272: That vs which and why it matters

Writing and speaking precisely help you think precisely 

Bo Sacks distributed a fun article titled “Copy editors know best: A journalist’s guide to avoiding common language missteps.” 

It reminded me of my days as an editor. 

I had the great good fortune of having two intelligent parents who spoke well and cared about grammar and such, but when I became an editor I realized how poorly I understood the rules. I had an instinctive sense for what “sounded right,” but I couldn’t tell you why. 

Working as an editor – with no formal training – I kept Strunk and White, the AP Style Guide, and a dictionary at my fingertips at all times. I studied books on “confusables” so I’d know affect vs. effect and that sort of thing. 

The most important skill an editor needs is to know when he should look something up. 

Some of that language geekiness is still with me. To this day I yell at the TV when somebody says further when they mean farther, which when they mean that, or less when they mean fewer. It annoys me when people put an “and” in the middle of a number. 

A lot of people don’t know that last one, so this is what I mean. 206,000 is “two hundred six thousand.” “Two hundred and six thousand” is 6,200. 

And no, I don’t correct people at cocktail parties. 

The point of speaking correctly is that it forces you to think precisely, which is a skill we seem to be losing. People are often unable to make careful distinctions. 

Oh, I promised to explain that vs. which. 

That introduces a clause that’s essential to the meaning of a sentence. Which introduces a clause that is not essential to the meaning of the sentence. 

Imagine I have two red cars. One is parked in the driveway and one is parked on the street. I ask my friend, “would you please get my toolbox out of my red car that’s parked in the driveway.” The phrase “that’s parked in the driveway” is essential to the meaning of the sentence because that’s the car that has my toolbox. 

Now imagine my two cars are a Toyota and a Honda. If I were to say, “My Honda, which is parked on the street, is low on gasoline.” In this case “which is parked on the street” is not essential to the meaning of the sentence because I only have one Honda. 

Deciding whether to use that or which forces you to think logically. I think that’s a good thing. 

Links 

Copy editors know best: A journalist’s guide to avoiding common language missteps

https://www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/copy-editors-know-best-a-journalists-guide-to-avoiding-common-language-missteps,251857