Re: That wicked "which"

On 08/02/2025 14:31, Stefan Ram wrote:
[...]

Mary-Claire van Leunen from Digital Equipment Corp said Fowler was
all about using "that" for defining clauses and "which" for
non-defining ones.

That was probably true, then.

The New Yorker, being the grammar sticklers they are, rode that wave
for ages. Then Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style" came along
and made this distinction a thing in American English.

I think it was unknown in British English, where Fowler is honoured more in the breach than the observance.

Example sentences:

 >

All the students that know when to use "which" and "that"
will pass the quiz.

"All students that" in this context (in BrE) might be a marker for a certain level of education. "All students who" would be what I was taught, but "All students what" is also very common.

The exam, which took place at the beginning of class, was not
difficult.

But that is a very different meaning without the commas.
1. The exam, which took place at the beginning of class, was not
    difficult.
= The exam was not difficult. BTW it took place at the beginning
   of class)
2. The exam which took place at the beginning of class was not
    difficult.
= as opposed to the exam which took place at the end of class.
Peter