May 2005
THAT VS. WHICH
Many native and non-native users of English have trouble knowing when to use "that" and "which" at the beginning of an adjective clause. This month's GrammarCheck feature will show you how to avoid making mistakes that [or which?] can lead to the improper use of "that" or "which" in your writing and speaking.
Let's start with a refresher lesson on clauses, adjective clauses, and restrictive/nonrestrictive adjective clauses to help us better understand the correct use of "that" vs. "which."
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What is a Clause?
A "clause" is a group of words that contains both a subject and a predicate. A clause is "independent" when the clause can stand alone as a complete sentence.
Example: "Everyone needs a friend."
[Subject = Everyone; Predicate = needs friend]
A clause is "dependent" (or "subordinate") when it cannot stand alone as a complete sentence.
Example: Everyone needs a friend "who can keep a secret."
[Subject = who; Predicate = can keep a secret]
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What is an Adjective Clause?
An "adjective clause" is a "dependent" clause that modifies a noun or a pronoun.
Example #1: Everyone needs a friend "who can keep a secret."
["Who can keep a secret" is an adjective clause that modifies the noun "friend."]
Example #2: She only visits cities "where everyone gets along."
["Where everyone gets along" is an adjective clause that modifies the noun "cities."]
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What is a Restrictive Adjective Clause?
A restrictive clause is sometimes called an "essential" clause because it provides information that, if deleted, would change the meaning of the word(s) it modifies and thus would change the meaning of the sentence.
Example: Everyone needs a friend WHO CAN KEEP A SECRET.
The adjective clause "who can keep a secret" is "restrictive" because it adds essential meaning to the word it modifies ("friend"). Its absence would change the sentence's meaning, as follows:
Meaning #1: Everyone needs a friend.
[This sentence states that everyone needs any kind of friend.]
Meaning #2: Everyone needs a friend who can keep a secret.
[This sentence states that everyone needs not just any kind of friend but a certain type of friend, one who can keep a secret. There's a big difference in meaning between "friend" and "secret-keeping friend."]
Restrictive adjective clauses are NOT set off with commas.
Incorrect: Everyone needs a friend, who can keep a secret.
Correct: Everyone needs a friend who can keep a secret.
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What is a Nonrestrictive Adjective Clause?
A nonrestrictive adjective clause is sometimes called a "nonessential" clause because it does not change the meaning of the word(s) it modifies.
Example: The employees, who worked hard all month, were given the week off.
The adjective clause "who worked hard all month" is "nonrestrictive" because it adds nonessential information to the sentence. The word "employees" in each of the following sentences--one with the adjective clause and the other without it--has the same meaning:
#1: The employees were given the week off.
#2: The employees, who worked hard all month, were given the week off.
In both sentences, all of the employees were given the week off, not just the ones who worked hard all month.
Nonrestrictive adjective clauses are ALWAYS set off with commas.
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Restrictive vs. Nonrestrictive Adjective Clauses
The "employees" sentence above provides a great example of how the meaning of a sentence can be changed by the use of restrictive adjective clauses (with no commas) and nonrestrictive adjective clauses (with commas).
Restrictive:
The employees who worked hard all month were given the week off.
[In this example, only the employees who worked hard all month were given the week off. As a result, it is clear that not all employees got the week off. There's a big difference in meaning between "employees" and "hard-working employees."]
Nonrestrictive:
The employees, who worked hard all month, were given the week off.
[In this example, all the employees were given the week off.]
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That vs. Which
Now that we better understand the difference between restrictive and nonrestrictive adjective clauses, let's apply what we've learned to the correct use of "that" and "which."
1. Use "that" (or "which") at the beginning of restrictive adjective clauses. Do NOT set off with commas.
2. Use "which" at the beginning of nonrestrictive adjective clauses. Set off with commas.
Note: Some grammarians believe the word "which" can only be used with nonrestrictive clauses. This interpretation, however, is not universally accepted.
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To illustrate these two grammar rules, consider the following independent clause:
The chemicals were placed in the wrong containers.
This sentence refers to a specific batch of chemicals, and these chemicals were placed in the wrong containers.
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Now let's add a "restrictive adjective clause" to the sentence:
The chemicals THAT BURNED HIS SKIN were placed in the wrong containers.
While the original sentence referred only to "chemicals" in general, this one refers to "chemicals that burned his skin," an essential change in meaning. It infers that other chemicals were present, but only the ones that burned his skin were placed in the wrong containers. The meaning of the sentence would change if the adjective clause were deleted.
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Now let's add a "nonrestrictive adjective clause" to the original sentence:
The chemicals, WHICH BURNED HIS SKIN, were placed in the wrong containers.
Like the original example, this sentence refers to a specific batch of chemicals, and they were placed in the wrong containers. All of these chemicals, however, just happened to burn his skin. The subject of the sentence remains "chemicals." The meaning of the sentence would not change if the adjective clause were deleted.
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PRACTICE EXERCISES
Indicate whether the following sentences are correct or incorrect. If a sentence contains one or more errors, rewrite it and correct the error(s).
1. The hamburgers, which were topped with catsup and relish, could not have been made at a McDonald's restaurant.
2. Boston is the lucky city, which won the World Series last year.
3. He hosted a party that featured two popular rock bands.
4. I made a bad decision, which I must live with for the rest of my life.
Look for the correct answers in next month's edition of GRAMMARCHECK.
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QUESTION: A member of royalty was quoted as saying, "It has been a great pleasure for my wife and I to meet so many of you who have organized these imaginative events." As a foreigner in this country, I am sure I was taught that if in doubt as to the use of "I" or "me," one should remove the other person to decide whether "I" or "me" should be used. I would therefore have thought that the correct word should have been "me." Am I wrong? (Elsie)
GRAMMARCHECK: You are correct, Elsie. This person should have used "me" instead of "I." For more information about the use of "I" or "me," see the January 2005 edition of GRAMMARCHECK. Thanks for writing!
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QUESTION: In last month's GRAMMARCHECK, someone asked you to replace the word "like" in the following sentence:
"Have you ever wondered what it was like to live in Denmark or France during World War II?"
You gave three suggestions, but none of them replaced "like" without altering the original sentence's intent. How about this:
"Have you ever wondered how it was to live in Denmark or France during World War II?"
P.S. My family is from Denmark, and my mom and her sister stayed while their two brothers had to go to Sweden when the Germans got too close to some of the other members of the underground. All four made it through safely. (Charlotte)
GRAMMARCHECK: Your sentence does, indeed, replace "like" without changing the original intent. Well done, Charlotte, and we're glad your family made it through this very difficult time!
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Thousands of people from all over the world read GRAMMARCHECK every month. Tell your friends, neighbors, family members, instant messaging pals, and business associates about our free monthly newsletter. For more information about us, visit our Web site at http://www.GrammarCheck.com/
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QUESTION: In the March 2005 edition of GRAMMARCHECK, you mentioned (to a reader named Joanne) that commas and periods ALWAYS go inside quotation marks. You also mentioned that you couldn't think of any exceptions to this rule in American English. From what I know, punctuation goes outside of quotation marks if there is a citation present. Or is that not correct? (Pavel)
GRAMMARCHECK: You are correct, Pavel, but we framed our answer around two specific examples that Joanne provided, neither of which required citations. Adding citations changes the context of the question and thus the nature of the answer since, in many cases, adding a citation to a quoted sentence eliminates the need to place a comma or period next to a quotation mark in the first place. But you make a good point. How about if we change our statement to the following:
In American English, periods and commas--when placed next to a quotation mark--ALWAYS go inside the quotation marks.
Thanks for writing!
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QUESTION: Which of the following two sentences is correct?
Sometimes I get up early.
I sometimes get up early.
GRAMMARCHECK: Both sentences are correct. Writers (and speakers) often vary the beginnings of their sentences by starting with an adverb ("Sometimes") or the subject ("I"), among other sentence beginnings.
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WORD OF THE MONTH
"Indolent" (IN-duh-luhnt) adjective
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1. Avoiding labor and exertion; habitually idle; lazy; inactive.
Example: John is more naturally indolent than Jane.
2. Conducive to or encouraging laziness or inactivity.
Example: Barry is too indolent to work during the summer months.
3. Causing little or no pain.
Example: The winner of the debate won her match with indolent care.
4. Slow to heal, develop, or grow.
Example: Some prostate cancers are so indolent that surgery is not recommended.
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Words, pronunciations, and definitions courtesy of Dictionary.com, Copyright 2005, Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved. Visit http://www.Dictionary.com for all your on-line dictionary and thesaurus needs.
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QUESTION: Would you explain the applicable rules regarding the placement of question marks, colons, semicolons, and exclamation marks before or after quotation marks? I am a Brazilian and work as an English translator, and those rules are quite different between Portuguese and English. Love GrammarCheck. Thanks. (Patricia)
GRAMMARCHECK: Hello, Patricia. We'll address this issue as our feature item in next month's edition of GrammarCheck.
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QUESTION: How do you write out the year 2005? Is it "two thousand five" or "two-thousand-five"?
GRAMMARCHECK: The first one (without the hyphens) is correct. The year "2005" also can be written as "two thousand and five." In general, numbers between twenty-one and ninety-nine should be hyphenated, but check your style guide first.
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GRAMMARCHECK ARCHIVES
Read past issues of GrammarCheck on-line at http://www.grammarcheck.com/archives/
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QUESTION: Can you tell me what is wrong with the following sentence?
In the spring, summer or in winter, you can enjoy a panoramic view from the lookout.
GRAMMARCHECK: The sentence contains an error in parallelism. Whenever you write a series of items, each item should be written with the same grammatical construction. For example, each item in a series should begin with a verb, or a noun, or a preposition, and so forth. The sentence in question begins with a series of three items, each with a different grammatical construction:
1. In the spring
2. summer
3. in winter
To correct the error in parallelism, revise the series of items. Here's one possibility:
In the spring, summer, or winter, you can enjoy a panoramic view from the lookout.
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QUESTION: Please don't let the cat out! Is that sentence an interjection?
GRAMMARCHECK: An interjection is a short exclamation that expresses emotion or commands attention. It usually appears at the beginning of a sentence and often is followed by an exclamation point or a comma.
Example #1: WOW! Did you see that race?
Example #2: What THE HECK are you talking about?
Example #3: UM, what did you say?
Your sentence does not include an interjection; however, some people might argue that the following revision might qualify "Please!" as an interjection:
Please! Don't let the cat out!
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HAVE ANY STYLE AND/OR EDITING SUGGESTIONS? WRITE TO US!
Our readers often share great ideas about writing and grammar. If you have a writing tip related to editing for style, e-mail it to grammar@grammarcheck.com. Your idea may appear in a future edition of GrammarCheck.
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QUESTION: Which is correct: "cannot" or "can not"?
GRAMMARCHECK: Both spellings are correct, but "cannot" is used more often. If the word "only" follows it, however, you should use the spelling "can not."
Correct: I cannot (or can not) understand why she left the ranch.
Incorrect: The football team CANNOT ONLY win at home, but it also can win its away games as well.
Correct: The football team CAN NOT ONLY win at home, but it also can win its away games as well.
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QUESTION: Can commas and semicolons both be used in the same sentence? Can more than one semicolon be used in a sentence?
GRAMMARCHECK: Yes and yes. Semicolons can be used to separate a series of items that themselves contain commas. In fact, you could use commas, semicolons, a colon, and a period all in one sentence.
Example:
Last summer, I purchased three new decorator items: a short, inexpensive lamp; an elegant, colorful wall tapestry; and an impressive, expensive coffee table.
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Have a question about grammar or writing? E-mail it to mailto:question@GrammarCheck.com or send it anonymously through our Web form at http://www.GrammarCheck.com/submit.htm
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WEB SITE OF THE MONTH
Each month we feature a Web site that provides on-line help with grammar and/or writing. Check out this month's site:
"The Bedford Handbook"
http://www.dianahacker.com/bedhandbook/
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QUESTION: One of my students wrote the following sentence:
Although being their slogan, becoming "The World's Marketplace" has not yet been completely realized.
I believe that this is poor sentence structure. What do you think?
GRAMMARCHECK: We agree with you. As we have mentioned in previous editions of GrammarCheck, writers should avoid using "to be" and "to have" verbs whenever possible. Your student uses three "to be" verbs (being, becoming, been) and one "to have" verb (has). Poor sentence structure, however, does not indicate poor thinking on the student's part. Many people don't know how to edit their own writing. Although we don't know what sentence(s) preceded and/or followed the student's sentence, one could edit the offending sentence as follows:
Their slogan, "The World's Marketplace," remains unfulfilled, according to recent sales figures.
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QUESTION: For a novel that has a lot of dialogue, isn't it true that the only time you start a new paragraph is when a different person is talking?
GRAMMARCHECK: Not necessarily. When two or more characters carry on a conversation, each speaking turn often is marked by a new paragraph. However, if one character "talks" at length, multiple paragraphs can be used, in which case quotation marks are used only at the beginning of each new paragraph and at the end of the last paragraph.
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QUESTION: I have a question regarding the correct format of a sentence. Which sentence is correct?
1. Pratt and Whitney in Dallas, Texas, HAS been notified of the possible warranty and HAS notified their warranty group.
2. Pratt and Whitney in Dallas, Texas, HAVE been notified of the possible warranty and HAVE notified their warranty group.
FYI: Pratt and Whitney is an aircraft engine manufacturer. Thank you for your help. (Jason)
GRAMMARCHECK: Greetings, Jason. The answer to your question is in your FYI statement. Notice how you wrote that Pratt and Whitney "is" an aircraft engine manufacturer. Intuitively, you knew that "Pratt and Whitney" (the name of a company) functions as a singular noun, which takes the singular verb "is." Likewise, it also takes the singular verb HAS. The first sentence is correct.
If "Pratt and Whitney" referred to two people who were notified of the possible warranty, however, the plural verb HAVE would be correct.
While some writers find it acceptable to use a singular or plural verb for company titles that consist of a series of names (e.g., Pratt, Whitney, and Jones), we prefer using a singular verb. Why? Because it lets readers know you're referring to a company, not individuals.
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