"That" vs "which"
 

I am confused on the usage of "that" versus "which".

Here is a sentence: "for a Dutchman to win a grand tour implies an upending of the universe's natural laws that I'm not ready for".

Here is an alternate: "for a Dutchman to win a grand tour implies an upending of the universe's natural laws for which I'm not ready".

One sentence uses "that", the other uses "which". Why?

If the words that follow the location where you would place "that" or "which" do not change the meaning of the sentence, use "which".

For example:

Our race car, which has electronic fuel injection, is stored in the garage at our home in San Jose.

Our race car that has electronic fuel injection is stored in the garage at our home in San Jose.

These sentences really have two meanings. The first says that we have one race car, it has fuel injection, and is located in the garage at our home in San Jose. The second suggests we have more than one race car and the one with fuel injection is stored in the garage at our home in San Jose.

I just had this discussion with my GF over 'gone' and 'went'. ... It got heated..!

I should've gone to the concert or I should've went to the concert, etc..

I always refer to this site when I have problems with word selection or usage: http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html#errors
Then I go ahead and f*** it up anyway.



That vs Which: If you are defining something by distinguishing it from a larger class of which it is a member, use “that”: “I chose the lettuce that had the fewest wilted leaves.” When the general class is not being limited or defined in some way, then “which” is appropriate: “He made an iceberg Caesar salad, which didn’t taste quite right.” Note that “which” is normally preceded by a comma, but “that” is not.

http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/t.html#that


Gone vs Went: The past participle of “go” is “gone” so it’s not “I should have went to the party” but “I should have gone to the party.”
http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/went.html

That which is gone went away.

I would never argue that which I could not win....

I don't care how wrong she was :)

The first example is an American speaking while the second example is a more educated person speaking.

OK PEEPS how about opinions on usage of : "will" vs. "shall"

I shall be attending LeMans.

I will be attending LeMans

discuss..

If in Britain, the first sentence is correct. In the USA, the second is correct.

In Britain, first person pronouns are supposed to get "shall" while second and third person pronouns get "will". In the USA, all pronouns usually get "will".

That's why when Americans say they speak English the British cringe.

Good luck with this hair-splitting. Half the people can't even handle "your" vs "you're."

We appear to have an elitist here...maybe from England?

Jolly good.

That which went shall be gone, or will it?

To the OP....Definately use "for which" in that sentence.

We watch the F1 coverage and they have three British guys as announcers. It is always weird to hear how they pronounce Honda or China. The say Honder or Chiner. :confused:

I spent three years in the UK and learned quickly that the languages are quite different.

"Pardon me. A lorry has crumpled my wing and bonnet and the call box on the footpath is engaged. May I barrow your telephone?"

Translation:

"Excuse me. A truck just smashed my fender and hood and the phone booth on the sidewalk is busy. Can I use your phone?"

On a Porsche forum no less! Lord knows Porsches aren't elite.

In general, I like the Grammar Girl podcast for clear (and fun) explanations of grammar and usage questions.