which vs that

To understand the difference between “which” and “that,” first you need to understand the difference between a restrictive element and a non-restrictive element, because the simple rule is to use “that” with a restrictive element and “which” with a non-restrictive element. 

Restrictive Clauses and Nonrestrictive Clauses

A restrictive element is just part of a sentence you can’t get rid of because it specifically restricts the noun. Here’s an example:

The cupcakes that have sprinkles are still in the fridge.

The words “that have sprinkles” restrict the kind of cupcake we’re talking about. Without those words, the meaning of the sentence would change. Without them, we’d be saying that all the cupcakes are still in the fridge, not just the ones with sprinkles.

And restrictive elements are not surrounded by commas.

Here’s another example:

Cupcakes that are decorated for the Fourth of July are on sale.

We can’t get rid of the words “that are decorated for the Fourth of July” because then we’d be saying all cupcakes are on sale, not just the special ones; so that means the phrase is restrictive.

And here’s one more example:

Cupcakes that have strawberries give me hives. 

I can’t get rid of the words “that have strawberries” because then I’d be saying all cupcakes give me hives, not just the ones with strawberries, which isn’t true. I can eat all kinds of cupcakes, just not those that have strawberries.

On the other hand, a non-restrictive element is something that can be left out without changing the meaning of the sentence. A nonrestrictive element is simply additional information.

Cupcakes with sprinkles, which are my favorite, always seem to get eaten first.

Leaving out the words “which are my favorite” doesn’t change the meaning of the sentence. With or without the words “which are my favorite,” we know that cupcakes with sprinkles are the first to go. And nonrestrictive elements are surrounded by commas. The way I think of it is that you could grab both those commas, pick up the element, and throw it out of your sentence, and it would still make sense.

Here’s another example:

The cupcakes that are on sale, which are decorated for the Fourth of July, all have sprinkles.

We could lift out the words “which are decorated for the Fourth of July” and the meaning of the sentence wouldn’t change. Those words just give us some extra information, meaning they’re non-restrictive, surrounded by commas, and “which” is the right word. And you may recall from last week’s episode that these words could also be surrounded by parentheses or dashes, depending on what kind of tone you want for your sentence.

Here’s a final example:

Cupcakes, which don’t need to be cut into pieces for serving, are a great choice for children’s parties.

Again, we could pick up the words “which don’t need to be cut into pieces for serving,” throw them out, and not change the meaning of the sentence. Cupcakes are still a great choice for children’s parties. Those words, “which don’t need to be cut into pieces for serving,” are just extra information, meaning they’re non-restrictive, surrounded by commas, and “which” is the right word choice.

Here’s a Quick and Dirty Tip for the simple rule: If you think of the Wicked Witch (“Which”) of the West from “The Wizard of Oz,” you know it’s OK to throw her out. She’s bad, so we want to get rid of her. We’re going to pick up the wicked witch and throw her out, just like you can pick up the “which” part of your sentence and throw it out. You won’t change the meaning of the sentence without the “which” phrase. So, you can throw out the which (or witch) phrase, commas and all. If you can do that, and it doesn’t change the main meaning of the sentence, then you know that “which” is the right choice. If you try to throw out the phrase and it does change the meaning of the sentence, then you know the right choice is “that” instead of “which” because it’s a restrictive element. 

That’s the simplified rule that I find works for a lot of people who get frustrated trying to decide which word to use.

‘Which’ Versus ‘That’ — Advanced

But you also should know that the situation is more complicated than what I just explained. That was the safe rule. You’ll never go wrong with it, but some authorities say that “which” can actually be used for both restrictive and non-restrictive phrases, and it’s actually very common for people who use British English to use “which” when American speakers would use “that.” The distinction between the two just hasn’t held up in British English the way it has in American English.

So if you’re British, know that some Americans might think you’ve made a mistake when you use “which” with a restrictive element, or they may be dazzled by your accent and not even notice because we’re like that.

And if you’re American but you love the sound of the word “which” in all your sentences and want to use it, if anyone challenges you — well, you can just say you’re using British English. I do think the distinction between the two words is useful, though, because they can convey different ideas.

Consider these two examples:

Cupcakes that are time-consuming to make tend to be crowd-pleasers. 

Cupcakes, which are time-consuming to make, tend to be crowd-pleasers.

In the first example — “Cupcakes that are time-consuming to make tend to be crowd-pleasers” — I’m saying there are different kinds of cupcakes: some that are time-consuming to make and some that aren’t. And probably only those that are time-consuming to make are the crowd pleasers.

In the second example — “Cupcakes, which are time-consuming to make, tend to be crowd-pleasers” — I’m saying that, at least to me, all cupcakes are time-consuming to make.

And I think that can be a useful distinction.

‘That’ and ‘Which’ — Relative Pronouns

And I’ll finish this segment with a little grammatical aside. When they’re used in the way we’ve been talking about, “that” and “which” are called relative pronouns. I know it seems weird because you usually think of pronouns as words such as “he” and “she.” Relative pronouns don’t get talked about as much as other pronouns, but they are real pronouns. They head up subordinate clauses. Other relative pronouns include “who,” “whom,” “why,” “where,” and “when.”