Questions about English
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k to the first 2, either works basically
and that to which: which is like a quantity
Which car should I buy? The Ford or the BMW?
whereas that is like "I want that BMW over this ford" (this and that is kind of a positional thing, spanish does it too but has 3 words, and while I should know them I don't remember any of them atm...)
like, this computer is the one i'm using, and that computer is the one your using
which computer am I using? this computer
not trying to sound like a smart*** there, just trying to show examples, since I sort of get the comparisons your asking but can't really explain w/o just speaking it...
and that to which: which is like a quantity
Which car should I buy? The Ford or the BMW?
whereas that is like "I want that BMW over this ford" (this and that is kind of a positional thing, spanish does it too but has 3 words, and while I should know them I don't remember any of them atm...)
like, this computer is the one i'm using, and that computer is the one your using
which computer am I using? this computer
not trying to sound like a smart*** there, just trying to show examples, since I sort of get the comparisons your asking but can't really explain w/o just speaking it...
arjan de lumens
Veteran
"that" vs "which" as relative pronoun: they are mostly equivalent, except that "which" does not refer to a person - if you wish to refer to a person, you use "who" or "whom" instead - "that" does not imply anything about the personhood of the referred-to object and can thus be used for a person and a non-person alike.
"this" versus "that" as demonstrative pronouns: "this" usually refers to a close object, whereas "that" refers to a more distant object; this is the same as the German "dies(er|e|es)" for the close object and "der|die|das" for the more distant object (with the added complication that der|die|das also is frequently used as an article in German, whereas in English the article would be "the" while the pronoun would be "that").
"question on English" and "question about English" basically mean the same thing, but there is IIRC a subtle difference in the answer expected to the question: "on" indicates a stronger desire/expectation to receive a scholarly, formal and strictly on-topic answer.
I am not aware of any difference between "everyone" and "everybody", though.
"this" versus "that" as demonstrative pronouns: "this" usually refers to a close object, whereas "that" refers to a more distant object; this is the same as the German "dies(er|e|es)" for the close object and "der|die|das" for the more distant object (with the added complication that der|die|das also is frequently used as an article in German, whereas in English the article would be "the" while the pronoun would be "that").
"question on English" and "question about English" basically mean the same thing, but there is IIRC a subtle difference in the answer expected to the question: "on" indicates a stronger desire/expectation to receive a scholarly, formal and strictly on-topic answer.
I am not aware of any difference between "everyone" and "everybody", though.
Non native speaker alert!
But anyway, I think it's supposed to work like this.
"This is the car that exploded last night."
Here "that exploded..." defines what car we're talking about.
"Peter's car, which exploded last night, ..."
Here you're supposed to know what car we're talking about from "Peter's car", and "which exploded..." gives you extra information about it.
But anyway, I think it's supposed to work like this.
"This is the car that exploded last night."
Here "that exploded..." defines what car we're talking about.
"Peter's car, which exploded last night, ..."
Here you're supposed to know what car we're talking about from "Peter's car", and "which exploded..." gives you extra information about it.
There is/was also a third option "yon" which refers/ed to objects even further away. It's pretty much fallen out of use but, to tie this back to 3D graphics, the near and far clip planes sometimes are called "hither and yon clip planes"arjan de lumens said:
(FWIW, Turkish has 3 versions)
Which sounds better: "the people that live here" or "the people who live here"?
"Everyone" and "everybody": I don't think there is any real difference, but I tend to use "everybody" when I refer to people who are actually there, in the same place I am, on the other hand I use "everyone" in a general, "universal" meaning.
"Everyone" and "everybody": I don't think there is any real difference, but I tend to use "everybody" when I refer to people who are actually there, in the same place I am, on the other hand I use "everyone" in a general, "universal" meaning.
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Crisidelm said:
It depends on the role of the subordinate.
If "live here" is necessary for the whole sentence to make sense, you'd use "that". In this case, it is more likely you'll have to use "that".
If the subordinate is not necessary for the whole sentence to make sense, you'd use "who/which/whom" but it's fine if you use "that" too.
That's the best way to describe it, and i don't think anyone has covered it yet. And many people still get it wrong. In the end, whoever you'd be talking to would understand you, whatever you use.
Diplo said:The simple fact is that native English speakers generally know nothing about rules of grammar and simply use whatever colloquialisms their peers use
True, i'm Italian and my spelling and general grammar is much better than native english people simply because i studied English and English literature at school for like 9 years before moving to London.
When i got here, speaking was difficult because the English they teach you at school is just not what's spoken over here, but at least i have a very good base for writing grammar and spelling, which has turned out very very very useful in my life over here. Now people can't tell i'm Italian, even though they sometimes go "i can't tell where you're from", cause (sadly) i picked up a London accent in the last 5 years.
_xxx_ said:
Which is pretty much my explanation
nutball said:
Which is a typically English excuse for being ignorant about something...
If you say so!london-boy said:Which is a typically English excuse for being ignorant about something...
Tell someone from Newcastle, or Glasgow, or Penzance, or Liverpool that they don't speak English. Or America. Or Australia. Or New Zuhyland. Or Mr Shakespeare (what an illiterate fool that man was!).I mean I know that the rear-fitted root vegetable brigade have coronaries about the language changing before their eyes, but fundamentally the point of the language is communication, it's not an end in itself. The rules matter at the point that comminication breaks down, not at the point that those with nothing better to do start to tremble with rage and write letters to Teh Times.
