Pointless poll, regarding 'which'

[Liar]

'which' is probably correct.
But is it sexy? Come on, we're writing erotica here, not buerocratic protocols.

 

[Huckleman2000]

I agree with Shanglan, that "which" belongs with commas; and also with Rumple, that "which" seems to belong with plurals.

There seems to be an element to consider, which is: has the writer referred to the object before?

Thus, "the kind of church which you would expect..." is the first mention of that sort of church.

If I didn't know a nipple was exposed, I would expect to hear about it as "the nipple, which was exposed". If the shirt was ripped off one shoulder in the sentence or two before, I would expect to read about it as "the nipple that was exposed."
Hmm, I'd also expect to read about the other one as "the nipple which was not exposed."
Perhaps the distinction is between that which is known, and that which is abstract or metaphorical?

 

[Pure]

Success!

I found a sentence from the master narrator, and offer it because I want to make amends:

Everyone knew he [D.C.] operated the printing press for his family’s weekly paper, “The Standard.” But few suspected he wrote a lot of the articles which appeared under his father’s by-line. Mark knew.

From 'The Dancers' by Rumple Foreskin.

Oh, and because it supports the 'yes' vote (which with restrictive clause, sometimes) of this thread.

Also, surprise, it supports the plural rule proposed a bit earlier by himself.

Note to Huck:
Yes, the conditions under which a clause ends up being restrictive or not are tricky. Maybe previous mention tilts things in the direction of non-restrictive.

Probably one can, with ingenuity, invent a scenario where any of my examples becomes non restrictive.

So I ask: Take a well-crafted, felicitously styled sentence of yours, with a clause YOU consider restrictive, taking into consideration its context. Consider lots of such sentences. Do any of them contain 'which' (no comma preceding)? (As in the Rumple example, above).

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

You can't imagine how much trouble I had learning how to spell "”" and "’s."

Rumple Foreskin

 

[~hellbaby~]

Can't you just say "He saw the nipple she left exposed" and skip the wordiness?
{{admittedly not a grammer guru}}

 

[Boxlicker101]

Can't you just say "He saw the nipple she left exposed" and skip the wordiness?
{{admittedly not a grammer guru}}

That would more properly be "He saw the nipple she HAD left exposed."

 

[NoJo]

What's a "nipple witch" anyway? Please PM me a pic if you know.

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

What's a "nipple witch" anyway? Please PM me a pic if you know.

Play nice, Joe.

Rumple Foreskin