Get the grammar rules for using that and which.

There’s a lot of confusion about that and which. These two words are often used interchangeably, even though they’re not necessarily interchangeable.

Historically, that and which may have carried the same meaning, and some English dialects may allow for that and which to be swapped without affecting the meaning of a sentence.

However, in American English, the grammar rules offer a distinct difference between the two words. By the time you’re done reading this post, you’ll fully understand the difference between that and which, and you’ll be able to use both words correctly.

That and Which

As with most grammar rules, there are exceptions and exemptions from the standard ways that and which should be used in a sentence. To gain understanding of confusing word pairs, it’s always best to start with the basics. As we look at how to properly use that and which, we’ll focus on basic, standard usage.

That and which can be categorized into several different parts of speech. Both words can function as adjectives and pronouns. Additionally, that can serve as a conjunction and as an adverb. Today, we’re looking at how that and which should be used when they are working as relative pronouns.

Relative Pronouns

From Wikipedia: “A relative pronoun is a pronoun that marks a relative clause within a larger sentence. It is called a relative pronoun because it relates to the word that it modifies.”

Like adjectives and adverbs, relative pronouns modify other words. Adjectives modify nouns:

• I have a car.
• I have a red car.

Adverbs modify verbs:

• I am walking.
• I am walking quickly.

The main difference between adjectives and adverbs is that adjectives usually modify things (nouns) while adverbs modify actions (verbs). Relative pronouns also modify words, but they often do so as clauses rather than as single, descriptive words. In the examples below, the clauses are italicized.

• Bring me the bucket.
• Bring me the bucket that has apples in it.
• The bucket, which has apples in it, is blue.

The difference between the words that and which, and how they are used as relative pronouns, depends on whether the clause they belong to is restrictive or nonrestrictive.

Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Clauses

Restrictive Clauses Are Necessary

A restrictive clause is necessary to the meaning of a sentence. For example:

• The bucket that has apples in it is the one I want.

If you removed the clause “that has apples in it,” the meaning of the sentence would be lost. The clause is necessary to the meaning of the sentence and is therefore a restrictive clause. Because it’s a restrictive clause, it should take the relative pronoun that.

Nonrestrictive Clauses are Unnecessary

• The bucket, which is blue, has apples in it.
• There are apples in the bucket, which is blue.

If you removed the nonrestrictive clause “which is blue,” from either of the sentences above, the meaning of the sentences would not be lost. We’d still know that the bucket has apples in it. Note that in the second example, the nonrestrictive clause adds information about something that has already been identified. Because the clause is unnecessary to the meaning of the sentence, we know it’s a nonrestrictive clause, and therefore should take the relative pronoun which.

• Use that before a restrictive clause.
• Use which before a nonrestrictive clause.

Do you know when to use who or whom?

It sounds pretty old fashioned: To whom have you sent those letters? Modern colloquial speakers expect something more along the lines of Who did you send those letters to?

While whom may sound outdated, it can pose a problem, especially if you’re writing for an erudite audience or if you are a stickler for using words properly and adhering to all known grammar rules.

In the example above, the second sentence (Who did you send those letters to?) breaches the standards set forth by proper grammar by ending a sentence with a preposition, and it breaks the rules of usage in the ongoing battle of who vs. whom.

Here are the two grammar rules violated by our example sentence:

1. It ends with a preposition
2. It uses who where whom is the correct interrogative pronoun

It’s worth noting that many grammarians today are increasingly granting exception to ending sentences with prepositions. As more and more writers and speakers place prepositions at the end of sentences, the practice is becoming more and more acceptable.

However, we’re not here to talk about prepositions. We’re going to take a look at how to properly use the words who or whom in a sentence.

Interrogative Pronoun! Are You Kidding?

Yeah, I guess it sounds pretty high-brow, and no, I’m not kidding. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not one of those grammar snobs. I do, however, believe that writers who learn the rules can better get away with breaking them. If you are a writer, then it couldn’t possibly hurt to know what an interrogative pronoun is and how to use it in a sentence, correctly.

Plus, learning about interrogative pronouns will help you know the difference between who vs. whom.

Interrogative Pronoun

Simply put, an interrogative pronoun is a pronoun that is used in a question. You know these words: who, what, where, when, why, and how. Whence and whither are also interrogative pronouns, but I’ll spare you on those. For now.

Who Uses Whom Nowadays?

The word whom seems to have fallen out of favor, although some crotchety old aunt or anal-retentive English teacher might force it into your vocabulary at some point. For all I know, whom could still be used in British English, Canadian English, or Aussie speak. It’s safe to assume that a high profile writing assignment (Ph.D, anyone?) would require you to adhere to strict rules, and to use whom where it would be expected. Also, if you were writing a historical novel or perhaps a fantasy tale with a medieval flair, you’d want to know such things so your characters would have realistic dialogue.

It’s also worth noting that as you learn the correct applications of who and whom, you may acquire a taste for using these words more properly, especially in writing (but probably not so much in your speech).

So, What’s the Difference between Who and Whom?

First I’ll give you the technical answer, and then I’ll follow up with a trick to help you remember whether to use who or whom in your own sentence crafting.

• Who refers to the subject of a sentence, while whom refers to the object.

Yep, it’s that simple.

Example:

I see you.

In the sentence above, I is the subject and you is the object. I always remember subject as the giver (or doer) and object as the receiver (of an action). In this example, I am doing the action (seeing) and you are receiving the action (getting seen). Now let’s replace the subject and object with an interrogative pronoun.

When the subject is an interrogative pronoun, use who.

Since who is the proper interrogative pronoun for representing a sentence’s subject, you could say:

Who sees you?
(I do. I see you.)

When the object of a sentence is an interrogative pronoun, use whom.

I see whom? or Whom do I see?
(I see you.)

The following sentences would be incorrect: Who do I see? Whom sees you?

Quick Trick for Remember Who vs. Whom

Some months ago, while listening to Grammar Girl (one of my favorite podcasts), I picked up a neat little trick for remembering when to use who vs. whom. Both whom and him are pronouns that end with the letter m. So, all you do is remove the interrogative pronoun and replace it with he or him.

If you would replace the interrogative pronoun (who or whom) with him, then you should use whom:

I see whom?
I see him.

Whom did I see?
I saw him.

But if you would replace the interrogative pronoun (who or whom) with he, then you should use who:

Who saw me?
He saw me.

Grammar sure is fun.

Do you ever struggle with whether to use who or whom in a sentence? Got any tips or tricks for remembering who vs. whom? Leave a comment, and keep sticking to those grammar rules!

Find out how to correctly use lay or lie in a sentence

One of the most common grammatical mistakes that we see in both speech and writing is the misuse of the words lay and lie.

This error is so common, it even slips past professional writers, editors, and English teachers — all the time.

Maybe eventually these two words will morph into one and have the exact same meaning, but until then, it’s worthwhile to learn proper usage. For now, their meanings are completely different.

Let’s take a look at this interesting word pair and find out whether we should be using lay or lie based on each word’s definition.

Lay

Dictionary.com lists 42 different definitions for the word lay. Of these, 28 are categorized as a verb used with an object, eight as verbs used without an object, and six are simply nouns. Plus, there are 15 verb phrases that use the word lay, as well as nine idioms. This is a word that can be used in a lot of different ways!

Let’s keep things simple by focusing on what differentiates lay from lie.

In short, lay is something you do to something else. You might think that sounds funny, especially considering idiom number 58 (get laid), but it’s true and of course “getting laid” is exactly what you should use to remember that you lay something (down).

Lie

The word lie only has 27 definitions, so that’s a relief. Though, that’s not taking into consideration the nine additional definitions that deal with falsehoods.

Again, we’ll keep it simple. Just remember that you should use the word lie when there is no object involved.

Lay or Lie

Here are some tips to help you remember whether to use lay or lie in a sentence:

Every sentence has a subject and a verb. An example would be the following:

I write.

“I” is the subject, and “write” is the verb. Many sentences also have an object:

I write poems.

In this example, the word “poems” is the object. The object in a sentence receives the action of the verb. The subject is taking or making that action.

Subject: I (does the action)

Action: write (the action)

Object: poems (receives the action – i.e. gets written)

Learning to Use Lay or Lie is Easy!

The word lay should be used when there is an object receiving the action, i.e. something or someone is getting laid (down) by something or someone else.

I always lay my pencil by the phone.
I laid the book on that chair.
I am laying down the law.

Conversely, the word lie is used when there is no object involved, i.e. the subject of the sentence is doing the lying.

I lie down every afternoon.
The kitten lies there, dozing.
The dog is lying down.

Wait — There’s More

As with every rule, there are exceptions. Consider the following line: “Now I lay me down to sleep . . .” Well, in that sentence, the speaker (I) is laying himself or herself down. We don’t normally speak like this: I lay myself down. However, if you were to include yourself in a sentence as both as subject and object, you would use lay rather than lie.

Matters get even more confusing when we look at the past tenses of these verbs. For example, the past tense of to lie is lay:

Present tense: I am lying on my bed.
Past tense: I lay on my bed last night.

The past tense of lay is laid:

Present tense: I am laying my book right here.
Past tense: I laid my book right here yesterday.

Discerning between lay or lie is not an easy feat, but once you memorize the meanings and conjugations of these two oddly similar words, using them correctly will be a snap.

Do you have any tips for remembering whether a sentence calls for lay or lie? Are there any word pairs or grammar rules that confuse you? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Learn the grammar rules for Latin abbreviations i.e. and e.g.

Occasionally, we come across the abbreviations i.e. and e.g., but what do they mean, and what is the difference between them? How do grammar rules apply?

These two terms originate in the Latin language and are just two of the many Latin phrases that have survived into modern language.

Both i.e. and e.g. are abbreviations for longer Latin phrases, so one of the smartest ways to memorize these terms is to learn what they stand for.

If you speak any of the Latin languages, you’ll have the upper hand in memorizing i.e. and e.g. And if you don’t speak any Latin languages, then here are some tips to help you better understand these two terms.

That is (i.e.)

Iillud est or il est means that is. It can also mean in other words. According to our grammar rules, when this term is abbreviated, it is always written with periods between and after the letters: i.e., and it should always be followed by a comma, and then the remainder of the sentence. It often acts as a conjunction, linking two separate phrases or ideas together. It is interesting to note that the phrase il est is still fully alive in the French language, meaning he is or it is.

Example:

I am writing, i.e., I am putting my thoughts into words on paper.

I am writing, that is, I am putting my thoughts into words on paper.

For Example (e.g.)

Exempli gratia means for the sake of example, but we often construe it to simply mean for example. As with i.e., it is always written with periods between and after the letters when it is abbreviated. It is usually followed by a comma, but there may be exceptions based on context.

Example:

There are many Latin words and phrases that still exist in modern languages, e.g., carpe diem, which means seize the day.

There are many Latin words and phrases that still exist in modern languages, for example, carpe diem, which means seize the day.

Avoid a Mix-up: Tips for Remembering i.e. and e.g.

Abbreviated or not, these terms are not interchangeable. They simply do not mean the same thing. Still, they are often used in ways that are confusing, and since they look similar, they are easy to confuse. How to remember the difference?

These two abbreviations share the letter e. So, we must use the other letters, the i and the g, respectively, to remember which is which. The trick is to just remember one of them, and the easiest of the two is i.e., or that is.

If you can associate the i in i.e. with the word is, you’ll be fine, because e.g. doesn’t have the letter i, and neither does the phrase for example.

i.e. = that is

e.g. = for example

Another popular memory trick involves the made up word eggsample, which starts with e.g. and sounds a lot like example (as in for example, which, of course, is the meaning of e.g.).

Can you think of any other ways to easily remember i.e. and e.g.? Which Latin terms do you struggle with? Are there any grammar rules that confuse you? Leave a comment to share your thoughts or ask questions.

Many people don’t realize that these two words do not share the same meaning and therefore cannot be used interchangeably. As a result, both fewer and less are often used incorrectly.

The difference may be subtle but it’s significant and remarkably easy to remember. Let’s see what Dictionary.com has to say about these two words:

fewer: adjective 1. of a smaller number: fewer words and more action.

less: adjective 1. smaller in size, amount, degree, etc.; not so large, great, or much: less money; less speed.

The grammar rules are clear; let me break them down for you.

Fewer or Less? Which is Correct?

Fewer and less respectively refer to a number of items or an amount of something. The easiest way to remember which of these adjectives to use in a given situation is this:

Fewer should be used when the items in question can be counted.

She has fewer books than her brother.

Less is used when the amount of something cannot be counted.

She has less interest in reading than her brother does.

Note that books can be counted item by item. However, interest is not a thing that can be counted, though we can discuss how much of it someone has.

The basic difference here is countability. Use fewer for countable nouns like individuals, cars, and pens. Use less for uncountable nouns such as love, time, and interest. Do note, however, that there are some sticky spots to watch out for when determining whether you should use fewer or less. For example, you might need less paper but you will need fewer sheets of paper.

Fewer or Less

Now you know how to tell the difference.

Do you have questions about correctly using fewer or less or any other word pairs? Maybe you have something to add to this linguistic look at tricky adjectives. Share your thoughts by leaving a comment and let’s discuss.