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Subject:Re: It's what It's. OH THAT ONE !! From:"Michael West" <mbwest -at- bigpond -dot- com> To:techwr-l Date:Thu, 19 Feb 2004 06:50:28 +1100
Mailing List wrote:
> I don't understand.
> Several e-mails have now been exchanged on the topic of
> "which" versus "that", and none has given an example
> of the actual distinction that I've made all my life,
> and have come to expect from people who speak/write
> decent English:
>
> "... the sky that cannot be touched is blue."
> [All other skies are yellow.]
>
> "... the sky, which cannot be touched, is blue."
You are referring to the distinction between restrictive
(or defining) clauses and non-restrictive (non-defining)
clauses. This distinction is widely covered in style guides
and grammar handbooks.
The issue I was seeking to clarify has to do with using
"that" to introduce restrictive clauses, a traditional practice
in standard English, but one which many style handbooks
recommend avoiding in formal writing.
I'm not sure what you mean, by the way, by "decent"
English, but in any event this is probably not the
place to discuss it.
--
Michael West
