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There are many words in the English language that are easily mixed up, and the relative pronouns who, which, and that certainly qualify. Here are some tips for keeping them straight.

First, use the relative pronoun who to refer to people. For example,

Lisa is the worker who earned the award.

"Who" refers to Lisa---a person.

Second, use the relative pronoun that to refer to things, as in…

Where is the file that contains the grant applicants?

"That" refers to the file---a thing.

The relative pronoun that may also refer to people, as in…

Who is the new person that started last Monday?

In this case, "that" refers to "the new person."

Third, use the relative pronoun which to refer to things. Here is an example:

The package, which was shipped overnight, arrived damaged.

"Which" refers to the package---a thing.

Finally, to choose between using which or that to introduce a clause, you must recognize whether the clause is needed to understand the greater sentence.

In the last sentence we examined---The package, which was shipped overnight, arrived damaged---the dependent clause is not needed. The main idea, that the package arrived damaged, is clear without it. The unnecessary clause is introduced by "which" and is set off with commas.

However, in the following sentence---The package that is damaged arrived overnight---the dependent clause is needed to understand the main idea. It tells the reader which package arrived overnight. The necessary clause is introduced by "that" and is not set off with commas.

You can learn more about relative pronouns on page 98 of Business and Sales Correspondence, part of the EZ Series of business writing materials from UpWrite Press.

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The words who, which, and that belong to a class of pronouns known as relative pronouns. They are called "relative" because they relate a subordinate clause to another word in a sentence. Writers often confuse these three pronouns, but there are specific guidelines for using each.

Who is generally used to refer to people. That and which typically refer to animals, objects, or groups. However, it is also correct to use that to refer to people in the case of a sentence containing multiple relative pronouns. For example, instead of saying Officer Cartwright is the one who spoke to the boy who claimed the wallet, you could reword the sentence in either of the following ways:

Officer Cartwright is the one who spoke to the boy that claimed the wallet.

Officer Cartwright is the one that spoke to the boy who claimed the wallet.

When referring to an animal, object, or group, use that or which. Remember, though, to use the word that to introduce an essential clause - one necessary to the meaning of the sentence. Here is an example:

Ali sold the property that bordered the forest preserve.

The word which, on the other hand, is used to introduce a nonessential clause, usually set off with a comma:

Ali sold the property, which would gain him a commission.

You can learn more about agreement on pages 98 Business and Sales Correspondence and on pages 243-244 and 262 in Write for Business. These works are just two of the many helpful business writing materials from UpWrite Press.

- Joyce Lee

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