What is the difference between ‘Which is why and That is why?
‘Which is why’ and ‘That is why’ are similar in meaning, but are used slightly differently.
- I’d been watching The Big Bang Theory all night, which is why I overslept.
In the above sentence ‘which is why I overslept’ cannot stand alone- ‘which’ refers to the whole of the previous clause.
When using ‘which’, you add some extra information. This information may or may not be important.
- Why did you oversleep?
- Why did I oversleep? I’d been watching The Big Bang Theory all night. That is why I overslept.
As you can see, the sentence ‘That is why…’ stands alone. ‘That‘ is the subject, so you can start a new sentence with it.
- I’ve always wanted to meet Adele, which is why I’m here. (extra information)
- I’ve always wanted to meet Adele and that is why I’m here. (that = subject of the new clause)
For more on the difference between ‘which’ and ‘that’, please read this article:
Which vs That + Examples
[adrotate banner=”1″]
