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'That' Vs 'Which'

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by Cheers123 » Fri May 27, 2011 11:01 pm
Hi,

Could anybody please help me with the right usage of 'that' and 'which'?
I found the following but it confuses me even more when I spot the words in an SC statement:

That:
Used with restrictive clause, one that limits or restricts the identity of the subject in some way.
When writing a restrictive clause, introduce it with the word 'that' and no comma.

Which:
Used with non restrictive clauses. A non restrictive clause may tell us something interesting or incidental about a subject but it does not define that subject.

Now, one example,

As a result of a supernova explosion, every human being on Earth was bombarded on February 23, 1987, by about 100 billion neutrinos; fortunately, neutrinos are harmless elementary particles that are produced in nuclear reactions and that interact very weakly with matter.

(a) neutrinos are harmless elementary particles that are produced in nuclear reactions and that
(b) neutrinos, which are harmless, are elementary particles produced in nuclear reactions and which
(c) neutrinos are harmless elementary particles produced in nuclear reactions and which
(d) these harmless elementary particles are produced in nuclear reactions, and neutrinos
(e) these elementary particles, harmless products of nuclear reactions, are neutrinos that

Can you please compare options A and C?

TIA.
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by cans » Fri May 27, 2011 11:06 pm
Is OA C??
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by vineeshp » Fri May 27, 2011 11:15 pm
Hi.

THat is used in essential scenarios. As in the part introduced by that is necesasry to give meaning to the sentence.
The house that I checked out on Street 52 is big.

The part that...52 describes the house that he checked out.
You MUST NOT use a comma with an essential modifier.

In the case of which, it introduces something extra about the noun. The part set off by which is not a necessary part.
For e.g. This red house, which was previously owned by the Sams, will be demolished.
Here the part with is set apart by the comma is not necessary to give meaning to the sentence. This red house already clearly identifies the house. We dont need the additional information presented by the which part.

Use THAT and NO COMMA for essential modifiers.
Use WHICH and COMMA for non essential modifiers.
Vineesh,
Just telling you what I know and think. I am not the expert. :)
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by Cheers123 » Fri May 27, 2011 11:20 pm
Thanks Vineesh, Can you please explain their usage using the example that I mentioned?
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by vineeshp » Fri May 27, 2011 11:22 pm
I do not go with C in your question.

In C there is no parallelism. Both parts describe Neutrinos.
One part does not have THAT/WHICH and one part has which. So C cannot be the answer.

A is parallel.
The 2 that parts describe neutrinos. that are produced from reactions and that interact weakly with matter.
Vineesh,
Just telling you what I know and think. I am not the expert. :)
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by Cheers123 » Fri May 27, 2011 11:30 pm
OA is A.
I agree that A is framed better in this case but it's the 'which' vs 'that' that stumps me.

What if we eliminate the 'and' from Op C?
"...neutrinos are harmless elementary particles produced in nuclear reactions which..."

Does this sound right?
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by itsmebharat » Sat May 28, 2011 12:03 am
A is correct, and here parallelism is tested instead of that vs which.

NOW, after removing "and" from C,

neutrinos are harmless elementary particles produced in nuclear reactions, which interact very weakly with matter.
It will change the whole meaning of the sentence, so now there are other elementary particles that interact very weakly with the matter.
"For e.g. This red house, which was previously owned by the Sams, will be demolished. "

This will totally change the meaning of the sentence, hence incorrect.
Last edited by itsmebharat on Sat May 28, 2011 12:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
I am not an Expert, please feel free to suggest if there is an error.
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by smackmartine » Sat May 28, 2011 12:04 am
Cheers123 wrote:OA is A.
I agree that A is framed better in this case but it's the 'which' vs 'that' that stumps me.

What if we eliminate the 'and' from Op C?
"...neutrinos are harmless elementary particles produced in nuclear reactions which..."

Does this sound right?
The sentence is still incorrect because which modifies "nuclear reactions". Ideally "which" should modify particles.
"neutrinos are harmless elementary particles,which interact very weakly with matter." (only if this info "interact very weakly with matter" were non essential part of the sentence)
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by itsmebharat » Sat May 28, 2011 12:11 am
@smackmartin

I agree with you but check the below sentence,
I'm staying at the hotel in Chicago produced by XYZ, which the Andersons operate. Are we modifying XYZ?
I am not an Expert, please feel free to suggest if there is an error.
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by Cheers123 » Sat May 28, 2011 12:16 am
Thanks smackmartine. That makes sense.

Yes, the question tests parallelism but my doubt was about the correct usage of which/that. May be my choice of example was not relevant.

Thanks for your help though :)
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by smackmartine » Sat May 28, 2011 12:18 am
itsmebharat wrote:@smackmartin

I agree with you but check the below sentence,
I'm staying at the hotel in Chicago produced by XYZ, which the Andersons operate. Are we modifying XYZ?
Yes in your sentence "which" is modifying XYZ because XYZ comes right before Comma. To modify Hotel properly the sentence should be revised.

In Chicago, I'm staying at the hotel ,which the Andersons operate.

I don't understand what "produced by XYZ" means and that too it is placed after Chicago. The phrase seems to modify Chicago (sounds awkward to me).
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by vineeshp » Sat May 28, 2011 6:59 am
There are a few cases where which doesnt have to be next to the noun if it clearly conveys what it is modifying.

The question "Emily dickinson's letters... " in OG 12 is the best.
Vineesh,
Just telling you what I know and think. I am not the expert. :)
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by smackmartine » Sat May 28, 2011 12:18 pm
vineeshp wrote:There are a few cases where which doesnt have to be next to the noun if it clearly conveys what it is modifying.

The question "Emily dickinson's letters... " in OG 12 is the best.
You are correct. "which" can even modify a phrase.eg

The pyramids of Giza, which are the oldest of the seven wonders, were erected from around 2575 to around 2665 BC.
Last edited by smackmartine on Sun May 29, 2011 9:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by niksworth » Sat May 28, 2011 8:51 pm
smackmartine wrote: You are correct. "which" can even modify a clause .eg

The pyramids of Giza, which are the oldest of the seven wonders, were erected from around 2575 to around 2665 BC.
Just a small correction here. In the sentence above, which is modifying a phrase, The pyramids of Giza, not a clause.
scio me nihil scire
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