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I am having a doubt between the usage of which and that.

Which one of the following is correct and why?

The cougar is a member of the cat family that grows around 8 feet in length.

or

The cougar is a member of the cat family which grows around 8 feet in length.

Hope you can clarify it ASAP.

tchrist
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Kaushik
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  • This is an incredibly broad question. Can you give an example, or explain why all the webpages that explain the grammar of which and that aren't adequate. – Peter Shor Mar 18 '19 at 16:46
  • Which one of the following is correct and why? The cougar is a member of the cat family that grows around 8 feet in length. or The cougar is a member of the cat family which grows around 8 feet in length. – Kaushik Mar 18 '19 at 16:50
  • They're both correct in that sentence. – Peter Shor Mar 18 '19 at 16:58
  • See this blog post. – Peter Shor Mar 18 '19 at 17:02
  • thanks for your help @PeterShor – Kaushik Mar 18 '19 at 17:03
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    It's a free choice. "Which grows to around 8 feet in length and "that grows to around 8 feet in length" show no show no semantic differences, and no syntactic differences (other than what follows from "that" not being a pronoun). – BillJ Mar 18 '19 at 17:06
  • If you have doubts, you should consult some spiritual counsellor. We only answer questions, and have answered this one many times before. – tchrist Mar 19 '19 at 02:48

2 Answers2

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To understand the use of "that" & "which" like the way you sentenced, you need to know about restrictive/nonrestrictive modifiers.

For example, the following two sentences are both correct. But conveys totally different meaning.

The cars that are expensive often get stolen.

The cars, which are expensive, often get stolen.


A restrictive modifier restricts the scope of the noun to a subset. This is where "that" comes into play. In the first statement, "The cars that are expensive often get stolen" it means only those cars that are expensive get stolen. Not all cars!
We are pointing out a subset of cars called "expensive cars".

A non-restrictive modifier adds more information to the noun. Even if you remove the modifier the core meaning stays the same. In our example, "The cars, which are expensive, often get stolen" it means all cars are expensive and they get stolen. And it also means all cars get stolen.

Both of the below statement means the same. But the first merely adds more information.

The cars, which are expensive, often get stolen.
The cars often get stolen.



Also a non-restrictive modifier needs to be set off from the noun it modifies by commas. Whereas restrictive modifier should not have any commas. This is also a prime differentiating factor.

The cars that are expensive often get stolen.

The cars, which are expensive, often get stolen.

yenkaykay
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  • I don't think we'd say The cars that are expensive ... If it's a restrictive clause, we'd just say Cars that are expensive ... And if it's a non-restrictive clause, we would need a comma after cars and before expensive. – Peter Shor Mar 18 '19 at 19:46
  • Why comma before expensive? – Kaushik Mar 19 '19 at 06:55
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I have two tests. [1] Bear in mind that 'that' defines, while 'which' describes. To remember this you can mutter to yourself the phrase: "This is the house that Jack built."

[2] The comma test; if you would be inclined to put commas round the clause then 'which' is likely to be more appropriate.

"The cougar is a member of the cat family that grows around 8 feet in length." Does not need commas, so 'that' can stand. The phrase suggest that at 5 foot the cat cannot be a cougar.

The cougar, which frequently grows to around 8 feet in length, is a member of the cat family. This can take commas and 'which'. (Unfortunate the borderline is indistinct.)

Ian West
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