Why does my child say 'the chair who' or 'the girl which'?

In Hebrew, one attached letter connects a description to people and things alike, so there's no built-in habit of switching words based on whether the thing described is a person.

How do I quickly know whether to use who or that?

Check what's being described. If it's a person, use who. If it's a thing, use that or which.

Is which the same as that?

Both can describe things, so at this stage it's enough to know: people get who, things get that or which.

How does Maya teach this?

Maya gives a sentence describing either a person or a thing and asks the child to choose the correctly matched connecting word, so the person-versus-thing check becomes automatic.

EnglishGrade 7ages 12–13

👤 who / that

English picks a different connecting word depending on whether it's describing a person or a thing, and Hebrew's single attached letter for both makes that choice feel unnecessary until it's pointed out.

Updated September 23, 2026 · Maya Tutor

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What your child learns

The girl who ran — who because girl is a person.
The book that fell — that because book is a thing.
You can use which for things: the cup which is hot.
In Hebrew one attached letter joins to people and to things alike, so there is no sense that a word must be chosen at all.

The mistake most kids make here

the chair who, or the girl which.

Try one question

A girl who ran. Which is right?

Girl who ran

The girl what ran
The girl who ran
The girl which ran

Answer

The girl who ran — That's it. The girl who ran — who is kept for people.

How Maya teaches it

Your child tells Maya what they did in class. She teaches this topic at her desk, asks questions with tappable answers, and when the answer is wrong she explains why that answer was tempting instead of saying “try again”. She remembers what did not land and comes back to it.

Your child has it when they can: Say The girl who ran.

How to help at home

Who is used for people: 'the girl who ran.' That or which is used for things: 'the book that fell,' or 'the cup which is hot.'

A quick check: ask whether the word right before who/that/which is a person or a thing. A person always takes who.

Which and that can both work for things, so at this age the main habit to build is simply: person means who, thing means that or which.

A good sign they've got it: they pause for a second before choosing, checking whether they're describing a person or a thing, rather than defaulting to one word.

Questions parents ask

Why does my child say 'the chair who' or 'the girl which'?: In Hebrew, one attached letter connects a description to people and things alike, so there's no built-in habit of switching words based on whether the thing described is a person.
How do I quickly know whether to use who or that?: Check what's being described. If it's a person, use who. If it's a thing, use that or which.
Is which the same as that?: Both can describe things, so at this stage it's enough to know: people get who, things get that or which.
How does Maya teach this?: Maya gives a sentence describing either a person or a thing and asks the child to choose the correctly matched connecting word, so the person-versus-thing check becomes automatic.