When to Use THAT (Which and Who, too!)

THAT has the distinction of being the trickiest word in the English language. What? You thought it was antidisestablishmentarianism? THAT word may be atrociously long, but I dare say it doesn’t wiggle into sentences a fraction as much as THAT does. When I ask writers which word confuses them the most, the most common answer is THAT! There are some complicated grammar rules, but rest assured, I waded through them and strove to make my explanations as clear and understandable as possible. I promise we’ll ease into this slowly, starting in the shallow end and moving progressively deeper.

—–The subject of a sentence is, quite simply, what or who drives the action in a sentence. Here are two examples to illustrate THAT as a subject, one in present tense and one in past.

Example #1: That is one scraggly lion. I seriously hope it already ate breakfast!

Example #2: That movie was downright creepy! Let’s choose a funny movie next week.

—–If you get confused about WHICH to use in different cases, rest assured you’re in good company. To help you figure out whether to use THAT, WHICH, or WHO, here are some more example sentences.

Example #3: There’s the building that caught on fire last week OR There’s the building which caught on fire last week.
When concerning inanimate objects, it boils down to whether WHICH or THAT sounds better to your ear in each case. This is true when there’s no comma before it.

Example #4: We’re planning to stay at the Sanctuary Resort, which my friend told me is beautiful and restful.
When a comma follows an independent clause (meaning it could stand alone as a sentence), WHICH is the correct choice.

Example #5: Which should I choose for our upcoming trip? The waterproof shell or the fleece jacket?
This is the most straightforward usage of WHICH. Essentially, it means “WHICH ONE.” When debating between options, WHICH is always the right choice.

Example #6: That’s the man who became upset at the last town meeting.
Could you substitute THAT for WHO in the above sentence? Grammatically, the answer is yes, but there are two strikes against that choice. First, you would end up with two THATs – which I strongly advise against! Second, when referring to a person, my vote is to use WHO instead of THAT.

Example #7: For whom did you write the poem?
I couldn’t mention WHO without giving a brief mention to WHOM. WHOM is typically preceded by “for”, “to”, or “with” and is never the subject of a sentence. Yes, there are other times when WHOM is warranted, but they are far and few between and not found in common speech. However, if you’re writing a super formal character such as a Jeeves-like British butler or writing historical fiction with some upper crust society characters, I suggest you look into when and how to use WHOM further.

—–If THAT follows a word THAT reflects or implies speech, like “said”, “told”, “hinted”, and “insisted”, it’s purely optional. Here are two examples:

Example #7: Harry insisted (that) his answer was correct.

Example #8: The teacher told him (that) it wasn’t acceptable.

—–THAT is also optional when it follows an adjective reflecting mood or emotion, like “happy”, “sad”, and “nervous”, and answers the question WHY. Here are two more examples:

Example #9: Marge is thrilled (that) she won the lottery!
WHY is she thrilled? She won the lottery! Wouldn’t you be thrilled, too?!?

Example #10: Zenith is proud (that) she’s never met another student with the same name.
WHY is she proud? Her name is unique.

—–You can also drop THAT when it helps to describe the object of a sentence, essentially answering the questions WHO, WHAT, or WHERE.

Example #11: Juanita became friends with the girl (that) she met at the party.
WHO? The girl she met at the party.

Example #12: Raj wants the video game (that) all his friends are playing.
WHAT? The video game all his friends are playing.

Example #13: Mrs. Mitchell wants to visit the new museum (that) her neighbor raved about. WHERE? The new museum her neighbor raved about.

—–“So that”, “such that”, “in case that”, “in order that”, “now that”, “given that” —–
When THAT is part of a well known, rather formal saying, keep it. Bear with me: there is only one more example, no additional explanation required.

Example #14: In order that we may assess the situation properly, each of the witnesses will be asked to provide testimony.

THAT’s a wrap! I certainly learned a thing or two (or three) while writing this post, and I dearly hope reading it helped you, too. This tricky topic actually came from reader comments, which I truly appreciate. If there are any other grammatical topics you’d like me to cover, let me know! Happy Writing, everyone!