Can "which" modify a clause?

Question

hey,
This question is from the Gmatclub grammar book,

36. The house plants that mom set out on the patio yesterday are dead which determines we must had had frost last night.
a) which determines we must had had frost
b) which means it must have frosted
c) that goes to show the frost must have been
d) and this proves the frost has been falling
e) showing that it had been frosting

The correct answer is b,
I don't understand how "which means" modify the precceding clasue? is it ok grammatically?
thanks :D

Show Spoiler

b

Marcab · Answer

B cannot be the correct answer.
What does "it" refers to?
Moreover regarding the doubt raised for the usage of "which", I shall suggest you to refer MGMAT SC for the correct usage of "which". For now, "which" CANNOT refer to a clause. 
It can refer only the noun preceding it; only exception being "SANAM" pronons.
Regards,

benyahalom · Answer

thank you!
can u just explain more abobut the exeption and what are the SANAM pronouns :D

willigetmylifeback · Answer

WHICH without COMMA is almost always wrong.

SANAM pronouns are Some,Any,None,All,Most

For SANAM pronouns just look at the "OF.... " construction.

if part after OF is plural the verb must be plural
if part after OF is singular the verb must be singular

But don't worry about SANAM pronouns as they are not tested on the test.

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear Benyahalom I don't agree with the given OA. You are perfectly correct. The word " which " must have a noun as an antecedent. Neither " which " nor " that " can have a clause as an antecedent. A participle can modify a clause --- in that sense, it's a more flexible modifier than is a relative pronoun. The only participle here is in choice (E) , which is far from ideal ---- the word " frost " is seldom used as a verb, so to see a progressive form of this verb is a bit bizarre. Choice (E) also has the dreaded empty "it" . Frankly, I don't think much of this question at all. The subject matter is a little too story-book and colloquial, whereas GMAT SC tends to have more formal, academic writing. My friend, do not assume that every question you find out there is a good question. There are an extraordinary number of low quality GMAT SC practice questions floating around on the web. Here's a blog that talks about various modifier issues on the GMAT SC. https://magoosh.com/gmat/2013/modifiers- ... orrection/ Does all this make sense? Mike :-)

dinesh86 · Answer

The house plants that mom set out on the patio yesterday are dead  which determines we must had had frost  last night.

a) which determines we must had had frost – Which wrongly refers to dead.
b) which means it must have frosted – Wrong use of which. Ambiguous ‘It’
c) that goes to show the frost must have been –Wrong present perfect 
d) and this proves the frost has been falling - Wrong present perfect
e) showing that it had been frosting –Odd-one-out but yet not convinced.

Timebomb · Answer

Would the option d be correct had the sentence been "and this proves the frost has been falling since last night"

Sent from my A0001 using  GMAT Club Forum mobile app

fitzwat2 · Answer

I'd like to keep this post going. I have a question from the GMAT book from Manhattan Prep and in the question here it looks like which is referring to a clause.

Originally developed for detecting air pollutants, a technique called proton-induced x-ray emission, which can quickly analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance without destroying it,  is finding uses in medicine, archeology, and criminology.

A.) Originally developed for detecting air pollutants, a technique called proton-induced x-ray emission, which can quickly analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance without destroying it,

B.) Originally developed for detecting air pollutants, having the ability to analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance without destroying it, a technique called proton-induced x-ray emission

C.) A technique originally developed for detecting air pollutants, called proton-induced x-ray emission, which can quickly analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance without destroying it,

D.) A technique originally developed for detecting air pollutants, called proton-induced X-ray emission, which has the ability to analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance quickly and without destroying it,

E.) A technique that was originally developed for detecting air pollutants and has the ability to analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance quickly and without destroying the substance, called proton-induced X-ray emission,

the correct answer is A. THe book then goes on to say why the other choices are incorrect. THe book lists choices C and D as wrong because which modifies emission. In chioice A which is right next to emission as well. Why is C and D wrong but A is okay? Can someone help please?

Bunuel · Answer

This question is discussed here: https://gmatclub.com/forum/originally-d ... 84734.html Please post your doubt there. Thank you.

VerbalBot · Answer

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Can "which" modify a clause?

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