The World Beyond BetterMost > The Culture Tent
In the New Yorker...
Jeff Wrangler:
Did you writers read the Sept. 29 issue article about Henry Fowler and his "Dictionary of Modern English Usage"?
I had a copy of Fowler on my bookshelf. I don't remember when or why I got it. I can't remember if I ever used it. I don't remember what I did with it or when. :-\
I found the discussion of the use of "that" and "which" particularly interesting. Apparently, I follow Fowler's preference and didn't even know it. ;D
serious crayons:
Well, now I guess I'll have to read it to find out what his preference is!
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: serious crayons on October 15, 2025, 03:29:47 pm ---Well, now I guess I'll have to read it to find out what his preference is!
--- End quote ---
That's if I read the article correctly. :-\
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: Jeff Wrangler on October 14, 2025, 09:37:15 pm ---Apparently, I follow Fowler's preference and didn't even know it. ;D
--- End quote ---
I read the article and discovered the same. "That" defines something, "which" adds additional description/information (or something like that). The car that I wound up buying, which was cheaper than the others, is a Honda. The baseball that crashed through the window, which scared the bejesus out of me, belonged to the neighbor kid. I'd been writing sentences that way without realizing I was following a rule. But if "that" and "which" switched places in those sentences, it wouldn't quite be grammatically incorrect but would sound ... off.
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: serious crayons on October 23, 2025, 06:11:12 pm ---I read the article and discovered the same. "That" defines something, "which" adds additional description/information (or something like that). The car that I wound up buying, which was cheaper than the others, is a Honda. The baseball that crashed through the window, which scared the bejesus out of me, belonged to the neighbor kid. I'd been writing sentences that way without realizing I was following a rule. But if "that" and "which" switched places in those sentences, it wouldn't quite be grammatically incorrect but would sound ... off.
--- End quote ---
Seems like a lot of people would write "The car which I wound up buying was a Honda."
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