What is the difference between who and that?

As grammar rules go, the difference between “that” and “which” is far from the most contentious. It’s not the Oxford comma, using a preposition to end a sentence. But there’s still a chance that you’ve been using these two very common words incorrectly.

When does the confusion arise?

Of course, you know to say “I don’t know which one to choose!” and “I decided to go with that one.” The confusion comes when you’re using them to introduce a clause because you use them at precisely the same spot in the sentence to mean somewhat the same thing. For instance, would you say “The car that I just bought is green” or “The car which I just bought is green”? Technically, you could correctly write either of those sentences, but the use of “that” or “which” changes the sentence’s meaning.

Here’s the rule: “That” indicates a defining clause, while “which” indicates a non-defining clause. To understand the difference between “that” and “which,” we need to understand the difference between defining and non-defining clauses, which admittedly isn’t a common staple of grammar knowledge. A clause is “defining” when the meaning of the sentence changes when it isn’t there. A non-defining clause, meanwhile, could be taken out of the sentence without changing its meaning. Let’s use the car example to explain the difference. Here’s when you should use flush out or flesh out.

Examples of non-defining and defining clauses

Imagine writing “The car which I just bought is green.” First and foremost, you’d want to add commas to the sentence to make it, “The car, which I just bought, is green.” Non-descriptive clauses, using “which,” often have commas around them, another helpful way to distinguish the two. In this sentence, “which I just bought” is nonessential to the meaning of the sentence. The point of the sentence is that the car is green; the fact that you just bought it is a superfluous detail. Compare that with “The car that I just bought is green.” The use of “that” makes it a restrictive cause and implies that you have more than one car. Therefore, you need the clause “that I just bought” to clarify which car you’re talking about.

Consider this example, too. In the sentence “We ate the cookies, which Sarah made, in less than an hour,” the fact that Sarah made the cookies doesn’t change the meaning of the sentence. But in this sentence—”We liked the cookies that Sarah made better than the store-bought ones”—”that Sarah made” is an essential descriptor of the cookies because the sentence also talks about different cookies. It can be confusing, all right, making it one of the most confusing grammar rules in English.

How strict is this rule?

Merriam-Webster admits that the use of “which” in non-defining clauses isn’t grammatically imperative. Most people probably wouldn’t blink an eye at “We ate the cookies that Sarah made in less than an hour,” even though “that Sarah made” isn’t essential to the sentence. The reverse rule, though, is a little stricter; use “that” instead of “which” in a defining clause. For instance, “We liked the cookies which Sarah made better than the store-bought ones” comes across as a little grammatically funky.

And we know what you’re thinking—yes, many people just take the pronoun out completely. “We ate the cookies Sarah made in less than an hour.” “We liked the cookies Sarah made better than the store-bought ones.” Though it’s not the most polished grammar, every English speaker has probably done it at some point, and your meaning will likely still come across! And that’s not the only grammar rule you’re probably safe ignoring—here are 10 more.

Originally Published: May 02, 2019

To understand when to use that and when to use which, it’s important to keep in mind the difference between restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses. In formal American English, that is used in restrictive clauses, and which is used in nonrestrictive clauses. Not sure what that means? Let’s find out!

How to use that vs. which

A restrictive clause contains information that limits the meaning of a noun and is necessary in a sentence. For example, in the sentence Any book that you like must be good, the clause that you like is restrictive because it identifies which book: the one that you like.

Take a look at the meaning of the sentence if the clause is removed: any book must be good. Without the clause, the meaning of the sentence is altered, and therefore, the clause is needed.

Note that in restrictive clauses, sometimes that can be omitted. Any book you like must be good is also often used, especially in informal settings.

Examples sentences using that

In the following sentences, the precise meaning is altered if each restrictive clause is removed:

• The song that you performed right before intermission is my favorite.
• I think I finally caught a glimpse of the bird that is building a nest in the window.
• Do you remember the name of the book that Carla recommended to us?

These grammar rules can really have a dizzying effect … or is it “affect”? Find out the difference, here.

A nonrestrictive clause, on the other hand, is used to supply additional information that is not essential to understanding the main point of the sentence. Consider this example: The book, which I found at a dusty used bookstore, was a real page-turner. The clause which I found at a dusty used bookstore is nonrestrictive because it adds extra information, almost like an aside. You could delete the details about the bookstore, and the sentence would still make sense. In this example, which is preceded by a comma; nonrestrictive clauses tend to follow punctuation like a comma, a dash, or parenthesis. Which is only used in restrictive clauses if it is preceded by a preposition.

Example sentences using which

In these examples, the information provided by each nonrestrictive clause is not essential.

• This sandwich, which has my favorite pickles, is delicious!
• Juan’s birthday party, which was going to be held at the park, has been postponed.
• These pairs of pants, which no longer fit me, should be given away.

Luckily there’s an easy way to remember whether to use that or which. If the relative clause contains information that is not essential to the meaning of the sentence, and is also preceded by a comma, a dash, or parenthesis, it’s probably nonrestrictive, so use which. If not, odds are it’s restrictive, so use that.

However, the above distinction is a rule of formal American English, and is not as strictly observed in British English or in informal English of any type.

Who vs That
 

Who and that are relative pronouns that are used to refer to people and animals and objects. Though there are also other relative pronouns, the most important ones are who and that. These two pronouns (relative) allow the speaker to link a phrase to another word in a sentence. People who are learning English language often use these pronouns erroneously and interchangeably. This article attempts to make clear their differences and usage.

As a general rule, you should use who to refer to people, and which to refer to things. That is one relative pronoun that can be confusing as it can be used to refer to both people and things. When the relative pronoun ‘that’ is used to refer to people, it is called informal English. It has to be remembered that that and which allow us to join clauses or phrases that otherwise remain separate.

According to dictionaries, who is used to refer to people while that is used to refer to objects and animals. But it is found that, in actual usage, that is flexible and can be used for people as well as objects and animals. Take a look at the following examples.

• I have a friend who can help in this matter.

• John has a master key that can open this lock

• This is the jacket that I was talking about

• He is the man who saved the drowning woman

Who vs That

• Both who and that along with which are relative pronouns.

• Use who to refer to persons and use that to refer to animals and objects.

• The use of that is flexible, and you can use it for people as well as objects.

• That and who allow joining of two phrases of a sentence that otherwise remain separate.

That vs Who

A sentence is a group of words that convey meaning. It is composed of clauses with a subject and a predicate. The subject can either be a noun or a pronoun. A pronoun is a word or group of words that are used instead of a noun. There are many types of pronouns, namely:

Personal pronouns which are used as a substitute for the names of persons or things. They can be subjective, objective, prepositional, disjunctive, dummy, or weak.
Possessive pronouns which are used to specify ownership or possession and can also act as nouns, possessive adjectives, or determiners. Demonstrative pronouns which indicate the person or thing that is referred to. Indefinite pronouns which refer to a general type of persons or things and which can be distributive or negative. Interrogative pronouns which asks what is referred to.

Relative pronouns which refer to persons or things that have already been mentioned. A relative pronoun links two clauses in a sentence and relates the relative clause to the noun or pronoun that it modified. Examples of relative pronouns are: which, whose, whom, who, and that.

For example: “This is my pet. I love my pet so much. This is my pet that I love so much.” In this example, the first and second sentences are made into one with two clauses. “This is my pet” (main clause) and “that I love so much” (relative clause). Another example: “This is John. He is Jane’s brother. This is John who is Jane’s brother”. “This is John” is the main clause and “who is Jane’s brother” is the relative clause. The word “that” is a relative pronoun which is used when referring to a thing or a place, but it can also be used to refer to people while the relative pronoun “who” is used to refer only to people. The word “that” is also used to present a restrictive relative clause in a sentence or as a demonstrative pronoun or adjective, as a subordinating conjunction, or as an adverb.

The word “who,” on the other hand, is used depending upon the grammar of the clause including one which uses it as an implied antecedent. It is also used as a subject for a verb and may be used interchangeably with the word “that.” It is usually used after a comma to suggest further remarks about a person.

Summary:

1.“That” is a relative pronoun that is used when referring to either a person or a thing while “who” is a relative pronoun that is used when referring to a person. 2.The word “that” is also used as a demonstrative pronoun, adjective, conjunction, or an adverb while the word “who” is also used as a subject or object of a verb and is usually used after a comma.

3.The words “that” and “who” can be used in place of each other, but “who” is used if the antecedent is a person while “that” is used if the antecedent is either a thing or a person.

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