That and Which

Here’s everything you need to know about the difference between “that” and “which.”

  1. 1. You don’t need to know anything about the difference between “that” and “which.” Though in Chicago and AP editing styles, there’s an important distinction, it doesn’t really apply outside of professional publishing. Unless you specifically want to comply with those styles, whatever use comes naturally is fine.
  2. If you do want to follow those styles, here’s the difference: “that” is for restrictive clauses and “which” is for nonrestrictive clauses.
  3. Also, if you want to follow those styles, you need to understand the difference between restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses. A restrictive clause, as the name suggests, actually “restricts” a noun. That means it adds specificity. The car that I was driving was blue. Here, the clause “that I was driving” specifies which car I’m talking about. It narrows down what could have been meant by “the car,” which is broader, to “the car that I was driving,” which points more clearly to one specific car. “Which," in these editing styles, is for nonrestrictive clauses. The information introduced by "which" could be lifted right out of the sentence with no loss of specificity and without damaging the sentence structure or meaning. “Which” clauses are set off which commas, making it clearer this is just extra information: The car, which I was driving, was red.  See how the stuff about me driving is inserted as a sort of “by the way”? That makes it clear that you’re already supposed to know which car I’m talking about with“ the car.” You can't do that with a restrictive clause: Any cat that I would adopt must be over one year old. Take out the “that” clause and what are you left with? Nonsense: Any cat must be over one year old. This illustrates how restrictive clauses are, in theory, essential to the sentence’s meaning and the specificity of the noun.

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