That vs Which

[CajunCenturion]

I often have difficulty choosing between "that" and "which."

What are the rules that will clear up this question?
What are the rules which will clear up this question?

Which is correct?

Good Luck
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As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[SF0751]

From

http://englishplus.com/grammar/

That, which, and who when used as relative pronouns each have a distinct function.

In modern speech, which refers only to things. Who (or its forms whom and whose) refers only to people. That normally refers to things but it may refer to a class or type of person.



Susan
[sub]You have all the characteristics of a popular politician: a horrible voice, bad breeding, and a vulgar manner.[/sub]
[sup]Aristophanes, 424 B.C.[/sup]
[sup]Lex clavatoris designati rescindenda est.

 

[Dimandja]

My favorite explanations are here

http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/t.html#that:

"...the relative pronoun that is restrictive, which means it tells you a necessary piece of information about its antecedent: for example, "The word processor that is used most often is WordPerfect." Here the that phrase answers an important question: which of the many word processors are we talking about? And the answer is the one that is used most often."

Which in the other hand only provides an extra piece of information as in "My software, which is called "CuteName" sells well".

Dimandja