What Or Which?

Be Word Wise

Does it ever bother you – for example in quiz questions – when you see this type of construction?

What country has vertical blue, white and red stripes on its flag?
What hand does a ‘southpaw’ use to write?

Or when you read statements like these:

I decided what dessert I would order.
I’d like to know what doctor is free to see me.

‘Which’ is better

We should write:

Which country has vertical blue, white and red stripes on its flag?
(There’s a specific number of countries, and flags)

Which hand does a ‘southpaw’ use to write?
(There are only two options)

I decided which dessert I would order.
(There’s a list on the menu)

I’d like to know which doctor is free to see me.
(There are specific doctors working in the practice)

Why use ‘which’ ?

Here’s the clue:
It has to do with the range of possibilities available.

Where there’s a defined set, or range, of options, ‘which’ is the adjective to choose.

What about ‘what’?

Here’s a guideline that will help:
We use ‘what’ when there’s no choice involved and only information is needed

What time is it?
What are the colours of the rainbow?
What size jumper do you want?
What free streaming platforms or channels are available?
What kind of ... (add anything here)?

Note: This changes when choice is implied, especially when the choice is defined or limited.

Then, ‘what’ becomes ‘which’:

Which time suits you – 11am or 1pm?
Which two colours of the rainbow do you like best?
Which size jumper is the most common – 34 or 36?
Which free streaming platforms or channels have you tried?
Which kinds of cheese were on the platter?

In summary:
‘Which’ suggests a set of options; ‘what’ means it’s open-ended.

You can see the difference in these sentences:

What car do you drive?
Which car do you prefer – the hybrid or the plug-in?

What possible excuse could there be?
Which excuse did he use this time?

What method works for you?
Which of these methods works best?

What’s the tastiest salted snack?
Which salted snack tastes better to you – nuts, pretzels or chips?

It might be a small detail but to Be Word Wise is to be a better writer.