which
From Wiktionary
Contents |
[edit] English
| Rank of this word in the English language, from analyzing texts from Project Gutenberg. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| by | on | her | #24: which | have | or | from |
[edit] Etymology
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Homophones
- wich, wych (in accents with the wine-whine merger)
- witch
[edit] Determiner
which
- What, of those mentioned or implied (used interrogatively).
- Which song made the charts?
- They couldn't decide which song to play.
- (interrogative) What one or ones (of those mentioned or implied).
- Which is bigger?
- Which is which?
- (relative) The one or ones that.
- Show me which is bigger.
- (relative) Who; whom; what (of those mentioned or implied)
- Their first song, which made the charts 2004, is great.
[edit] Usage notes
- (US usage) Some authorities insist, prescriptively, that which should be used only in non-restrictive contexts. For restrictive contexts (e.g., The song that made the charts in 2004 is better than the later ones), they prefer that. Actual usage does not support this "rule." Fowler, who proposed the rule, himself acknowledged that it was "not the practice of most or of the best writers." Even E.B. White, a notorious "which-hunter," wrote this: "the premature expiration of a pig is, I soon discovered, a departure which the community marks solemnly on its calendar." In modern UK usage, The song which made the charts in 2004 is better than the later ones is generally accepted without question.
[edit] Quotations
- 1611 — King James Version of the Bible, Luke 1:1
- Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us...
[edit] Translations
what, of those mentioned or implied
(interrogative) what one or ones
(relative) the one(s) that
(relative) who, whom, what
