---
title: Which vs. That
pubDate: 2026-10-03T04:27:21.374Z
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# Which vs. That

Make sure that you're using **which** and **that** correctly.

## [](#which)Which

Put **which** before any clause in a sentence that's a non-defining clause, or non-essential to the meaning of a sentence.

If you removed the content that follows **which** in a sentence, the meaning of the sentence should not change. You'd only lose an interesting detail.

For example:

* The Capella database, **which** you deployed yesterday, is healthy.
* The Quick Index Editor, **which** you can open from the Web Console, uses a document to define fields in a Search index.

Removing the clause after the **which** does not change the meaning of the sentence:

* The reader does not need to know if there's any additional database other than the healthy one.
* The reader does not need to know that the Quick Index Editor can be opened from the Web Console.

As well, put a comma before any clauses that use **which**.

## [](#that)That

Put **that** before any clause in a sentence that's a defining or essential clause, or is a key part of the meaning of a sentence.

If you removed the content that follows **that** in a sentence, the meaning of the sentence would change.

For example:

* The Capella database **that** you deployed yesterday is healthy.
* The Quick Index Editor **that** you can open from the Web Console uses a document to define fields in a Search index.

Removing the clause after the **that** completely changes the meaning of the sentence.

The reader needs to know that it's specifically the database that they deployed yesterday. Or, they need to know that it's the Quick Index Editor that they can open from the Web Console.

In both sentences, the **that** tells the reader the specific option out of a number of options that they need to use.

Do not put a comma before any clauses that use **that**.