<P>Rather a long title, isn't it?</P>
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<P>While going over the material Jin posted on the 'Guide to Better Writing', I ran into this sentence.</P>
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<P><FONT color=#156200>A. The <STRONG>report</STRONG>, which was well documented, was discussed with considerable emotion.</FONT></P>
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<P> Due to the commas inserted, here, the report has only one referent. I can understand that.</P>
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<P>B. <FONT color=#f10b00>The report which</FONT> was well documented was discussed with considerable emotion.</P>
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<P>Due to the absence of the commas, here, the report has many, at least more than one, referents, if I'm not mistaken.</P>
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<P>Now, I wonder what it would be like or what difference it would make if 'which' is replaced with 'that'. Let me jot it down.</P>
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<P>C. <FONT color=#0000ff>The report that </FONT>was well documented was discussed with considerable emotion.</P>
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<P>Well.. There's no chance for the commas to get in as in A. That's clear.</P>
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<P>I can clearly see the difference between A and B or A and C. However, I know neither if C is acceptable nor C is different from B in its meaning.</P>
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<P>Let me put them down again.</P>
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<P>B.The report which was well documented was discussed with considerable emotion.</P>
<P>C. The report that was well documented was discussed with considerable emotion.</P>
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<P>Out of curiosity, I entered 'the+NOUN+which|that+was' in the corpus, and I found out that there was nothing overwhelmingly more widely used. In addition, unlike A, both B and C has more than one referent. Then, B and C would be virtually the same. </P>
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<P>If you see, if any, difference between B and C, could you give me a hint?</P>
<P>I'm dying to know.</P>
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첫댓글Regarding your comment on B that "the report has many, at least more than one, referents", sorry but you're mistaken. Hint: the definite article / Regarding your question about the difference between B and C, I'll tell you just one difference. "That" is used to refer to persons, animals, or things;
"which" to animals and things, not persons. (Presumably, this is what you had learned in junior high.) So clearly, "that" has more uses than "which". This would be a reason why you'll find, if at all, more search results for C than B.
로빈, then the main difference between 'that' and 'which' lies in the scope they refer to respectively only? / A. The report that he wrote.. B. The report which he wrote / -> Is there any, even slightest difference in their meaning? Except the fact that 'that' has more uses than 'which' does,
Well.. Before saying anything, I think I gotta go look some material about it. But, frankly, I see practically nothing different between them with the hunch that the former might be more frenquently used than the latter. But this isn't what you have in mind, is it?
True. "The report that was well documented" is only one, but in this case we can imagine a situation that there are two or more reports, one well documented and the others badly documented. // If I were you I would not worry about that and which. I don't think there is any significant difference
Dear 로빈. Do you have any extra points to make? I'm so anxious to know if you have one. I'm dying to know any difference between 'that' and 'which' except for what 유진승선생님 said. Do you have any? If so, please let me know.
첫댓글 Regarding your comment on B that "the report has many, at least more than one, referents", sorry but you're mistaken. Hint: the definite article / Regarding your question about the difference between B and C, I'll tell you just one difference. "That" is used to refer to persons, animals, or things;
"which" to animals and things, not persons. (Presumably, this is what you had learned in junior high.) So clearly, "that" has more uses than "which". This would be a reason why you'll find, if at all, more search results for C than B.
Right. For the definite article, there should be only one referent.
로빈, then the main difference between 'that' and 'which' lies in the scope they refer to respectively only? / A. The report that he wrote.. B. The report which he wrote / -> Is there any, even slightest difference in their meaning? Except the fact that 'that' has more uses than 'which' does,
I see practically no difference between them. I'm anxious to know what you might want to say, 로빈.^^
Is there any difference in meaning between "a man that pays attention to details" and "a man who pays attention to details"?
Well.. Before saying anything, I think I gotta go look some material about it. But, frankly, I see practically nothing different between them with the hunch that the former might be more frenquently used than the latter. But this isn't what you have in mind, is it?
True. "The report that was well documented" is only one, but in this case we can imagine a situation that there are two or more reports, one well documented and the others badly documented. // If I were you I would not worry about that and which. I don't think there is any significant difference
other than the fact that you cannot use "which" for people.
Dear 로빈. Do you have any extra points to make? I'm so anxious to know if you have one. I'm dying to know any difference between 'that' and 'which' except for what 유진승선생님 said. Do you have any? If so, please let me know.