Who vs. That vs. Which

I see “who,” “that,” and “which” used incorrectly pretty much every day, so I thought it was worth a blog post to clear up the confusion. Here we go:

Who refers to people:

• She is a person who cares about others.
• You are an author who needs to understand the importance of good grammar.
• We need to hire someone who can get the job done quickly.

That is used for animals and inanimate objects:

• They have one of those little dogs that can jump high and catch Frisbees.
• She works for a fun company that provides free lunch every day.
• Math is a subject that always gave me a lot of trouble in high school.

Which is used for animals and inanimate objects only when it appears at the beginning of a dependent clause (set off by commas), OR when you’ve already used that in the same sentence, OR if it’s preceded by a preposition.

• I saw a documentary that featured a company which was about to go bankrupt.
• His position, which I don’t think is valid, is that he was acting ethically when he fired her.
• I’m sorry to be so blunt, but this job is one for which you’re simply not qualified.

I know it looks like a lot to swallow, but the rules are pretty straightforward if you stick to them. In a future post, I’ll address who vs. whom and whoever vs. whomever. I know those are also a mystery to many people.

-Maria

Palo Alto native Maria Murnane is the author of the best-selling romantic comedies Perfect on Paper, It's a Waverly Life, Honey on Your Mind, and Chocolate for Two. She also provides consulting services on book publishing and marketing. Learn more at www.mariamurnane.com.

This blog post originally appeared on CreateSpace.com. Reprinted with permission. © 2013 CreateSpace, a DBA of On-Demand Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.