WHICH or THAT? A quick and simple guide. Relative clauses explained. English grammar lesson

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The relative pronouns WHICH and THAT are often confused because in some situations they are interchangeable and others they are not.
In this short video, I explain how and when to use WHICH and THAT in relative clauses. This will be particularly useful in order to improve your writing skills especially if you're preparing for an English exam.
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Ben Gill
English teacher
Website: ttpenglish.com/
Instagram: to_the_point_English
Facebook page: Ben Gill English to the Point
#englishgrammar #englishlesson #learnenglish #britishenglish #c1advanced #c2proficiency #relativeclause #relativecl #tothepointenglish #bengill

Опубликовано:

24 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 86

@viktoriyamochalova5047 2 года назад

Thank you Ben for your help!!! You are doing great work!

@michaelj1237 2 года назад

This is one of those problems that I took for granted but I knew had to be settled eventually. Thank you!

@izzythomas848 Год назад

So, basically "which" is used with non-essential information, AND is a part of the interruptor that adds emphasis and context to the sentence. For me, that's how I remember the rule, because in most cases you would use "which" in-between commas.

@Mariia-lr4vx 7 месяцев назад

Very insightful! Thank you so much!

@thierryfatoux311 5 месяцев назад

Very informative, Ben! Thanks a lot!

@monicakopycka1721 2 года назад

Great, quick lesson. It all make sense now. Thank you very much, Ben. Take care

@DVDY-ih8wi 2 года назад

Good to know, THT Ben!

@niha2214 2 года назад

Thanks for this simple and effective way to use "which" and "that" cheers 🌻

@mvlvine 2 года назад

what a great lesson :)

@betelgezaa 6 месяцев назад

Oooooo he teaches quite well. Easy to understand.

@user-vt1nn5ri8b 2 месяца назад

Great explanation ❤

@arna664 Год назад

U really got straight to the point

@LorenaLunaprof 2 года назад

Thank you, finally I understood!

@fadefade986 2 года назад

Excellent!

@teresalorenzini1241 2 года назад

Great!

@enoruevbuomwan6540 2 года назад

Good job you did defining relative and non-relative clauses using that or which plus other relative clauses.Thanks

@crazygang3509 Месяц назад

It's helpful

@claudiareginateixeira2662 2 года назад

🤩🤩🤩 Thank youuuu! 😃

@franciscopontesvelasco4315 2 года назад

Thanks for the extra video

@inayanawab6471 2 месяца назад

Thanks sir

@francescopiccinali900 2 года назад

Your channel is growing by leaps and bounds. Very well done!!! Keep it up!! By the way thanks for your help.

@tothepointenglishwithben. 2 года назад

Thanks... and you're welcome 🙂

@shimadakaz2591 2 года назад

thanks, it is helpful

@doubleh6526 2 года назад

Nice!

@leonidlenko 2 года назад

Thank you for your fabulous lessons and shedding some light on this topic. I hope you keep making this wonderful content

@tothepointenglishwithben. 2 года назад

You're welcome. I will!

@tarasteneta289 2 года назад

Wonderful lesson. Thank you. But, to feel the grammar, we (stupid foreigners) would like and need a bit more examples. Keep doing like that. Thanks again.

@user-ml3rg9wd7r 2 года назад

Stupid foreigners?Who are u talking about?About yourself???

@wyybiiee 2 года назад

kurz und bündig❤👏

@katamari2882 2 года назад

Great! I always pay attention to bonsai tree on the all videos. Glad to know this trees is not artificial! I know it is hard to look after the bonsai )

@cyruschang1904 2 года назад

I always pay attention to bonsai tree all the videos. I know it is hard to look after . If you say , you are specifying the tree : I know it is hard to look after that you have.

@Quattordici 2 года назад

At last! Thank you very much)

@tothepointenglishwithben. 2 года назад

You're welcome 🙂

@cristianducks747 Год назад

you had tecahed me more than my school´s teacher XD

@30SecondHomeopathicTreatment Месяц назад

Love from india

@kks5660 2 года назад

I am really enjoying your videos. I would like to check out the video you mentioned here about using comma. Could you let me know the link to the episode?

@tothepointenglishwithben. 2 года назад

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-B-AGT9si-CE.html 👍

@sanjibganguli3084 2 месяца назад

Shakespeare was a great playwright.He wrote Othello (Join the following sentences with Relative Pronouns). Sir, How would I get to figure out which sentence I should use as Principal Clause and which one as Subordinate Clause? My probable answers are -(A) Shakespeare, who was a playwright, wrote Othello (B) Shakespeare, who wrote Othello, was a playwright (C) Shakespeare was a great playwright, who wrote Othello.

@carlobellinaso4974 2 года назад

Thank you for your terrific lessons ! You said that WHICH can only be used for objects although when we want to identify somebody in a group we can say : " Which is your brother on the photo ? the one next to me " or " Which class of people earns more money in your opinion ? A teacher or a truck driver ? " . Do you mind sheding light this topic ? Thank you !

@tothepointenglishwithben. 2 года назад

In the video, I was referring to the use of WHICH in relative pronouns. Your examples are questions. Hope that helps 🙂

@tm75_88 Год назад

00:56 😂😂 👍👍

@gabrielle8042 2 года назад

Teacher please connectors amd the word that you have to use sfter the connectors

@ppstawski Год назад

4:05 Yes! Here actually you write exactly what I had said before! THIS not THE.

@shahfaisal7184 8 месяцев назад

Sir, this question was asked in my exams: It was a hot summer day. A lion and a boar reach a small water body for a drink. They begin arguing and fighting about_________which/who should drink first. As per rules we generally use which for non humans but the right answer of this is who. Plz clarify. Ty❤️

@omeromer-kl1uf Месяц назад

good question

@p-k98 8 дней назад

I think, "which" is to be used in instances where the statement/sentence is NOT explicitly implying something related to a person, a personified entity, a place/location, a timing, or a question. When these things ARE explicitly being implied, words that should be used also become explicit such as "who/whom/whose" for a person or a personified entity, "where" for a place/location, "when" for a timing, "what/why/how" for a question. In all the other instances "which/that" is supposed to be used, the usage of which is exactly what this video explains.

@martinjokes1610 Год назад

In that case

@litagimenez4423 2 года назад

Hi! I am a translator and a teacher of English in Argentina. I did a translation into English for the United States, and I used "which" properly bur "somebody", who is apparently the corrector, said that in the United States they don't use which but that. This is the sentence I translated into English: "We count with the most advanced tools and equipment WHICH enable us to provide a more accurate diagnosis, a more effective treatment, and in the end, the best results for our patients. I think she is wrong but I couldn't find a reference book with this specific answer. Thanks your your coments

@tothepointenglishwithben. 2 года назад

It's correct. I'm English but I'm sure "which" is used in American English.

@litagimenez4423 2 года назад

@@tothepointenglishwithben. Thank you very much for your quick reply

@jimaanders7527 2 года назад

I'm from Texas. My first impulse is to use "that" but it's close. Some people might prefer "which". I like to use "that" for inanimate objects, like tools and equipment. Which is usually the case. (?) After I wrote this last sentence, I noticed that using the word "That" would not sound right. "That is usually the case." (no, this doesn't work, have to use: "which is usually the case".) I don't know a technical explanation but there is a subtle difference between "which" and "that" in this sentence.

@aram5642 8 месяцев назад

These two examples - the dull book and the bonsai tree - got me stuck and pondering. I would never use 'that' with the bonsai tree (it just wouldn't sound ok, probably because of the verb 'is') but - to be honest - I would be fine with 'that' in the dull book sentence. At least I feel like in American English would tolerate it. But I'm not a native speaker, so I might be wrong.

@martinjokes1610 Год назад

Which of these phrases

@nguyengiahuy4764 2 года назад

I think you should add subtitle ^^

@gwendolinechelsey6040 2 года назад

I cannot choose should I learn UK or American English. Any recommendation?Thanks.

@cyruschang1904 2 года назад

Here are the main differences 1. Accent, which is not a big problem because we understand each other. Not to mention the fact that there exist many many different accents in UK and in the US anyway. If you compare the standard English in UK and in the US, there is not a huge difference. 2. Our choice of words can be different sometimes (e.g. rubbish vs garbage), but this is not a major problem. Most of the time we use the same words and we do follow the same grammar rules. 3. Slang words. When we run into new slang words, we just look them up, not a big deal. As new slang words are being invented all the time, we even have to look up and learn our own slang words.

@krzysiekj2522 2 года назад

Why would I add "which" to the sentence "the book, I bought in london, was extremely dull"? For the sake of making the sentence longer? Like people tend to add "and stuff"? Or something eludes me?

@tothepointenglishwithben. 2 года назад

"Which" is necessary in that sentence

@rivarinaldi5090 11 месяцев назад

I think how to differ this, is using the coma before which and no come for using that. Sorry for being slow learner.

@ppstawski Год назад

3:42 You said "THIS" book, then it makes sense, but "The book is extremely dull" doesn't. Am I right or is there something I am missing here?

@nolanr1400 Год назад

3:52 seriously ? The book THAT I bought in London, is dull hahaha 😂 😂

@tothepointenglishwithben. Год назад

Yes, that's a defining relative clause.

@arna664 Год назад

1:31 it's specific, innit? So we must use "tht "

@martiisern4165 2 года назад

3:22 In this example, assuming that the fact of the clause being between commas makes it non-defining, would it be correct to use that as long as you don't put any comma? - The book that I bought in London is extremely dull.

@tothepointenglishwithben. 2 года назад

Yes. That's possible. In that case, it would be a defining relative clause.

@joannawojnicka9720 2 года назад

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but this sentence is rather an example of defining clause. "The book is extremely dull" doesn't tell us which book unless you keep it in your hand. It's "which I bought .." what makes sense here. Isn't "that" possible then?

@cyruschang1904 2 года назад

@@joannawojnicka9720 The problem lies with the use of "this" and "the" at the beginning of the main sentence. book, which I bought in London, is extremely dull. book that I bought in London is extremely dull. bonsai tree, which is a Chinese elm, needs pruning bonsai tree that is a Chinese elm needs pruning

@ppstawski Год назад

3:41 ---> Well, are you sure everybody knows which book? I mean "the" again.

@Vantrilokist 2 года назад

Just one mistake: the Bonsai is Japanese, not Chinese. Haha but otherwise, thank you, very helpful

@tothepointenglishwithben. 2 года назад

The art of growing Bonsai trees is Japanese but the species of that particular tree is "Chinese Elm" 👍

@MeryKeit 2 года назад

“A clause is a group of verbs, WHICH contains a subject and a verb” - so, can I say “THAT” instead of “WHICH” here?

@MeryKeit 2 года назад

“It’s relative to something else THAT has been mentioned” - another one, where I can use WHICH, can’t I?

@MeryKeit 2 года назад

“A defining relative clause contains essential information THAT the sentence needs”

@tothepointenglishwithben. 2 года назад

Yes

@dafodil666 7 месяцев назад

Ok, but how about this sentence:" In these humps camels store fat that/which is used as energy when they don't have access to food".

@hannofranz7973 2 года назад

Your example sentence: "The book, which I bought in London, is extremely dull." to me makes more sense as a defining relative clause: "The book that/which I bought in London is extremely dull". As a non-defining one shouldn't you say: "This book, which .."?

@tothepointenglishwithben. 2 года назад

I see your point, but both are possible. It just depends on the context.

@user-wi4vb4hh3y 2 года назад

You are guilty because English scientists don‘t make any efforts to make English easier for foreign learners and your children . In particular , IMHO, you should make an adaptation reform of a way of words writting in connection with their pronunciation . Nowadays the majority of English words are hieroglyphics . You confuse as yourself and also learners of English. A few years ago I read a reply of a spanish speaking person who claimed about it and he emphasized that Spanish does not have this issue . That it why you could learn Spanish in a short time. Sorry for my English . P.s. And of course your pronounciation is brilliant . It is quite easy for me to understand what you speak , althought my level of English is intermediate.

@tothepointenglishwithben. 2 года назад

I think English will evolve naturally into a simpler (and more logical) form in the future.

@dnister_nymph 2 года назад

I’m glad to have found this channel 🤍 Thanks from Ukraine 🇺🇦

@ppstawski Год назад

3:35. Ok, great, but how am I supposed to know which book is it? You said " The book,......, is extremely dull. Ok, why "THE"? Honestly, it is not clear.