'Which' and 'That' - I feel like I'm going mad.

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The Which/That conundrum has been troubling me for such a long time.

Don't get me wrong, I understand the general rules:

We use 'which', generally when we are giving extra information about a clause, and where the clause itself is independent of the extra information:

'I added a log to the pile of wood, which I use as building material'

We use 'that' when we add extra information affects the meaning of the clause (I have lots of wood)

'I added a log to the pile of wood that I use to build things with'

^^this implies I have other piles of wood used for purposes other than building. Maybe I use other piles of wood as fire wood.

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HOWEVER, I get stuck with more tricky phrases in the real world,such as this one:

"This table illustrates the fees and charges ¹ associated with a £10 donation which is eligible for Gift Aid ² made via several UK fundraising websites."

I'm convinced the person who wrote the above is generally using 'which' when they should be using 'that' - because we are talking about the charges associated with donations that ARE eligible for Gift Aid. Not all £10 donations are eligible for gift aid, so surely we should use 'that' instead of 'which'?

Some other sentences that feel even more tricky for me:

"Name a UK high street bank which couldn't use a good news story right now. Find a corporation which wouldn't like to be seen contributing in a direct and meaningful way to the community."

Please experts in grammar tell me am I missing something here?

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@ElliotGreen,

I'm not an expert in grammar... but you aren't missing anything. Many grammarists would argue those writers are wrong and should replace their "whiches" with "thats." However, which and that are becoming interchangeable in the English language. It's knowing how to use a comma that matters more. If writers don't use a comma before "which,"and they know how to write according to grammar rules, it conveys the information is essential just as "that" ordinarily would. And if a comma precedes, it conveys it's not.

Hope this helps.

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that = necessary information to make sense of the sentence.

which - tells more about the sentence, but is not necessary. Use commas to set it apart.

The car that I just bought yesterday broke down.

The car, which I had just bought, has broken down.

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@ElliotGreen,

Punky: "The car has broken down."

The use of 'the' in "the car" indicates a specific car; but which specific car?
Ohhhhh....The car THAT I had just bought has broken down.
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Elliot: "We use 'which', generally when we are giving extra information about a clause, and where the clause itself is independent of the extra information"

...and use 'that' when the clause defines more specifically "the pile of wood" you are referring to.
'I added a log to the pile of wood THAT I use as building material'
"'I added a log to the pile of wood THAT I use to build things.'"

What YOU may know ((I have lots of wood.... Maybe I use other piles of wood as fire wood.' is NOT known to the reader. The reader wants to know ,'what pile of wood' are you talking about?

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@perennialloner,

Actually, you're pretty good at this kind of stuff.

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'Which' and 'That' - I feel like I'm going mad.

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