Which or That

Question

Hi! please advise how should I write in the following sentence:

The electronic device is a good alternative to sprays, which allows avoiding inhaling chemicals.

If I want to refer to "electronic device" should I use which or that? And if I want to refer to "sprays" what should be used in order not to confuse the reader?

Thanks in advance!

BillJ · Accepted Answer

[1] "The electronic device is a good alternative to sprays, which allows avoiding inhaling chemicals".

[2] "The electronic device, which allows avoiding inhaling chemicals, is a good alternative to sprays.

Firstly, "that" is not permitted with supplementary relative clauses (the kind set off with a comma), so no matter what the antecedent is, the relative word has to be "which".

Supplementary relatives allow a wide range of antecedents, but care still needs to be taken to avoid ambiguities.

If you want "which" to unambiguously refer to "sprays", then [1] is the one to go for, but first you must change the verb from singular "allows" to plural "allow" in order for it to agree in number with plural "sprays".

On the other hand, if the intended antecedent of "which" is "the electronic device", then [2] would be the obvious choice since it is the only possible candidate.

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