A South American bird that forages for winged termites and

Tommy
Until I saw your post, I was convinced that generalization on "which" is hopeless - I couldn't generalize anything about the which "physical touch".

And I was following these rules about which
1. which can refer a noun (non living, animal but not human being)
2. which cannot modify a sentence / clause. To modify preceding clause use comma + ing
3. which without comma is fatal.
4. which may not physically touch the modifiee

See these sentences :
a canoe about twenty feet long and two feet wide, with small ribs and rails of cedar, which could carry four persons or eight hundred pounds ----> which modifies canoe.

A substance from the licorice plant, which was recently discovered to be 50 times sweeter than sucrose ---> which modifies "substance"

The Great Palace of Siam, which was built in 1250, is beautiful. ---> which modifies Great Palace

Straight one -
A newly developed jumbo rocket, which is expected to carry the United States into its next phase of space exploration, will be able to deliver a heavier load of instruments into orbit than the space shuttle can, and at a lower cost. ---> which modifies rocket.

But then your post -

The king of Russia, who is coming to town tomorrow, is fat. --->
it's actually modifying the entire modified noun "The king of Russia"

Kind of enlightening !

Hey Nusma,

Glad to help! And in your examples, you can see how the rule applies:


a canoe about twenty feet long and two feet wide, with small ribs and rails of cedar, which could carry four persons or eight hundred pounds ----> which modifies canoe. [This is because "a canoe" is already modified TWICE, by the prepositional phrase "about twenty feet long and two feet wide" and the prepositional phrase "with small ribs and rails of cedar". So we're still touching the ENTIRE modified noun.]

A substance from the licorice plant, which was recently discovered to be 50 times sweeter than sucrose ---> which modifies "substance" [This is because the prepositional phrase "from the licorice plant" is already modifying substance, so we're still touching the ENTIRE modified noun.]

The Great Palace of Siam, which was built in 1250, is beautiful. ---> which modifies Great Palace [Same as above!]

Sweet!

-t

Hi Tommy,

Thanks for your clarification.

I wish to understand if there are two answer choices given for this question . which one will u choose and why

1) graveteiro belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230 species and is

2) graveteiro, which belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230 species and is

The only reason to ask this is that i wish to understand how important is which in these options or which can't at all be chosen as an answer choice.

Thanks,

Hey Hirendhanak,

The problem with the second example is that the sentence never actually resolves (with a verb). Watch. Everything in brackets is a modifier...

[A South American bird that forages for winged termites and other small insects while swinging upside down form the foliage of tall trees], the graveteiro, [which belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230 species and is represented in virtually every kind of habitat].

See? We are now missing the actual verb that goes with the subject "the graveteiro". In the other answer choice, the verb "belongs" is a main verb, so it creates a full sentence. Does that make sense?

-t

A South American bird that forages for winged termites and other small insects while
swinging upside down form the foliage of tall trees, the graveteiro belongs to the
ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230
species and that are represented in virtually every kind of habitat.

thus the reduced stem : A group THAT includes more than 230 species and THAT are represented in .................

The intent : The sentence reveals something about a Group = WHAT?

1. A group THAT..................includes more than 230 species

2. A group THAT..................are represented in every kind of habitat

A group ( SINGULAR ) ============== should pair with SINGULAR VERB

Vertical scan revals only B to fit :

B : A Group ........THAT INCLUDES........................AND.....................THAT IS represented = (Parallel & A group - Sin pairs perfectly with Sing verbs includes & IS )

B is correct .A group is always singular .I am not sure whether the rule you have mentioned is correct.Where did you come across it .?

A South American bird that forages for winged termites and other small insects while swinging upside down form the foliage of tall trees, the graveteiro belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230 species and that are represented in virtually every kind of habitat.

, the graveteiro (with comma) is our main enemy here. It confuses us to determine the main verb of the whole sentence! If we take a look at the sentence once more without , the graveteiro here what it looks like :

A South American bird that forages for winged termites and other small insects while swinging upside down form the foliage of tall trees belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230 species and that are represented in virtually every kind of habitat.

So the sentence above is clearer. If we try once more removing the , the graveteiro on the choices

A. belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230 species and that are

B. belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230 species and is

C. belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that include more than 230 species and is

D. , which belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230 species and that are

E. , which belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230 species and is


Now, through correct comprehension that the main verbs are belongs and is represented



We know that these comprehensions are wrong:
1. a group is represented
2. tropical birds include .... sounds really funny here It's like saying "Birds are including humans."

So now we are between B and C with s-v agreement issues.

Hence, B.

In option E

graveteiro, which belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that
includes more than 230 species and is

which - refers to graveteiro.
a group of - refers to graveteiro.

Grammatically too, it make sense to me. Can someone help me here with my understanding and way of approaching?

In option E, if we notice the structure of the sentence, the sentence with option E does not have any Independent clause (in other words, there is no main verb in the sentence). So, option E is not a sentence at all. Let’s look at the structure more closely. With option E, the sentence is:

A South American bird that forages for winged termites and other small insects while swinging upside down form the foliage of tall trees, the graveteiro, which belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230 species and is represented in virtually every kind of habitat.

By deconstructing the sentence:

Phrase (<A South American bird>) Dependent clause (<that forages for winged termites and other small insects while swinging upside down form the foliage of tall trees >), Phrase (<the graveteiro>), Dependent clause (<which belongs to the ovenbird family>), Phrase (<a group of New World tropical birds>) Dependent clause (<that includes more than 230 species and is represented in virtually every kind of habitat>).

As we see, there is no Independent clause in this sentence. Hence, it is incorrect.

On the other hand, option B has an Independent clause: graveteiro belongs to the ovenbird family.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses Dependent/Independent clauses, their application and examples in significant detail. If someone is interested, PM me your email-id, I can mail the corresponding section.

Hmm..
A and D are eliminated straight away
c is a trap
I have a small doubt in eliminating choice E.
I was down to 2 options B and E;
I have eliminated E because Which is a non essential modifier. So we read the sentence as

graveteiro, which belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical
birds that includes more than 230 species and is


Now , group in the sentence is referring to graveteiro which is not the correct reference!.


Please correct me if my thought process is wrong.

I had a question regarding C. If it said "A group of birds that include more than 230 species and that are" that would be correct, right? Since that points to birds.

If this question were to appear on the test and the example I listed above appeared vs Answer Choice B, which one would be correct?

Actually, the version you suggested would not be correct, because it is not the birds that include species, it's the group that includes species. So, you need the singular "includes" and "is."

Further, you don't need a second "that" in this situation. You need to repeat "that" in constructing a list only in certain cases, such as when the later elements of a list are complete clauses.

OK, so here is the correct version:

a group of birds that includes more than 230 species and is

Of all things, the correct version = version B.

I got the right answer by following the clues, but I am super confused by the "but" behind the comma, is that really correct?

You're right. It can't be. Form is also not correct (down form the foliage).

A South American bird that forages for winged termites and other small insects while swinging upside down form the foliage of tall trees, but the graveteiro belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230 species and that are represented in virtually every kind of habitat.

A. graveteiro belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230 species and that are

B. graveteiro belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230 species and is

C. graveteiro belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that include more than 230 species and is- subject-verb agreement issue- a group of New World tropical birds that include

D. graveteiro, which belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230 species and that are - no verb

E. graveteiro, which belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230 species and is- no verb

1.
A. a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230 species and that are - Do we reject option A based on subject-verb agreement issue? A group is singular and needs that is?
B. a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230 species and is -

2. Also, in cases like option A, is it possible for parallel that clauses to modify two different nouns? As in the first 'that' modifies group and the second modifies birds?

3. In the overall sentence structure, do we have a verb before Comma , but here?

AjiteshArun , GMATNinja , MagooshExpert , GMATGuruNY , VeritasPrepBrian , MartyTargetTestPrep , DmitryFarber , VeritasKarishma , generis , jennpt , other expert - please enligthen

Your analysis is correct. The only situation in which we would not eliminate this choice is one in which the question had no completely correct answer and in which we were forced to choose this choice because it was better than the others.


I'm pretty sure that you already know the answer to your question. Is such a structure logical?


No, and it appears that an error was made in the transcription of the question and that that "but" should not be present.

A South American bird that forages for winged termites and other small insects while swinging upside down from the foliage of tall trees, the graveteiro belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230 species and that are represented in virtually every kind of habitat.

A. graveteiro belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230 species and that are
- That Refers to subject " a group" which is singular, while second part of the sentence uses "are" - SVA error so eliminate

B. graveteiro belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230 species and is
- Correct

C. graveteiro belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that include more than 230 species and is
- That Refers to subject " a group" which is singular, while verb " include" is plural- SVA error Eliminate

D. graveteiro, which belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230 species and that are
- Same error as in Choice A . So we quickly eliminate this choice

E. graveteiro, which belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds that includes more than 230 species and is
- This sentence does not have independent clause. Hence its not complete sentence . So we eliminate this.

To further understand break the complete sentence with choice E as below

A South American bird - phrase
that forages for winged termites and other small insects while swinging upside down from the foliage of tall trees, graveteiro, - Relative Clause
which belongs to the ovenbird family, a group of New World tropical birds - Again Relative clause
that includes more than 230 species and is represented in virtually every kind of habitat.- Again Relative clause

Independent clause is missing in choice E so we eliminated it.

Ans is Choice B

Hope that helps!