Common

Do I use that or which?

Do I use that or which?

If the clause is absolutely pertinent to the meaning of the sentence, you use “that.” If you could drop the clause and leave the meaning of the sentence intact, use “which.” The “which” clause is non-essential or non-restrictive, and as such, is always set off from the rest of the sentence with commas.

Where do we use that and that?

The word “that” should be used to introduce clauses, whereas “what” should be used when it is the object of the clause you will introduce. Let us take the following examples about someone choosing between two classes in college: Mary liked that the professor of the chemistry course was very nice.

What is the rule for using what or which?

You can use which when you have a very small or limited field to choose from. Certainly use which, not what, when there are only two choices, or if both speaker and listener can visualize all the items under consideration: For example: “Which foot did you break?”

When should I use that?

‘That’ is used as a determiner at the beginning of sentences to indicate one object which is far from the speaker. Note that the plural form of ‘that’ as a determiner is ‘those. ‘ ‘That’ and ‘those’ is generally used with ‘there’ to indicate that the object(s) is not close to the speaker.

Where do we use which and that?

In a defining clause, use that. In non-defining clauses, use which. Remember, which is as disposable as a sandwich bag. If you can remove the clause without destroying the meaning of the sentence, the clause is nonessential and you can use which.

Can which and that be used interchangeably?

Contrary to popular belief, “which” and “that” do not function in a similar capacity. Although “which” and “that” are both pronouns, they are not interchangeable. “Which” is used for non-restrictive phrases, and “that” is used for restrictive phrases.

How do you avoid that in a sentence?

To decide whether you can omit “that” from a sentence, check how naturally and intelligibly the sentence reads without it. Usually, you can drop “that” if it follows a verb that essentially means “to say.” This omission mimics natural speech and shouldn’t change the meaning of the sentence.

When to use this or these in a sentence?

This is used with singular or uncountable nouns (i.e. this egg or this music). These refers to plural nouns (i.e. these cookies). When the noun is omitted after this and these, they become pronouns (i.e. turn this off when you leave). Demonstratives are words we use to indicate nouns in a sentence.

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