“That” versus “which”

• In German, all clauses use commas

  • Das Buch, das Heinrich Zimmer schrieb, kostet 20 DM.

• Restrictive clauses

  • Do not use commas to introduce clause
  • Use “that” to introduce clause
    • The book that Heinrich Zimmer wrote costs 20 DM.
    • The book Heinrich Zimmer wrote costs 20 DM.

• Nonrestrictive clauses

  • Use commas to introduce clause
  • Use “which” to introduce clause
    • The book, which Heinrich Zimmer wrote, costs 20 DM.
  • Use em-dashes (—) and parenthesis ( ) to introduce clause
    • The BART system—Europe’s largest electronic book sales system—links over 18,000 book stores with book distributors.
    • The BART system (Europe’s largest electronic book sales system) links over 18,000 book stores with book distributors.

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