Stuart's Daily Word Spot: That or which?

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That or which?Much has been said and written about the usage of these two words and I couldspend paragraphs in explanation. However, for most purposes the followingillustration should suffice. I'll refer you to Fowler or your favouritegrammarian for a more detailed exposition.
'That' is used in a restrictive sense; i.e. it identifies one objectamong many, pointing out the item that has a specific characteristic. So, 'A mini-skirtthat is short…' tells the reader that you are referring to the one skirt,amongst the many, that is notable because of its lack of length. It's probablyworth pointing out here that there is no comma dividing the object from thedescription.
'Which', however, is used in a non-restrictive way; i.e. it points to asingle item possessing the specified quality. So, 'A mini-skirt, which isshort…' tells the reader that the skirt is short, without comparing it to anyother. Note also that the object and its description are separated by a comma.
So, to enlarge on the examples in a way that will hopefully illustratethe point more fully:
'A mini-skirt that is short is bound to draw more male eyes than amini-skirt of normal length.'
'A mini-skirt, which is always short, will cover very little of thelegs.'
In the first example, if the words 'that is short' are excluded thesentence has a different meaning. The restrictive clause 'that is short' iscrucial to the real meaning of the sentence.But, in the second example, if the words 'which is always short' aremissed out, the sentence means the same thing. The non-restrictive clause'which is always short' merely adds a bit of information to the sentencewithout altering its meaning.
Probably, therefore, the easiestway to remember when to use 'that and when 'which' is more appropriate, is todecide whether you could ditch the clause. You can ditch the 'which' but losethe 'that' and you'll look a prat.
27 September 1988 Imarried my wonderful wife, Valerie. We've been very happy ever since.27 September 1981 Thefirst TGV high speed train journey took place in France.