0
TimKowal Posted 21 years ago
Grammar
That vs. which
I have read and tried to abide by the that/which distinction as per the article at this useful site: http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html
However, I find that I sometimes still have a bit of trouble in the finer examples. Sometimes I still get stumped in what seem to be basic examples. Here's one I am grappling with at the moment:
Justice Ginsburg discussed how there have been many federal court decisions, including decisions of the Court, that “have reached the merits of third-party constitutional challenges to tax benefits without mentioning the TIA.”
After reading it, the "that" just sounded weird to me, and I tried to decide with the federal court decisions were part of a set, and I supposed they were, but then I started thinking that you can regard just about anything as a member of a set.
I thought maybe someone might have some other tests or ways of understanding the that/which distinction.
Thanks!
Tim
However, I find that I sometimes still have a bit of trouble in the finer examples. Sometimes I still get stumped in what seem to be basic examples. Here's one I am grappling with at the moment:
Justice Ginsburg discussed how there have been many federal court decisions, including decisions of the Court, that “have reached the merits of third-party constitutional challenges to tax benefits without mentioning the TIA.”
After reading it, the "that" just sounded weird to me, and I tried to decide with the federal court decisions were part of a set, and I supposed they were, but then I started thinking that you can regard just about anything as a member of a set.
I thought maybe someone might have some other tests or ways of understanding the that/which distinction.
Thanks!
Tim
Top answer
html ] the URL[/url] you referred. " Note that "which" is normally preceded by a comma, but "that" is not. What they say here is that we should use only 'which' when the relative clause is used as a restrictive adjectival clause.
- html ] the URL[/url] you referred.
- " Note that "which" is normally preceded by a comma, but "that" is not.
- What they say here is that we should use only 'which' when the relative clause is used as a restrictive adjectival clause.
- It is exactly what we ESL students are taught in school.
- We are also taught we have to put a comma before 'which' when it is used as a restrictive relative.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
2 Answers
0
Hello
For the convenience of other readers, I'll paste what is written in [url=http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/which.html] the URL[/url] you referred.
common error ~ that/which
If you are defining something by distinguishing i
For the convenience of other readers, I'll paste what is written in [url=http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/which.html] the URL[/url] you referred.
common error ~ that/which
If you are defining something by distinguishing i
00
The comma test that you described very nice idea for determining whether "which" could work. I knew that which usually followed a comma, but if we take it as a rule, requiring us to insert a comma where it would not sound appropriate, we might more easily determine whether "that" or "which" is appropriate.
Thanks,
Tim
Thanks,
Tim
0
Related Questions