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ColleenV
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“that” and “which” as relative pronoun

Since both “that” and “which” can be used to modify things in a sentence with an adjective clauses, which one is preferred in which situations? I found the following rules on the Internet. I am wondering if there are other rules.

Rules cited from http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/which.htm

  • In clauses that follow impersonal constructions, such as it is, that is preferred: “It was the dog that died”.
  • Clauses that refer back to the words anything, nothing, something, or everything have a slight preference for that over which: “Can you think of anything that still has to be done?”
  • Clauses that follow a superlative also tend to prefer that: “Thank you for the most superb dinner that I’ve ever eaten”.
April
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