That vs Which

Question

Hello Friends,This is a question that has been troubling me for quite some days and i thougth it a good opportunity to post it to some experts who can help me .Often i come across phrases which use "that" and "which" , and i am a little confused which is the correct usage.For example in the above sentences, "This is a question which/that ". I am really not sure what to use. Can you please help me clarify this question.Thanks a lotAster

Davkett · Accepted Answer

Hello Astor,

Here's a simple explanation: http://www.enursescribe.com/whichthat.htm

'That' is used correctly in your sentence.

Philip · Answer

AsterHello Friends,

This is a question that has been troubling me for quite some days and i thougth it a good opportunity to post it to some experts who can help me .

Often i come across phrases which use "that" and "which" , and i am a little confused which is the correct usage.

For example in the above sentences, "This is a question which/that ".

I am really not sure what to use.

Can you please help me clarify this question.

Thanks a lot

Aster

Generally, for relative pronouns, use 'which' for things, 'that' or 'who'(m) for people, 'who(m)' for people. In your example, either would be correct.

Davkett · Answer

Hi Philip,

It is my understanding that 'which' would not be correct in the given sentence. I've found some consistency in the rule:

Use "which" (surrounded by commas) if a group of words adds information. Use "that" if it restricts.

Aster · Answer

Hi All ,

Thanks for that wonderful explanation Which( surrounded by commas is used to describe better ) and "that" is used to constrict the selection.

This however does not happen in all cases.

I wanted to get a little more clarity on this with regards to the question below.

Here is a question in Grammar

Approximately seventy-five percent of the global freshwater supply is stored in glaciers, which cover roughtly ten percent of land area.

Which of the below is the correct option and why

1) is stored in glaciers, which cover roughly ten percent of land area.

2) is stored in glaciers, which covers roughly ten percent of land area.

3) is stored in glaciers, that covers roughly ten percent of land area

4) are stored in glaciers, which cover roughly ten percent of land area

5) are stored in glaciers, which covers roughly ten percent of land area.

It is easy to see that (4) and (5) cannot be right as they start with are.

Also (1) cannot be the choice because we are refering to global freshwater supply , a singular noun and thus should be

specified by covers

Now comes the difficult question how do i choose between (2) & (3). What is the right answer.

This is more or less refering to the which and that question.

Pieanne · Answer

Hello, Aster,

1) is stored in glaciers, which cover roughly ten percent of land area.

I think that 1) is the right answer, because "which" stands for "glaciers", which is a plural, so "cover" will have to be in the plural too ("which" is its subject)

Davkett · Answer

I'm in agreement with Pieanne, Aster.

Number 3 is wrong for two reasons:

1) The verb refers to glaciers, therefore it should be 'cover'.

2) The sentence uses 'that' and not 'which', so it would have been written like this:

Approximately seventy-five percent of the global freshwater supply is stored in glaciers that cover roughly ten percent of the land area. (No comma.)

But it would still be wrong because it suggests that only those glaciers that cover ten percent of the land contain fresh water. The true meaning is not that only ten percent of the glaciers contain the freshwater supply, but that the land is ten percent covered by glaciers, and it is in all of these glaciers that the supply of freshwater is contained.

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