GC14 wrote:
Hi all,
While going through
MGMAT SC material, I got some problem in my understanding of pronouns in below question:
We finally chose the coffee table towards the back of the store,
which we thought would complement our living room furniture. - which incorrectly refers to store. It is not the store that would complement the living room furniture.
In above question( we finally chose the coffee table towards the back of the store)
: Subject - We
Verb - chose
Object-Coffee table
So which should modify Object that is coffee table.
Then why above sentence is wrong.
Hi GC14,
Which does not modify the object, but the noun just before it. In the given sentence "which" modifies the preceding noun, the "store". The usage of which can be tricky at times.
The rule for which(or any other noun modifier) is as under:
The noun modifier should touch the modifying noun. Exception: A critical modifier can come in between the noun modifier and the noun if the the modifier can not be placed elsewhere in the sentence without changing the intended meaning.
For example the correct version of the above sentence would be:
We finally chose the coffee table,
which we thought would complement our living room furniture, towards the back of the store. --> Here which correctly refers to the coffee table.
The usage of which would be correct in this sentence:
Doctors suggest drinking warm cold water and to applying Argan oil on the face, which acts as a blocking agent for the ultraviolet rays.[/color] --> The usage of which is correct because we can not place the prepositional phrase "on the face" elsewhere in the sentence without changing the intended meaning of the original sentence. Here which would modify the noun "Argan oil"
I hope it clears your doubt,
Vercules
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