Going on a “Which” Hunt: When to Use Which vs That

One of the most common issues I see in manuscripts is misusing which and that. If you’re guilty of this, don’t worry—it’s easy to fix once you understand it. After reading this post, you can go on a “which” hunt in your own manuscript and cast some spells to turn that into a which!

Photo by Daijon J on Pexels.

Happy end of October! I hope you had a spooky autumn season. Though I love horror movies as much as the next girl, nothing scares me more than an misused “which” (shudder). But don’t be alarmed! I’m taking you on a which hunt to show you when to use which vs that in your writing. 

Restrictive vs. Nonrestrictive Clauses

To understand when to use which or that, you first need to understand the basic idea of restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses. 

A restrictive clause has information necessary to the meaning of the noun that it follows. The clause will describe or qualify the noun in some way that changes its meaning. As an example, let’s look at this sentence:

“Can you grab my black shoes that have a bow and strap across the back of the heel?”

The noun in this example is “shoes,” and the clause is “that have a bow and strap across the back of the heel.” The clause is restrictive because it is necessary information to the noun. It’s important to know that the shoes I’m talking about are the ones with a bow and a strap. If you deleted the clause, the meaning would be lost. I might have two or ten pairs of black shoes, so without the clause you wouldn’t know I’m talking about the one with a bow and a strap. 

What if I wrote the sentence this way? 

“Can you grab my black shoes, which have a bow and strap across the back of the heel?”

Here’s where the nuance comes in. This sentence has a nonrestrictive clause. 

But the only difference here is the use of which instead of that, and you might be thinking that the meaning hasn’t changed from that one difference. But that’s exactly why this is such a common issue in writing and why I need to hunt a lot of whiches in each manuscript. Using which might not change the meaning of the sentence, but it does change the meaning of the noun—that’s the trick with these!

The second version of the sentence implies that I only have one pair of black shoes because the clause is nonrestrictive—it’s not necessary to understand the noun. You could delete the clause without changing the meaning. With or without the clause, you could go into my closet, look at my shoes, and find the black pair easily because the clause is just extra description.

But in the first sentence, the restrictive clause implies I have more than one pair of black shoes. If the clause is deleted, you would walk into my Carrie Bradshaw closet and be overwhelmed becauseI have lots of black shoes, so which ones am I talking about? Without the clause, the meaning is lost.

Luckily, understanding the difference between restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses is the most confusing part. Once you figure out if the clause is necessary to the noun (restrictive) or simply extra description (nonrestrictive), then you already know whether to use that or which. 

That Is Restrictive, Which Is Nonrestrictive

If your clause is restrictive, then you should use that with no commas. 

“Can you grab my black shoes that have a bow and strap across the back of the heel?” (I have many pairs of black shoes, and I’m specifically asking for the ones with a bow and strap.)

“The mac and cheese at the potluck that had breadcrumbs was delicious.” (There were multiple mac and cheeses at the potluck, and I’m specifically talking about the one with breadcrumbs.)

If your clause is nonrestrictive, then use which and set the clause off with commas. 

“Can you grab my shoes with a bow and strap, which are black?” (I’m looking for my one pair of shoes with a bow and strap, which also happen to be black. ) 

“The coffee I had this morning, which was a vanilla latte, was delicious.” (I had only one coffee this morning, which was a vanilla latte by the way.) 

Do you see how the meaning changes depending on if you use that or which? While it might be subtle, it is an important distinction and is one that is often overlooked. Hence, why whiches are so scary for me as an editor! What grammar rule still trips you up? What do you want to learn more about? Comment below and I’ll help explain it in my next post. 

Do you have any questions about writing or grammar? Leave a comment below! Want to hear more of my opinions on all things writing, reading, and publishing? Follow me on Instagram @wisecracksandpaperbacks or subscribe to my YouTube channel @wpediting.