Which or That
Hi Everyone,
I know all the main rules for using which or that, but I am stumped over the next sentence:
" The first thing we do is source the colour, which is a pigment..."
If we replace 'which' for 'that', it doesn't sound correct to me. Can we say, "The first thing we do is source the colour that is a pigment..."
If you choose 'which' instead of 'that' - why?
Cheers,
CC 
Top answer
'which is a pigment' does not restrict the meaning of 'colour' in any way, so only 'which' is possible, and the comma before 'which' is required. Here you're saying the colour is a pigment. You're not specifying what kind of colour you're talking about.
- 'which is a pigment' does not restrict the meaning of 'colour' in any way, so only 'which' is possible, and the comma before 'which' is required.
- Here you're saying the colour is a pigment.
- You're not specifying what kind of colour you're talking about.
- All colours are pigments, so you add no restrictions to the idea of what colour you're talking about when you say it's a pigment.
- 'that is very bright' OR 'which is very bright' does restrict the meaning in the sentence below, so either 'that' OR 'which' is possible, and there should be no comma.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
'which is a pigment' does not restrict the meaning of 'colour' in any way, so only 'which' is possible, and the comma before 'which' is required. Here you're saying the colour is a pigment. You're not specifying what kind of colour you're talking about. All colours are pigments, so you add no restrictions to the idea of what colour you're talking about when you say it's a pigm
0
Related Questions