The relative pronoun "that" is used for essential clauses, which are really important because they give necessary information about the noun they describe. For example, in the sentence "The book that I borrowed was interesting," the clause "that I borrowed" tells us which specific book we're talking about. On the other hand, "which" is used for nonessential clauses, which add extra information but aren't super important for understanding the sentence. For example, in "The book, which I borrowed last week, was interesting," the part "which I borrowed last week" is interesting to know, but you can still understand which book it is without that information.
The relative pronoun (that) is used with an essential clause, and the relative pronoun which is used with a nonessential clause. In 3–5 sentences, explain when to use each pronoun and the difference between the two types of relative clauses. (make it like 7th grader wrote it)
3 answers
make it shorter
The relative pronoun "that" is used for essential clauses, which are crucial for identifying the noun, like in "The book that I borrowed was interesting." The clause "that I borrowed" tells us which book it is. In contrast, "which" is used for nonessential clauses that add extra information, like in "The book, which I borrowed last week, was interesting." Here, "which I borrowed last week" is extra info that isn't needed to understand which book we mean.