The relative pronoun that is used with an essential clause, and the relative pronoun which is used with a nonessential clause. In 3–5 sentences, explain when to use each pronoun and the difference between the two types of relative clauses.
like a 7th grader wrote it
The pronoun that is used to introduce an essential clause, which is a clause that provides necessary information to understand the sentence. For example, "The book that I borrowed from the library last week was very interesting." In this sentence, the clause "that I borrowed from the library last week" is essential to understand which book is being referred to.
On the other hand, the pronoun which is used to introduce a nonessential clause, which provides additional, but not essential, information. For example, "The book, which was recommended by a friend, was very interesting." Here, the clause "which was recommended by a friend" is nonessential to identify the book, as the main point is that the book was interesting.
The main difference between the two types of relative clauses is that essential clauses are necessary for understanding the meaning of the sentence, while nonessential clauses provide extra information that can be omitted without altering the main point of the sentence. Remember to use "that" with essential clauses and "which" with nonessential clauses.
like a 4th grader wrote it
The pronoun "that" is used with an essential clause, which is a clause that is needed to understand the sentence. For example, "The dog that is barking loudly is annoying." In this sentence, the clause "that is barking loudly" is essential to identify which dog is being referred to.
The pronoun "which" is used with a nonessential clause, which provides extra information but is not necessary for understanding the sentence. For example, "My dog, which is brown and white, loves to play fetch." In this sentence, the clause "which is brown and white" provides additional description about the dog but can be removed without changing the main idea of the sentence.
Essential clauses with "that" are like a key piece of information without which the sentence won't make complete sense, whereas nonessential clauses with "which" are like extra details that enhance the sentence but are not crucial for understanding its meaning.