That vs Which

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gmataspirant: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 52; Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:46 pm; Thanked: 3 times

by gmataspirant » Wed Jun 18, 2008 6:38 am

Hey Guys,

I am trying to understand the usage of "that" and "which". I know that "which" is used to refer a noun.

I welcome more detailed discussion on this topic , I really want to nail it down so that I don't make any mistakes in the sentences involving that & which.

For the sake of discussion, I am providing the following examples :

Example of a sentence using "That"
==================================

A recent national study of the public schools shows that there is now one microcomputer for every thirty-two pupils, four times as many as there were four years ago.

Example of a sentence using "Which"
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A report by the American Academy for the Advancement of Science has concluded that many of the currently uncontrolled dioxins to which North Americans are exposed come from the incineration of wastes

YOUR THOUGTHS ARE MOST WELCOME

Never GiveUp For Any Reason

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Wed Jun 18, 2008 6:38 am

lvincy: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 60; Joined: Thu Jun 12, 2008 5:38 pm; Thanked: 2 times

by lvincy » Wed Jun 18, 2008 6:53 am

That -->
1) it is more specific eg that red car ,that big building
2) information after That is critical for sentence completeness.Without that information sentence is incomplete.

Which -->
1) it is general eg car which are red, building which are big.
2) information after which is less critical to sentence.

I follow these general rules to distinguish between that and which.

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varunrajwade: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 35; Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2008 7:33 pm; Thanked: 3 times

by varunrajwade » Fri Jun 20, 2008 10:14 am

Kaplan says that "that" is used in restrictive clauses. So as mentioned earlier they are essential info.. Infact they are so important that there is generally no comma...

Which is used in non-restrictive clauses that have commas and are more general..

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Stuart@KaplanGMAT: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 3225; Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 2:40 pmFollowed by: 614 members; Location: Toronto; Thanked: 1710 times; GMAT Score:800

by Stuart@KaplanGMAT » Fri Jun 20, 2008 6:27 pm

varunrajwade wrote:Kaplan says that "that" is used in restrictive clauses. So as mentioned earlier they are essential info.. Infact they are so important that there is generally no comma...

Which is used in non-restrictive clauses that have commas and are more general..

Right!

On the GMAT, you'll almost always see "which" in one of two situations:

1) after a comma, introducing non-essential descriptive information; or

2) as part of a prepositional phrase (e.g. "in which", "of which", "to which"...).

So, if the word (i.e. that/which) appears in the main part of the sentence and isn't preceded by a preposition, "that" is pretty much always going to be the best choice.

Stuart Kovinsky | Kaplan GMAT Faculty | Toronto

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ildude02: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 320; Joined: Sun Jan 13, 2008 10:00 pm; Thanked: 10 times

by ildude02 » Mon Jul 21, 2008 7:54 pm

Stuart Kovinsky wrote:
varunrajwade wrote:Kaplan says that "that" is used in restrictive clauses. So as mentioned earlier they are essential info.. Infact they are so important that there is generally no comma...

Which is used in non-restrictive clauses that have commas and are more general..
Right!

On the GMAT, you'll almost always see "which" in one of two situations:

1) after a comma, introducing non-essential descriptive information; or

2) as part of a prepositional phrase (e.g. "in which", "of which", "to which"...).

So, if the word (i.e. that/which) appears in the main part of the sentence and isn't preceded by a preposition, "that" is pretty much always going to be the best choice.

Stuart,

In the same context, is there any easy way to figure out whether "that" is needed in the sentence or can be omited? I was told by my friend, if you see "that" in a sentence and you are unsure, try to replace "that" with "which" and if doesn't really affect the meaning of the sentence, you don't really need "that". I'm not sure how valid is it, but I'd liek to know if there is any easy way to fgure out when "that" is redundant in a given sentence. Appreciate your response.

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Stuart@KaplanGMAT: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 3225; Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 2:40 pmFollowed by: 614 members; Location: Toronto; Thanked: 1710 times; GMAT Score:800

by Stuart@KaplanGMAT » Mon Jul 21, 2008 10:07 pm

You need "that" if you're narrowing down the possibilities with restrictive information. On the GMAT, you generally have to choose between that and which, not that and nothing at all.

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