That witchy which
Mar. 4th, 2005 09:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwynI thought I'd dip my toe into the usage swimming pool again since I'm just sitting around agonizing about my sister's doctor appointment today. Things are not going well at all, and so I'm trying to distract myself because I live in terror of the phone ringing right now.
But I'm picking something easy and short: that versus which, the great elemental smackdown of proper usage. Few people, even seasoned pros, know this one, and often the people who know it, still don't do it right -- although what's right, in this case, depends on how much you buy into the whole concept.
To know how to use that or which after a comma (as opposed to using which is phrases like "which do I use?" or something like that), you need to know what they function as first. Word groups that describe pronouns or nouns are either restrictive or non-restrictive. A restrictive element defines or limits (you know, restricts!) the maning of the word it modifies, so it's essential to the meaning of the sentence. Since it contains vital info, you don't set a restrictive element off with commas:
For Race Wars, Brian needed a car that was NOS-equipped.
When you take away the restrictive element from the sentence, the meaning will change and you lose your specificity. Brian doesn't just need a car, he needs one that's equipped with NOS. But a non-restrictive element describes a noun or pronoun whose meaning is already clearly defined or limited. Since the info isn't as vital or is kind of parenthetical, non-restrictive elements are set off with commas:
To take on his enemy, Duncan needed his sword, which was hidden inside his long coat.
Once you take away that non-restrictive element, you still haven't changed the meaning much, because Duncan still needs his sword, but we don't necessarily have to know that it's hidden in his coat. You do lose some of the nuance and extra info, but you've got the most important parts. There are other things you can do or worry about with restrictive and non-restrictive elements, such as appositives, or setting phrases off with commas, but I will get into that another time.
The most common problem with that and which occurs in something called an adjective clause. These are pretty much like any sentence, but they function within a larger sentence as modifiers of those nouns and pronouns that you've used in the sentence (who, whom, whose, which, that blah blah) or relative adverbs like when and where. Again, it's the non-restrictive ones that use a comma, and the restrictive ones do not:
(non) Wesley's books, which were located in the main library, were an endless source of fascination for him. (The phrase "which were located in the main library" really doesn't restrict the meaning of anything about Wes's books, so the info isn't essential.)
(restrictive) The organization that kept tabs on vampires and slayers had secret headquarters in a bookstore near Picadilly Circus. (Since "that kept tabs on vampires and slayers" identifies clearly who that organization is, the info here is considered essential.)
In general, you'll be considered more correct if you throw that comma in before which. It's almost always the which words that are the non-restrictive elements, and that tends toward the restrictive. So anytime you find yourself writing something like "Harry looked around the room for his wand, which was on a table by the door" or "Ezra strolled into the saloon, searching for his cards, which were on the table," you'll need that comma. If you're casting it along the lines of "Ezra wanted the deck of cards that was on the table" or "Harry needed to find the wand that would allow him to cast an important spell," then you won't need that comma. Most people won't know the diff -- certainly most fanfic readers are no more skilled at this sort of thing and have no better eye than many of the writers -- but if you're looking to do it better, that's what you'll want to do.
But I'm picking something easy and short: that versus which, the great elemental smackdown of proper usage. Few people, even seasoned pros, know this one, and often the people who know it, still don't do it right -- although what's right, in this case, depends on how much you buy into the whole concept.
To know how to use that or which after a comma (as opposed to using which is phrases like "which do I use?" or something like that), you need to know what they function as first. Word groups that describe pronouns or nouns are either restrictive or non-restrictive. A restrictive element defines or limits (you know, restricts!) the maning of the word it modifies, so it's essential to the meaning of the sentence. Since it contains vital info, you don't set a restrictive element off with commas:
For Race Wars, Brian needed a car that was NOS-equipped.
When you take away the restrictive element from the sentence, the meaning will change and you lose your specificity. Brian doesn't just need a car, he needs one that's equipped with NOS. But a non-restrictive element describes a noun or pronoun whose meaning is already clearly defined or limited. Since the info isn't as vital or is kind of parenthetical, non-restrictive elements are set off with commas:
To take on his enemy, Duncan needed his sword, which was hidden inside his long coat.
Once you take away that non-restrictive element, you still haven't changed the meaning much, because Duncan still needs his sword, but we don't necessarily have to know that it's hidden in his coat. You do lose some of the nuance and extra info, but you've got the most important parts. There are other things you can do or worry about with restrictive and non-restrictive elements, such as appositives, or setting phrases off with commas, but I will get into that another time.
The most common problem with that and which occurs in something called an adjective clause. These are pretty much like any sentence, but they function within a larger sentence as modifiers of those nouns and pronouns that you've used in the sentence (who, whom, whose, which, that blah blah) or relative adverbs like when and where. Again, it's the non-restrictive ones that use a comma, and the restrictive ones do not:
(non) Wesley's books, which were located in the main library, were an endless source of fascination for him. (The phrase "which were located in the main library" really doesn't restrict the meaning of anything about Wes's books, so the info isn't essential.)
(restrictive) The organization that kept tabs on vampires and slayers had secret headquarters in a bookstore near Picadilly Circus. (Since "that kept tabs on vampires and slayers" identifies clearly who that organization is, the info here is considered essential.)
In general, you'll be considered more correct if you throw that comma in before which. It's almost always the which words that are the non-restrictive elements, and that tends toward the restrictive. So anytime you find yourself writing something like "Harry looked around the room for his wand, which was on a table by the door" or "Ezra strolled into the saloon, searching for his cards, which were on the table," you'll need that comma. If you're casting it along the lines of "Ezra wanted the deck of cards that was on the table" or "Harry needed to find the wand that would allow him to cast an important spell," then you won't need that comma. Most people won't know the diff -- certainly most fanfic readers are no more skilled at this sort of thing and have no better eye than many of the writers -- but if you're looking to do it better, that's what you'll want to do.
