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Which vs. What

What" and "which" are both interrogative pronouns used to ask questions about unknown objects, qualities, or places. "What" is used when there are many possible options or an unknown number of options, while "which" implies there are a limited number of known options. Choosing "which" can suggest the questioner has background knowledge about the options, and limits the possible answers, while "what" allows for a broader range of responses without assumptions. Generally, "which" is more formal than "what" when choosing between items, but "what" can often be used in its place.

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24 views

Which vs. What

What" and "which" are both interrogative pronouns used to ask questions about unknown objects, qualities, or places. "What" is used when there are many possible options or an unknown number of options, while "which" implies there are a limited number of known options. Choosing "which" can suggest the questioner has background knowledge about the options, and limits the possible answers, while "what" allows for a broader range of responses without assumptions. Generally, "which" is more formal than "what" when choosing between items, but "what" can often be used in its place.

Uploaded by

cattalin2
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Key Difference Between “What” and

“Which”
“What” and “which” are both interrogative pronouns. This means they stand for
something the speaker does not yet know. They work for objects, qualities, or places,
but they never work for people. For people, you generally use the word "who" instead.

The key differences between “what” and “which” are how many possibilities
there are and how much you know about those possibilities.

“What” Is for Lots of Possibilities

Use “what” when there are lots of possible options or when you don’t know how many
options there are. These are a few examples of using “what” in this way:

 What color shirt will you wear tomorrow?


 What is your favorite kind of ice cream?
 I didn’t hear what you said.
 What makes someone a good friend?
 What did you do at school today?
 Do you know what time it is?

“Which” Is for Fewer Possibilities

In contrast, “which” indicates there are fewer possible options. You already know that
the answer is one of two things or one of a few things. Knowing how to use “which” in
a question means thinking about how much you already know. Using it indicates you
have some background information, as you can see in these example sentences:

 Which pair of shoes did you decide to wear with your prom dress?
 Which of your children is starting school this year?
 I don’t know which fork is for my salad.
 Which wrist did you sprain?
 Do you know which way we should turn?
 Which day did you decide to host the dinner party?

How Using “What” vs. “Which” Can


Change Meaning
Because “what” indicates there are more options than “which”, the word you choose
can subtly change the meaning of what you are saying. Before you decide to use
“what” vs. “which” in interrogative sentences, you should understand how your word
choice can affect the way other people perceive your meaning.

Implied Background Knowledge

Choosing "which" implies you know something already. Usually, this is fine, but it can
also be a little socially awkward if you don’t really have that background knowledge. For
instance, consider the example of someone’s nationality. You could ask either of these
questions:
 What is his nationality?
 Which is his nationality?

Here, “which” implies you have already narrowed down the options based on previous
knowledge. You may know that this person was born in Mexico, immigrated to the
United States, and married someone originally from China. In contrast, “what” indicates
you don’t know anything or you don't want to assume anything about the person’s
nationality.

Limited Answers

Because “which” refers to more limited options, the answers you receive to
interrogative questions using “which” can also be more limited. This doesn’t matter
most of the time, but it can be a problem in interview questions or when you’re trying to
get as much information as possible. Consider this example:
 What happened during the Second World War?
 Which happened during the Second World War?

In this case, the “what” question asks about the entire war and everything that
happened during it. However, the “which” question sounds like it is asking about
various options in a more restricted context. If you had been discussing various
historical events, the answer would be limited to only the events you had already
discussed that occurred during the war.

"Which" is more formal when asking a question that requires a choice between a number
of items. You can use "What" if you want, though.

Generally speaking, you can replace the usage of "which" with "what" and be OK
grammatically. It doesn't always work the other way around, however. There needs to be a
context of choice. For example:

Which/What flavor of ice cream do you want?


 Either is fine, but "which" is better.
Which/What do you want for dessert?
 "Which" only works in the context of being presented with choices (e.g. a dessert cart right in
front of you).

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