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"Which" Vs. "That"

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by jaybrium » Fri Oct 10, 2008 1:58 pm
When does one use "which" in a sentence and when does one use"that" in a sentence?

This issue just came up at work. My collegue was writing a letter to a client; the sentence was: "The company's capabilities, (which/that) include..."

I said to use "that" because that "company's capabilities" is plural and "that" is plural. You wouldn't say "that are," you'd say "which are."

I also joked that which is usually wrong on GMAT questions so go with "that."

Can someone 1) advise which word is correct, and 2) give some clarification on when to use "which" vs. "that."

Thanks!
- Jay
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Re: "Which" Vs. "That"

by boatracers » Sat Oct 11, 2008 10:40 am
The two are almost identical in use.

Note that when you use "which" that it should be preceded by a "," and when you use "that" the "," is not necessary.

For example:

The cat, which crossed the street, was chased by the dog.

The cat that crossed the street was chased by the dog.

They are essentially the same sentence, and can really be used to represent the same meaning.

If you have a specific question of a sentence, I can address it for you here.

Good luck, and I hope that this helps!

Paul
[email protected]
www.EssayMatch.com
jaybrium wrote:When does one use "which" in a sentence and when does one use"that" in a sentence?

This issue just came up at work. My collegue was writing a letter to a client; the sentence was: "The company's capabilities, (which/that) include..."

I said to use "that" because that "company's capabilities" is plural and "that" is plural. You wouldn't say "that are," you'd say "which are."

I also joked that which is usually wrong on GMAT questions so go with "that."

Can someone 1) advise which word is correct, and 2) give some clarification on when to use "which" vs. "that."

Thanks!
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by vivek.kapoor83 » Sat Oct 11, 2008 11:02 am
which - can be used when the info preceded by which is not essential n sentence can stand without which

that - info is necessary.
eg



The cat, which crossed the street, was chased by the dog. - If u remove which part that means we are not talking abt specific cat. It can be any cat pussy,suzy etc

The cat that crossed the street was chased by the dog. -- we cant remove logically that becoz we are talking abt a particular cat who was chased by dog. So this info is necssary.So we use that.



In your office case...
if u feel that info to be given abt anything is essential, then use that otherwise Which.

1 more thing - Generally , I repeat Generally or at most of times. after comma we use which...not that ....
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by jaybrium » Sat Oct 11, 2008 3:08 pm
Thanks to both of you for clearing things up.
- Jay
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by valleeny » Tue Dec 29, 2009 7:10 pm
Taken from the OG guide.

Carnivorous mammals can endure what would otherwise be lethal levels of body heat because they have a heat-exhange network which kept the brain from getting too hot.

The correct answer is "that keeps". My question is, will "which keeps" be a correct answer as well? How do you apply the essential and non-essential info discussed in the earlier posts?
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by valleeny » Tue Dec 29, 2009 7:11 pm
Taken from the OG guide.

Carnivorous mammals can endure what would otherwise be lethal levels of body heat because they have a heat-exhange network which kept the brain from getting too hot.

The correct answer is "that keeps". My question is, will "which keeps" be a correct answer as well? How do you apply the essential and non-essential info discussed in the earlier posts?
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by valleeny » Tue Dec 29, 2009 7:11 pm
Taken from the OG guide.

Carnivorous mammals can endure what would otherwise be lethal levels of body heat because they have a heat-exhange network which kept the brain from getting too hot.

The correct answer is "that keeps". My question is, will "which keeps" be a correct answer as well? How do you apply the essential and non-essential info discussed in the earlier posts?
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by chittychittybangbang » Mon Aug 16, 2010 9:39 am
valleeny wrote:Taken from the OG guide.

Carnivorous mammals can endure what would otherwise be lethal levels of body heat because they have a heat-exhange network which kept the brain from getting too hot.

The correct answer is "that keeps". My question is, will "which keeps" be a correct answer as well? How do you apply the essential and non-essential info discussed in the earlier posts?
The best way to decide is to drop the clause following which/that and see if the meaning of the sentence is altered. If it is, 'that' is your answer. If not, go with 'which'.

However, this is a controversial issue refuted by several authors - not really a deal breaker.
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by e-GMAT » Mon Aug 16, 2010 10:31 am
chittychittybangbang wrote:
valleeny wrote:Taken from the OG guide.

Carnivorous mammals can endure what would otherwise be lethal levels of body heat because they have a heat-exhange network which kept the brain from getting too hot.

The correct answer is "that keeps". My question is, will "which keeps" be a correct answer as well? How do you apply the essential and non-essential info discussed in the earlier posts?
The best way to decide is to drop the clause following which/that and see if the meaning of the sentence is altered. If it is, 'that' is your answer. If not, go with 'which'.

However, this is a controversial issue refuted by several authors - not really a deal breaker.
You are absolutely correct chittychittybangbang (nice catchy name BTW!!).

GMAT will not ask you to select the correct answer choice solely based on the ",which" vs "that" error.
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by chris@veritasprep » Mon Aug 16, 2010 10:43 am
hi jaybrium, etc. - here are two recent posts of mine (both from the same discussion) addressing the use of "which" and relative clauses that should be helpful.

https://www.beatthegmat.com/when-to-use- ... tml#285629
https://www.beatthegmat.com/when-to-use- ... tml#285700

valleeny- in your example, the primary issue is not the "which" vs. "that" but rather the tense of "keeps" vs "kept". Answer needs to be in present tense thus "that keeps" is correct.

The rules governing "which" and "that" are fairly strict but there are certainly exceptions and, as e-gmat and chittychitty point out, this issue has never been a deciding factor on a GMAT question (that I have ever seen!).
Chris Kane
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