vc_pec wrote:
Hi friends ,
Could anybody please explain me the difference between the usage of pronouns , "which" and "that" .
Thanks and Regards,
Vishal
That and Which are both relative pronouns. That however is restrictive; Which is non-restrictive.
Usage of THAT
The red book "that is lying on the table" is mine.
That is lying on the table is an important information (restrictive) qualifying the book. Out of the several red books that are there, the one that's lying on the table is mine.
Usage of WHICH
The red book, which is lying on the table is mine.
The red book - which
incidentally is lying on the table - is mine.
Generally we therefore use THAT to convey information that is essential to the subject it's (the information) modifying - as for instance we've used THAT IS LYING ON THE TABLE to pin-point the exact book amongst several books that's mine.
Another Example -
The event
that rocked the nation was also the most controversial.
Here the fact that the event rocked the nation is crucial to the overall meaning of the sentence. We are being specific about which event we are talking about. We are talking about the event THAT rocked the nation. There could have been other events as well - but the one THAT rocked the nation was also the most controversial.
Compare this with
The event, which rocked the nation, was also the most controversial
Here by using "which" - we are indicating that the fact that this event rocked the nation is not critical to the overall meaning of the sentence. The more important piece of information is that this event was ALSO THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL and the fact that it rocked the nation has just been added as an afterthought.
NOTE: You can search google to find a ton of material on such topics.