Which or That?

While both which and that can be used in other constructions, the confusion
usually arises when they are being used as relative pronouns to introduce
adjective (or relative) clauses. In the examples below, we have bracketed the
adjective clauses. (Remember that a clause is simply a group of words
containing a subject and a verb):
1. Our house [that has a red door and green shutters] needs painting.
2. Our house, [which has a red door and green shutters], needs painting.
3. The classrooms [that were painted over the summer] are bright and
cheerful.
4. The classrooms, [which were painted over the summer], are bright and
cheerful.
In all four cases, the adjective clause tells us something about either the house
or the classrooms, but the choice of which orthat changes the way we should
read each sentence.
In the first sentence, the use of that suggests that we own more than one house
and therefore must explain to you that we are talking about a particular house
of ours--the one with a red door and green shutters. We cannot leave out that
adjective clause because it is essential to your understanding of the sentence;
that is, you wouldn't know which one of our houses needs the paint job
without that adjective clause.
The second sentence tells you that we own only one house and we are simply
telling you--in case you want to know--that it happens to have a red door and
green shutters. We could leave out the information in that adjective clause and
the sentence would still make sense.
The third sentence, because it uses that to launch its adjective clause, tells us
that only SOME of the classrooms were painted over the summer. If we
omitted the clause "that were painted over the summer," we would be left with
"The classrooms are bright and cheerful," a statement that would not be
accurate since it would imply that ALL the classrooms are bright and cheerful.
In this sentence, therefore, the adjective clause is essential to the meaning of
the sentence.

We call the adjective clauses in sentences one and threerestrictive because

they restrict--or limit--the meaning of the nouns they modify. In the case of
sentence three, they tell us that we are talking ONLY about the classrooms
that were painted over the summer--not the others.
The which clause in the fourth sentence is what we call a nonessential--or
nonrestrictive--clause. Since that sentence intends to tell us that ALL the
classrooms were painted, the information in the adjective clause is not
essential. The sentence would be clear even if the clause were omitted.
The rule of thumb, then, is that which clauses are nonrestrictive (nonessential)
while that clauses are restrictive (essential). Nonrestrictive clauses and
phrases are set off from the rest of a sentence by a pair of commas (as in our
examples above) or by a single comma if they come at the end of the sentence.
(Example: "I took a vacation day on my birthday, which happened to fall on a
Monday this year.")
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (10th edition), regarded by most
writers as the authority on such matters, tells us that it is now common
for which to be used with either kind of clause, while that must be used only
for restrictive clauses. In fact, though, careful writers continue to make the
distinction we describe above. Attorneys are taught to use which for
nonrestrictive clauses and that for restrictive clauses so as not to cause a
misreading in legal documents. It seems just as important that we work to
avoid misreadings in all writing, not only in situations when a legal ruling
might be at stake.
TEST YOURSELF: Which pronoun--which or that--belongs in each blank
below?
1. Carlos gave Maria a study guide for material ________ was going to be on
the test.
2. Carlos gave Maria notes from chapters 3 through 7 _________ were going
to be on the test.
3. Mark and Sarah took their children on every vacation _________ they took
to the coast.
4. The teachers gave awards to all paintings ________ showed originality.

ANSWERS
1.Carlos gave Maria a study guide for material *that* was going to be on the
test. [To say simply "Carlos gave Maria a study guide for material" would not
be complete information. We need the adjective clause to tell us which
material, in particular. Since the information is, therefore, essential, we
use that and no comma.]
2.Carlos gave Maria notes from chapters 3 through 7, *which* were going to
be on the test. [The fact that chapters 3 through 7 were going to be on the test
is not essential to our understanding exactly which notes Carlos gave Maria,
so we use a comma andwhich.]
3.Mark and Sarah took their children on every vacation *that* they took to the
coast. [If we said simply "Mark and Sarah took their children on every
vacation," we would be inaccurate. The information in the adjective clause is
essential to our understanding that the children went on certain vacations and
not others. Therefore, we use that and no comma.]
4.The teachers gave awards to all paintings that showed originality. [To say
simply "The teachers gave awards to all paintings" would be inaccurate. The
information in the adjective clause is, therefore, essential to the meaning of
the sentence, so we use that and no comma.]