11-28-03 - 3:09 p.m.
Hello, you guys, and Happy Day After Thanksgiving. I had a good Thanksgiving Day, full of good food and a good wedding. My Grandfather got married to a lady named Mimi, who is really cute and a very good cook. The wedding was small, but still cool. My sister sang in it. That's about it. Oh, and the pastor guy who married them kept calling my Granpa "Dalton" when his name is "Delton." That was funny, but also lame.
After the wedding, everybody grubbed down, and then we hung out for a while, and around 3pm, we split. Good times.
Colt came to Katy for Thanksgiving, which was very nice. I just love that guy and my family does, also. Yay Colty!
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There's plenty of exercise equipment here, so I plan on doing a little working out during this short break we get from school. And you know, this break is such a damn joke because it's only, how many, four days long? and I have a paper to do and a book to read in that time. Not to mention, Colt has a test in every class the week we get back. Then about two weeks later, freaking finals start. What's up with that, man?
I can't wait to get out of college and move the hell on in life.
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Today's grammar lesson is really long. Sorry.
Today's lesson is: That vs. Which.
This rule is really getting phased out of the ever-evolving societal grammar guide, but I feel like it is one of those details that is easy to get under control.
"That" and "which" are both used to give more information in a sentence. It is appropriate to use "that" when the information is not set off by commas, because it is imperative that the information be in the sentence.
Here is an example:
The food that I love the most is pizza.
The clause "that I love the most" is not set off by commas, and is important to the sentence because if it were taken out, the sentence would simply read "The food is pizza," and that no longer conveys the important information.
"Which" is used for clauses that can be taken away from the sentence because they are surrounded by commas.
An example:
The toy, which has red stripes, is my son's favorite.
This sentence implies that the red stripe information is not really needed, which is why it is set off by commas.
Some authors believe that the "that vs. which" rule is very outdated, and they just try not to use "that" and "which" too close together in their sentences. So sometimes, they use "which" even when the clause isn't set off by commas. For example they would say, "The cat that has green eyes has a hat which is blue." By using "that" and "which," they avoid using "that" twice in the same sentence. This is really just a preference.
"That" can never be used in a clause that is set off by commas. For example the sentence, "The dog, that has blue eyes, is wagging its tail" uses "that" incorrectly. It should use "which."
I have beaten this to death, I know, but I'm done now.
Until next time - People annoy me.
