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"which" vs "this" (beehaw.org)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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So, Grammarly is correcting me a lot on a phrase I tend to use, and I don't entirely understand the difference.

On a sentence that expands upon a previous sentence in dialog, I tend to have a character say "Which means [...]"

Grammarly wants to fix this to be "This means [...]"

It's become clear to me that I tend to use 'which' instead of 'this' when speaking, but I am not sure why one is preferred use over the other.

Can anyone offer me some insight? I already tried googling "which vs this", but I got results for "which vs that" instead, which is an entirely different use case.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm one for ignoring grammatical 'rules' if I feel they obstruct what I'm trying to communicate.

Grammarly will tend to homogenize just due to the type of tool it is and that can be at the expense of a more colourful way of communicating ideas.

To me; "which means" would be used as part of an ongoing sentence. Whereas "This means" is the start of a new sentence.

I'd also argue that they have slightly different intentions: "Which means" gives an air of musing on an idea, thinking on it, developing a conclusion "This means" is more defined and definite, more essay-like in stating the definition of the idea

I'd say, use whatever you think feels more suitable for you, in the moment, to express the ideas that you're writing. Don't let grammatical accuracy impose artificial limitation on your expression <3

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I remember reading somewhere that if the text is supposed to be conversational, then you can be way more lax with grammar rules. Most human don't talk like they have a grammar-bot pressing a gun to their back 😝 So OP, you are definitely free to stick with "Which means." Hell, if this is first person narration, then all the more reason to.

Don’t let grammatical accuracy impose artificial limitation on your expression <3

^ This, 100%!