Should I Use Which or That A Simple Trick to Solve the Puzzle

Should I Use Which or That A Simple Trick to Solve the Puzzle As an editor, you begin to notice common mistakes that writers make and let me assure you, after decades of editing experience, Im certain of one thing: the which vs. that struggle is real! And if youre unsure of which one to use, youre not alone.So, lets take a look at the process of determining whether to use which or that to introduce a clause, which is really just a matter of looking at the text that follows either. But before we do, lets do a quick grammar review of restrictive clauses and nonrestrictive clauses, just to refresh your memory on what both are and how they are used in a sentence.Restrictive clausesThis writing resource defines restrictive clauses like this:A restrictive modifying clause (or essential clause) is an adjective clause that is essential to the meaning of a sentence because it limits the thing it refers to. The meaning of the sentence would change if the clause were deleted. Because restrictive clauses are essential, they are not set off by commas.Center for Writing StudiesNonrestrictive clausesThe same source defines nonrestrictive clauses like this:A nonrestrictive modifying clause (or nonessential clause) is an adjective clause that adds extra or nonessential information to a sentence. The meaning of the sentence would not change if the clause were to be omitted. Nonrestrictive modifying clauses are usually set off by commas.Center for Writing StudiesSo, what does this have to do with which and that?The reason weve reviewed the definition of restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses is simple. If the words that follow which or that are a restrictive clause, you need to use that. If they are a nonrestrictive clause, which is the correct choice.Lets see how that works with a few examples:The car that hit me yesterday was driven by an unlicensed driver.In the above sentence, that is the correct choice because that hit me yesterday is a clause that is necessary to the meaning of the sentence. If we dont know the information that the cl ause gives usâ€"that hit me yesterdayâ€"then important details will be missing in the sentence and the sentence will change in meaning. Without that clause, the sentence would just be The car was driven by an unlicensed driver.Well…okay, but which car? And why are we bringing it up? See how it is important information?Now lets look at another example:That new restaurant, which I didnt realize was there, is now my favorite place to eat on South Main.In the above example, which I didnt realize was there is a nonrestrictive clause because it could be removed from the sentence and the sentence would retain its meaning. That new restaurant is now my favorite place to eat on South Main.Now what about the commas?Knowing whether to use which or that will also help you know the correct way to punctuate the clause, in most cases. When you use which, the clause should be set off by commasâ€"meaning that there should be a comma before which and another comma at the end of the clause. Doing th is also helps visualize whether the clause can be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence.Alternately, with a restrictive clause beginning with that, commas are not needed to set off the clause.