Which or That
Hi! please advise how should I write in the following sentence:
The electronic device is a good alternative to sprays, which allows avoiding inhaling chemicals.
If I want to refer to "electronic device" should I use which or that? And if I want to refer to "sprays" what should be used in order not to confuse the reader?
Thanks in advance!
Top answer
[1] "The electronic device is a good alternative to sprays, which allow s avoiding inhaling chemicals". [2] "The electronic device, which allows avoiding inhaling chemicals, is a good alternative to sprays. Firstly, "that" is not permitted with supplementary relative clauses (the kind set off with a comma), so no matter what the antecedent is, the relative word has to be "which".
- [1] "The electronic device is a good alternative to sprays, which allow s avoiding inhaling chemicals".
- [2] "The electronic device, which allows avoiding inhaling chemicals, is a good alternative to sprays.
- Firstly, "that" is not permitted with supplementary relative clauses (the kind set off with a comma), so no matter what the antecedent is, the relative word has to be "which".
- Supplementary relatives allow a wide range of antecedents, but care still needs to be taken to avoid ambiguities.
- If you want "which" to unambiguously refer to "sprays", then [1] is the one to go for, but first you must change the verb from singular "allows" to plural "allow" in order for it to agree in number with plural "sprays".
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[1] "The electronic device is a good alternative to sprays, which allows avoiding inhaling chemicals".
[2] "The electronic device, which allows avoiding inhaling chemicals, is a good alternat
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