The Great Debate – Who vs. That

I have a bone to pick. That’s right, I am stirring the pot and telling writers to stop using the word “that” when they should be using the word “who”!

You see, I read A LOT of content on a daily basis. I love reading, just as much as I love writing. And I have seen too many sentences confusing the use of these two words. Here’s an example:

“Barbara is the woman that walks her dog every morning.”

This sentence irks me because it should really read:

“Barbara is the woman who walks her dog every morning.”

The general rule of thumb here is the word “who” should be used when referring to people and the word “that” should be used when referring to objects. Simple as that. 

Now I do realize some writers out there will try and argue this rule of thumb. After all, even some professional resources say it’s “OK” to use either “that” or “who” when referring to a person. I don’t understand this and I choose to ignore. Why do I ignore? Because when you think about it, using the word “that” to refer to a person really dehumanizes that person. It is just wrong.

What I suggest is for you to think about what you are saying or writing. Does refering to a person as “that” really make sense?

Published in Grammar and tagged with Caroline Pigott, CP Style, freelance writer, Grammar, who vs. that