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.
If it’s dialog, then you can write it however your character speaks. Your characters are allowed to make mistakes when speaking. “This means…” comes across like a TED Talk to me. “Which means…” sounds more casual and conversational. And I would use “That means…” if it’s someone expanding/responding to someone else’s statement.
“The device is flashing red!” Said Frank. “That means we’re all going to die!” Said Steve.
“I’m feeling congested, which means I might be getting sick.”
“The socioeconomic climate of the place is bad. This means bad things are going to happen.”
It all depends on who is talking and what they’re saying. As a narrator, you are also allowed to speak in your own voice when writing. Grammar shouldn’t always be homogenous and strict, especially if you’re making art.
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
