which

The word "which" is a pronoun. There are two main uses for this word. The first is as a means for asking a person to make a choice:

• Which one do you want, the red one or the blue one?
• Which store has lower prices, Jewel or Dominick’s?
• Which of the four seasons is your favorite?
• Vanessa isn’t sure about which cough medicine she should buy.
• Rick knows exactly which laptop he wants to get.
• Which of these is the best choice?
• Which way do we go? (This question is often asked when walking or traveling.)
• Which way did he go?
• Do you know which way he went?

The second main reason for using "which" is when referring to an antecedent. An antecdent is a thing that appears before another thing in a sentence or question.)

• That’s the shovel which we used for digging the garden. (The antecedent in this sentence is "shovel.")
• The bakery makes beautiful donuts, many of which sell out before noon. ("Which" refers to the donuts.)
• Kevin has a strong interest in joining the military, which would probably offer him a lot of good experience. (In this sentence, "which" appears at the beginning of a nonrestrictive clause.*)

When expressing uncertainty or confusion, "which is which" is very popular:

• I can’t tell which is which.
• These deserts all look good. Do you know which is which?
• The kids all threw their jackets in a pile, so it’s hard to tell which is which.

*Note: The words "which" and "that" are often used interchangeably for clauses; however, "that" is considered to be acceptable for things and people, whereas "which" is not. Use "which" when referring to things.

Click here to learn more words.

February 23, 2015