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| Rule 1. |
Who refers to people. That and which refer to groups or things. |
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Examples: |
Anya is the one who rescued the bird. |
| Lokua is on the team that won first place. |
| She belongs to an organization that specializes in saving endangered species. |
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| Rule 2. |
That introduces essential clauses while which introduces nonessential clauses. |
| Examples: |
I do not trust editorials that claim racial differences in intelligence. |
| We would not know which editorials were being discussed without the that clause. |
| The editorial claiming racial differences in intelligence, which appeared in the Sunday newspaper, upset me. |
| The editorial is already identified. Therefore, which begins a nonessential clause. |
| NOTE: |
Essential clauses do not have commas surrounding them while nonessential clauses are surrounded by commas. |
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| Rule 3. |
If this, that, these, or those has already introduced an essential clause, you may use which to introduce the next clause, whether it is essential or nonessential. |
| Examples: |
That is a decision which you must live with for the rest of your life. |
| Those ideas, which we've discussed thoroughly enough, do not need to be addressed again. |
| NOTE: |
Often, you can streamline your sentence by leaving out which. |
| Example: |
Those ideas, which we have discussed thoroughly, do not need to be addressed again. |
| Better: |
The ideas we have discussed thoroughly do not need to be addressed again. |
| Example: |
That is a decision which you must live with for the rest of your life. |
| Better: |
That is a decision you must live with for the rest of your life. OR
You must live with that decision for the rest of your life. |
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