Word Wise: The Wicked Which

January 15, 2010

The Wicked Which

“Which” or “that”? That question, which has been on my mind lately, is more easily answered than you’d think. If you can tell what’s being referred to without the words “which” or “that,” use “which.” If you can’t, use “that.”

And that’s that.

For example, here‘s an instance where you can remove the “which” phrase and the original meaning of the sentence is still abundantly clear: “'Avatar,' which was in 3-D, will sweep the Academy Awards.” Lose the phrase between the commas – “which was in 3-D” – and you still understand the sentence. "'Avatar' will sweep the Academy Awards.”

But read this: “The movie that swept the Academy Awards was in 3-D.” Remove the “that” phrase – “that swept the Academy Awards” – and you’re left with “The movie was in 3-D,” which wasn’t the point I was making at all.

A few tips to remember:

Imagine “by the way” following every “which”: "Avatar, which [by the way] was in 3-D, will sweep the Academy Awards." The “which” adds a useful but not grammatically necessary piece of information. So, if “by the way” makes sense, use “which.”
If the phrase needs a comma, you probably want to use "which." Notice how commas bookend the "which" phrase above but not the "that" phrase. As Patricia O'Conner, author of Woe Is I, has written:

Commas, which cut out the fat,

go with which, never with that!

Posted at 08:53 AM | Permalink

Comments

This one gets me every time.

Posted by: KT | January 15, 2010 at 01:01 PM

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Why "Word Wise"?

When I started to e-mail out a weekly writing tip to my Chicago colleagues at Edelman in 2002, little did I know how quickly how many people outside my office would start to request it. But word spread, as word is wont to do, and in 2006 the e-mail evolved into this blog. The tips, which are about grammar, usage and style, have a dual purpose – to remind my colleagues in PR of the power of the written word and, more generally, to support and perpetuate clear, concise, creative, honest, lively, stylish, compelling writing everywhere. In 2009 I started to add commentary about and links to stories and other blog posts related to the media, marketing, writing and, sometimes, just interesting stuff. For some reason, I also started Twittering (at SantowDan).