daughter is planning to spend a year before university working in Australia, and that seems to me to be a sensible idea.
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ozzourtiYou can't use "that" to introduce a non-restrictive clause.
Isn't it used here?
I refuse to live in any house that Jack built.
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Nina_NiaIsn't it used here?I refuse to live in any house that Jack built.Yes, but it is a restrictive clause. Without the part in bold, the meaning of the sentence would be completely different.
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I was saying that in these two sentences the parts in bold are non-restrictive clauses. My daughter is planning to spend a year before university working in Australia, ___ seems to me to be a sensible idea.
I refuse to live in any house that Jack built
I refuse to live in any house that Jack built
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Nina_Nia My daughter is planning to spend a year before university working in Australia, ___ seems to me to be a sensible idea.That's non-restrictive, and need 'that' - as ozzourti told you.
Nina_NiaI refuse to live in any house that Jack builtThat's restrictive.
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"You can't use "that" to introduce a non-restrictive clause'' -that's what ozzourti told me.
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I think he was suggesting that your sentence contained a non-restrictive clause.
If you don't agree, I am telling you now that it does.
If you don't agree, I am telling you now that it does.
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Of course I agree, as you both know English better... But what I am trying to find out is can I use 'that' or not?
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My daughter is planning to spend a year before university working in Australia, which seems to me to be a sensible idea.
You can simply 'lop off' the underlined part and you'll still have a meaningful sentence. It is a non-restrictive clause, it's just an additional comment about what was said earlier.
I refuse to live in any house that Jack built.
You can simply 'lop off' the underlined part and you'll still have a meaningful sentence. It is a non-restrictive clause, it's just an additional comment about what was said earlier.
I refuse to live in any house that Jack built.
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