Re: That and Which--is it worth it?

[Barb Miller <millerb -at- TCPLINK -dot- NREL -dot- GOV>]

     I make the distinction and so do most of my coworkers (it's in our
     style guide). But it brings up an interesting point.

     If most of our readers don't know the distinction (or care), should we
     be so strict in applying grammar rules? I know, I know; we are
     guardians of the language; but with the evolution of the language
     (discussed previously) is it a crime?

     I run into the problem more with punctuation issues. There are times
     when you don't introduce a list with a colon and times when you do
     (see Chicago Manual of Style and Words into Type). When I follow these
     rules, my reviewers think I'm being inconsistent and add the colons.
     Also when I choose to use an en dash to separate numbers in some cases
     and the word "to" in others, following style guidelines, I get dinged
     for being inconsistent.

     Should I, and the others who know the rules, follow them when others
     aren't familiar with them and the audience may not be aware of them?

     Just throwing it out for discussion.

     Barb Miller
     National Renewable Energy Laboratory
     millerb -at- tcplink -dot- nrel -dot- gov


______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: That and Which--is it worth it?
Author:  Gail DeCamp <decampg -at- SMTPLINK -dot- NGC -dot- COM> at smtp
Date:    12/16/94 1:56 AM


     I have a that/which question. I've had reputable sources tell me that
     there are distinct rules for using "that" and "which"....namely, that
     one is restrictive and the other is not.

     <snip>

     Does anyone else out there follow this rule? It seems pretty subtle to
     me. (If it changed the meaning of a sentence, I might worry about it,
     but otherwise I would not.)

     Gail DeCamp
     Network General Corporation

     (these are MY opinions! Mine, all mine!)