Ask the wise old owl
What is the difference between “which” and “that”?
Often these words are used interchangeably, but there is a difference.
The part of the sentence with “which” is usually surrounded by commas and the sentence would make sense without it. This part of the sentence just gives additional information.
Look at these two sentences:
1. The expensive ornament, which was in the lounge, was broken.
2. The expensive ornament that was in the lounge was broken.
In sentence one, the “which was in the lounge”, just gives us additional information about the expensive ornament.
Sentence two suggests that there are a number of expensive ornaments, but we are referring specifically to the one in the lounge. If the “that was in the lounge” were taken away, the sentence would not be complete because we don’t know which expensive ornament was damaged.
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Could I ask some question? The difference is the structure of the sentence? There is no difference of the meaning right? When it comes to grammar, I am a little bit confused.
Hi!
Often people use the words interchangeably and there is no difference in meaning.
However sometimes, as in the example here, there could be a difference in meaning.
1. The expensive ornament, which was in the lounge, was broken.
The expensive ornament was broken. It was in the lounge when it happened.
2. The expensive ornament that was in the lounge was broken.
There may be a number of expensive ornaments in the house, but we are specifically talking about the one in the lounge.
If you can take away the part of the sentence and the sentence still makes sense, you need “which”. If you need the additional words for the sentence to make sense, you need “that”.
This sentence makes sense:
My new sofa is very comfortable.
We can add additional information, such as:
My new sofa , which I bought last week, is very comfortable.
However we don’t need “which I bought last week” to understand the main point of the sentence, which is the fact that my sofa is very comfortable. It’s just extra information.
I hope that helps.
Oh, I get it now. Thank you for spending time answering my question. <3