grammar · neutral
who vs which (people vs things)
Use who for people and which for things/ideas; non-defining clauses (with commas) cannot use that.
Examples
“My friend, who lives in Hanoi, visited last week.”
“The report, which was published yesterday, caused a debate.”
“The scientist who discovered it received an award.”
Band 8 sentence
“The committee, which had debated the proposal for hours, finally reached a unanimous decision.”
Collocations
- people who
- things which
Common mistakes
My sister, which lives in Dalat, is a teacher.→My sister, who lives in Dalat, is a teacher.
The book, that I borrowed, was great.→The book, which I borrowed, was great.
Say it for a higher band
5which→6that→7+who
Synonyms
that
Easily confused
which
“His car broke down, which made him late.”
who
“The students who studied passed the exam.”
Related words
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In Relative clauses
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