Grammar Lesson for the Day: That vs. Which
I have no idea whether I do this properly or not. I know that I use this structure QUITE frequently. Hopefully reading it today will help me to pick it apart more effectively as I write.
I know that caring about grammar makes me a big dork in most circles, but I really don’t care. I am so known for it at this point that I got this book for Christmas from my co-workers.
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Everytime I hear someone say that they are doing good, I have to stifle a response to ask if they are feeding the poor or building shelters for the homeless.
WHICH WHISPERS. That’s all you have to remember!
What an awful article, full of complexities that add nothing to the discussion.
Simply remember “which whispers”, which is a simpler way of saying what the article author said here:
“Another way to keep them straight is to imagine by the way following every which: “Penn’s ID center, which (by the way) is called CUPID. . . .” The which adds a useful, but not grammatically necessary, piece of information. On the other hand, we wouldn’t say “The word processor which (by the way) is used most often is WordPerfect,” because the word processor on its own isn’t enough information � which word processor?
A paradoxical mnemonic: use that to tell which, and which to tell that.”
Here’s how it works, taking the “by the way” comment above, and simplifying.
Imagine you are speaking the sentence aloud. You want to get across the main point. In case anybody is interested, you also want to WHISPER any “by the way” sort of comment that might be a non essential tidbit, such as a piece of gossip or extraneous remark. Thus:
At the dog show, the dog that is wearing the pink and yellow ribbon with a smiley face won the “best of breed” award.
My neighbor’s 70 lb Rotweiler dog, which was wearing a pink and yellow ribbon with a smiley face, bit me on the leg.
The rule can be so difficult if you try to remember all the rules about restrictive and non restrictive and commas and blah blah blah.
Simply remember “which whispers” and you’ll always be right!