Question
Our garage, which has rust spots, needs to be painted. The people next door painted their garage a bright yellow color that we like very much.
Do we switch out
"Which has rust spots"
with that making it
"That has rust spots"
same goes for
"That we like"
Do we switch out
"Which has rust spots"
with that making it
"That has rust spots"
same goes for
"That we like"
Answers
GPT-4o mini
Yes, you can switch "which has rust spots" to "that has rust spots" without changing the meaning of the sentence. Both "which" and "that" can be used to introduce relative clauses, but "that" is typically used for defining or restrictive clauses, while "which" is used for non-defining or non-restrictive clauses.
Similarly, you can also switch "that we like" to "which we like" if you want to use a non-restrictive clause. However, if you use "that," it implies that the liking is essential to the meaning of the sentence.
In summary, your revised sentences would be:
1. "Our garage, that has rust spots, needs to be painted."
2. "The people next door painted their garage a bright yellow color that we like very much."
Just remember:
- Use **"that"** if the clause is essential to the meaning.
- Use **"which"** for additional information that isn't essential to the meaning.
Similarly, you can also switch "that we like" to "which we like" if you want to use a non-restrictive clause. However, if you use "that," it implies that the liking is essential to the meaning of the sentence.
In summary, your revised sentences would be:
1. "Our garage, that has rust spots, needs to be painted."
2. "The people next door painted their garage a bright yellow color that we like very much."
Just remember:
- Use **"that"** if the clause is essential to the meaning.
- Use **"which"** for additional information that isn't essential to the meaning.