That Witch!!! Oh wait… That vs Which.

Trying to decide that or which has always confused me.  I second guess myself every time I encounter this situation.  I have never been confident but I think after this section I finally get it. 

Through reading the stylebook I learned that you need to use “that” when you are using an essential clause in a sentence.  You then use “which” if it is a nonessential clause in a sentence or statement.  In other words, if the clause in the sentence is something that has to be there for somebody to fully understand what you are conveying you have to use the word “that.”  If it is something that is nonessential in your sentence but it is something that can convey additional information then you should use the word “which.” 

Here is another way of thinking about it.  If you could take a piece of information out of the sentence and the sentence would still make sense and convey the entire meaning to the reader then it is nonessential.  In that case you would use the word “which.”  If you took out a piece of information and the sentence and then didn’t make sense or give the full meaning it would be essential.  In that case you would use “that.”

I’m glad I finally understand this and hopefully I won’t make that mistake again.

Editing Mistake of the Week.

I couldn't take a picture because the mistake I found was in the notes at work.  I work in food processing so we are not allowed to have our cell phones in the building.  Each week my manager will have some notes on what we need to do during the week.  This week we had a note that said "We have a very important visit tomorrow so make sure the cooler is spotless before you leave tonite." 

Justin Langford