Pronoun and antecedent

Question

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.

shanmugamgsn · Answer

We finally chose the coffee table towards the back of the store,  which  we thought would complement our living room furniture.

Hi will split above sentence 
We - Subject
finally - adverb
chose- verb
the coffee table - object (noun)
towards the back of the store - prepositional phrase (modifing coffee table)

which - relative pronoun (refers back to coffee table)

for more info :  Click here

we thought would complement our living room furniture - subordinate clause with proper SV

Vercules · Answer

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.  --> 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

gmatprepab · Answer

I agree to what you are saying .. the only other way I could think of, to convey this idea would be:
Thinking it would complement our living room, we finally chose the coffee table towards the back of the store.

gmatprepab · Answer

@Vercules:

Which one do you think conveys the idea more strongly:
We finally chose the coffee table, which we thought would complement our living room furniture, towards the back of the store.
or
 Thinking it would complement our living room, we finally chose the coffee table towards the back of the store.

I don't know whether its a style issue or something else but I would not like to leave my prepositional phrase hanging out for the end. Just like which modifier, prepositional phrases also have equal priority to the touch rule. I may be wrong but I would prefer the one in blue.

Vercules · Answer

Hi gmatprepab,

Both the sentences are correct but differ slightly in terms of meaning.

In the first one sentence the thinking is happening in the past, the thinking did not result in you choosing the table. "we" just thought in the past that the table would complement.The second one suggests that thinking resulted in you choosing the table. Either one is good, based on what you want to express.

Vercules

Vercules

gmatprepab · Answer

I agree. That was a constructive debate. I remember this prepositional phrase shift in one of Ron's video's, where in he illustrates this point through somewhat similar sentence structure:
In Florida, Hurricanes are considered to be the act of God.
Hurricanes in Florida are considered to be the act of God.

Archit143 · Answer

Hi 
which is relative pronoun and refers to the nearest noun. in the above case it is "store"....read the argument by substituting store in place of which.....you yourself will feel that meaning is not conveyed morever it is nonsensical..

Consider KUDOS If my post helps!!!!

Archit

Pronoun and antecedent

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards