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isn't 'which' supposed to modify its immediately preceeding noun ?

In this case that would be FM Radio.
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isn't 'which' supposed to modify its immediately preceeding noun ?

In this case that would be FM Radio.
Hi PRNDL, I am assuming you are talking about option B.

Notice that B says: which are...

Because of the plural verb are, which can only modify something plural. Hence, which cannot modify FM Radio.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses modifier issues of "which", their application and examples in significant detail. If you or someone is interested, PM me your email-id; I can mail the corresponding section.
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Quote:
Satellite radio transmissions, a popular feature in car stereos, differ from those of AM and FM radio, which is sent directly from earthbound towers and then to a car stereo.

A) which is sent directly from earthbound towers and then to a car
B) which are sent directly from earthbound towers to a car's
C) sent from earthbound towers and then directly to a car
D) sending them directly from earthbound towers to a car's
E) being sent directly from earthbound towers to a car
Request Expert Reply:
Here, the correct choice B says (with core):
Satellite radio transmissions differ from Satellite radio transmissions (those) of AM and FM radio.
Does it make sense? It does not make sense to me at all! If the above sentence is something like the following then it could make sense. Isn't it?
Satellite radio transmissions differ from transmissions (those) of AM and FM radio.
"Those" can refer to a noun by itself, or to a noun with some adjectives thrown in as well. It all depends on the context of the sentence.

Consider this example:

    "Chocolate chip cookies are more delicious than those without chocolate chips."

Here, "those" refers to ONLY the noun "cookies," because the intention of the sentence is to compare "chocolate chip cookies" to "cookies (those) without chocolate chips." It wouldn't make any sense to compare "chocolate chip cookies" to "chocolate chip cookies without chocolate chips."

By contrast, look at this example:

    "The chocolate chip cookies that my mom makes are more delicious than those that I make."


Here, the comparison is between "the chocolate chip cookies" that my mom makes, and "the chocolate chip cookies" (those) that I make." So, "those" refers to the entire noun phrase "chocolate chip cookies."

Now, look again at the official question so we can determine what "those" refers to:

    "Satellite radio transmissions, a popular feature in car stereos, differ from those of AM and FM radio..."

This sentence compares one type of radio transmissions to another. Specifically, it compares "satellite radio transmissions" to "transmissions (those) of AM and FM radio." It wouldn't make sense for the pronoun to refer to the entire phrase "satellite radio transmissions," so we can conclude that "those" refers ONLY to the noun "transmissions."

Overall, there isn't a one-size-fits-all way to use these pronouns -- you have to consider the context of the sentence to determine what makes the most sense.

I hope that helps!
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^^
GMATNinja,
Thank you very much. It makes sense to me. The explanation is exactly the same what I am looking for.
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Satellite radio transmissions, a popular feature in car stereos, differ from those of AM and FM radio, which is sent directly from earthbound towers and then to a car stereo.

A) which is sent directly from earthbound towers and then to a car
-the use of “which” as the modifier isn’t particularly ideal I don’t think…it is modifying radio …with the implication that the radio is sent to a car stereo…
-the major flag here however is ‘is’ conflicts with the plural transmission
-the other issue is that the sentence is saying the transmissions are only sent to a single car

B) which are sent directly from earthbound towers to a car's
Correct

C) sent from earthbound towers and then directly to a car
-what is ‘sent’ modifying? The closest noun which is ‘radio…illogical meaning

D) sending them directly from earthbound towers to a car's
-plural antecedent error…is them referring to transmissions? Stereos? Towers?

E) being sent directly from earthbound towers to a car
-being is needless here
-the other issue is that the sentence is saying the transmissions are only sent to a single car
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TheUltimateWinner
Quote:
Satellite radio transmissions, a popular feature in car stereos, differ from those of AM and FM radio, which is sent directly from earthbound towers and then to a car stereo.

A) which is sent directly from earthbound towers and then to a car
B) which are sent directly from earthbound towers to a car's
C) sent from earthbound towers and then directly to a car
D) sending them directly from earthbound towers to a car's
E) being sent directly from earthbound towers to a car
Request Expert Reply:
Here, the correct choice B says (with core):
Satellite radio transmissions differ from Satellite radio transmissions (those) of AM and FM radio.
Does it make sense? It does not make sense to me at all! If the above sentence is something like the following then it could make sense. Isn't it?
Satellite radio transmissions differ from transmissions (those) of AM and FM radio.
"Those" can refer to a noun by itself, or to a noun with some adjectives thrown in as well. It all depends on the context of the sentence.

Consider this example:

    "Chocolate chip cookies are more delicious than those without chocolate chips."

Here, "those" refers to ONLY the noun "cookies," because the intention of the sentence is to compare "chocolate chip cookies" to "cookies (those) without chocolate chips." It wouldn't make any sense to compare "chocolate chip cookies" to "chocolate chip cookies without chocolate chips."

By contrast, look at this example:

    "The chocolate chip cookies that my mom makes are more delicious than those that I make."


Here, the comparison is between "the chocolate chip cookies" that my mom makes, and "the chocolate chip cookies" (those) that I make." So, "those" refers to the entire noun phrase "chocolate chip cookies."

Now, look again at the official question so we can determine what "those" refers to:

    "Satellite radio transmissions, a popular feature in car stereos, differ from those of AM and FM radio..."

This sentence compares one type of radio transmissions to another. Specifically, it compares "satellite radio transmissions" to "transmissions (those) of AM and FM radio." It wouldn't make sense for the pronoun to refer to the entire phrase "satellite radio transmissions," so we can conclude that "those" refers ONLY to the noun "transmissions."

Overall, there isn't a one-size-fits-all way to use these pronouns -- you have to consider the context of the sentence to determine what makes the most sense.

I hope that helps!
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Satellite radio transmissions, a popular feature in car stereos, differ from those of AM and FM radio, which is sent directly from earthbound towers and then to a car stereo.

A) which is sent directly from earthbound towers and then to a car

“which” refers to transmissions from AM and FM radio. We need to use the plural verb- “are” and not “is” to refer to the plural noun- transmissions.
We need to use the possessive noun- car’s stereo.

B) which are sent directly from earthbound towers to a car's
Both the errors in option A are corrected in Option B.
B is correct.

C) sent from earthbound towers and then directly to a car
We need to use the possessive noun- car’s stereo.
From earthbound towers to a car’s stereo is the correct idiomatic usage.

D) sending them directly from earthbound towers to a car’s
“ing” modifier distorts the meaning of the sentence.

E) being sent directly from earthbound towers to a car
We need to use the possessive noun- car’s stereo.
The modifier- “being sent” distorts the meaning of the sentence.

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generis
Satellite radio transmissions, a popular feature in car stereos, differ from those of AM and FM radio, which is sent directly from earthbound towers and then to a car stereo.

A) which is sent directly from earthbound towers and then to a car

B) which are sent directly from earthbound towers to a car's

C) sent from earthbound towers and then directly to a car

D) sending them directly from earthbound towers to a car's

E) being sent directly from earthbound towers to a car


SC08150.02

"Which" is till not following the touch rule with "those"? Or is it one of the exceptions?
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generis
Satellite radio transmissions, a popular feature in car stereos, differ from those of AM and FM radio, which is sent directly from earthbound towers and then to a car stereo.

A) which is sent directly from earthbound towers and then to a car

B) which are sent directly from earthbound towers to a car's

C) sent from earthbound towers and then directly to a car

D) sending them directly from earthbound towers to a car's

E) being sent directly from earthbound towers to a car


SC08150.02

"Which" is till not following the touch rule with "those"? Or is it one of the exceptions?
Friendly public service announcement: there's really no such thing as a touch rule. :)

When you see a relative pronoun such as "which" or "that," all you're asking yourself is whether there's a noun in the vicinity it could logically describe. That's it. Usually, it'll be touching, but that isn't really a rule.

Say you were evaluating (A):

Quote:
Satellite radio transmissions, a popular feature in car stereos, differ from those of AM and FM radio, which is sent directly from earthbound towers and then to a car stereo.
Because "which" is the subject of the singular "is," it must describe a singular noun. But there's no singular noun that would make sense. A radio isn't sent from an earthbound tower! That would be terrifying. If there's no noun that could work, the usage of "which" is wrong. Kill (A).

Now take a look at (B):

Quote:
Satellite radio transmissions, a popular feature in car stereos, differ from those of AM and FM radio, which are sent directly from earthbound towers to a car's stereo.
This time, "which" is the subject of the plural "are," so I'm looking for a plural noun that could be described. The first one I note is "those," which seems to refer to "transmissions." Would it make sense for transmissions to be sent from towers? It sure would. So this usage is fine. Hold on to (B).

The takeaway: sure, test-prep folks often frame the "touch rule" as a rule, but it really isn't one -- so don't break too many brain cells looking for exceptions to rules that don't exist! :) And when evaluating "which," it can be helpful to use the associated verb to determine whether the noun described by "which" is singular or plural. Then scan for nearby nouns that could work.

I hope that helps!
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I was wondering if the sentence were :

Quote:
Satellite radio transmissions, a popular feature in car stereos, differ from those of AM and FM radio, which is sent directly from earthbound towers and then to a car stereo.

A) which is sent INdirectly from earthbound towers and then to a car
B) which are sent INdirectly from earthbound towers to a car's
C) NOT sent from earthbound towers and then directly to a car
D) sending them INdirectly from earthbound towers to a car's
E) being sent INdirectly from earthbound towers to a car


2nd part refers to : Satellite radio transmissions,
In such a case , which option among C, D and E would be better?
D- wrong( send+ing doesn't make sense with differs ( +ing is wrong )
E- being - its not a temporary activity

only C can make some sense , sent --verb ed modifier refers to noun, --> SRT is noun as the phrase is with comma, If comma then it would have refered to Am and FM radio

is my thinking correct?
Please suggest GMATNinja EducationAisle EMPOWERgmatVerbal
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mSKR
I was wondering if the sentence were :

Quote:
Satellite radio transmissions, a popular feature in car stereos, differ from those of AM and FM radio, which is sent directly from earthbound towers and then to a car stereo.

A) which is sent INdirectly from earthbound towers and then to a car
B) which are sent INdirectly from earthbound towers to a car's
C) NOT sent from earthbound towers and then directly to a car
D) sending them INdirectly from earthbound towers to a car's
E) being sent INdirectly from earthbound towers to a car


2nd part refers to : Satellite radio transmissions,
In such a case , which option among C, D and E would be better?
D- wrong( send+ing doesn't make sense with differs ( +ing is wrong )
E- being - its not a temporary activity

only C can make some sense , sent --verb ed modifier refers to noun, --> SRT is noun as the phrase is with comma, If comma then it would have refered to Am and FM radio

is my thinking correct?
Please suggest GMATNinja EducationAisle EMPOWERgmatVerbal

Thanks for the question mSKR!

Let's look at your hypothetical option C with all the non-underlined portions added in:

Satellite radio transmissions, a popular feature in car stereos, differ from those of AM and FM radio, not sent from earthbound towers and then directly to a car stereo.

No matter how you'd like to reword this, the underlined modifier at the end MUST modify "AM and FM radio." This doesn't do that, nor does it make sense to modify "Satellite radio transmissions" because it's too far away from it to logically work.

Also, changing "directly" to "indirectly" doesn't change anything: no matter how they're sent, they still need to clearly modify "AM and FM radio."

We know that changing the original sentence and options is a fun exercise and totally tempting to do, but it's a huge time-waster. On test day, you won't have time to do this anyway. You'll only have time to answer the questions and move on - and no matter how much you love or hate the questions, they are what they are. Your job is to find the best option out of what you're given.

We hope this helps!
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mSKR
I was wondering if the sentence were :

Quote:
Satellite radio transmissions, a popular feature in car stereos, differ from those of AM and FM radio, which is sent directly from earthbound towers and then to a car stereo.

A) which is sent INdirectly from earthbound towers and then to a car
B) which are sent INdirectly from earthbound towers to a car's
C) NOT sent from earthbound towers and then directly to a car
D) sending them INdirectly from earthbound towers to a car's
E) being sent INdirectly from earthbound towers to a car


2nd part refers to : Satellite radio transmissions,
In such a case , which option among C, D and E would be better?
D- wrong( send+ing doesn't make sense with differs ( +ing is wrong )
E- being - its not a temporary activity

only C can make some sense , sent --verb ed modifier refers to noun, --> SRT is noun as the phrase is with comma, If comma then it would have refered to Am and FM radio

is my thinking correct?
Please suggest GMATNinja EducationAisle EMPOWERgmatVerbal

Thanks for the question mSKR!

Let's look at your hypothetical option C with all the non-underlined portions added in:

Satellite radio transmissions, a popular feature in car stereos, differ from those of AM and FM radio, not sent from earthbound towers and then directly to a car stereo.

No matter how you'd like to reword this, the underlined modifier at the end MUST modify "AM and FM radio." This doesn't do that, nor does it make sense to modify "Satellite radio transmissions" because it's too far away from it to logically work.

Also, changing "directly" to "indirectly" doesn't change anything: no matter how they're sent, they still need to clearly modify "AM and FM radio."

We know that changing the original sentence and options is a fun exercise and totally tempting to do, but it's a huge time-waster. On test day, you won't have time to do this anyway. You'll only have time to answer the questions and move on - and no matter how much you love or hate the questions, they are what they are. Your job is to find the best option out of what you're given.

We hope this helps!


I fully agree that altering choice does not help much as our job is too find best among available options.
My intention was to understand role of verb ed modifier after comma and its effect on subject. I got the answer that even in such a case, subject is too far from the verb-ed modifier to logical work, so new C still may not be a prefered choice.

Thanks EMPOWERgmatVerbal for the inputs. :please:
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In B which refers to Those, not to the entire Those of AM and FM radio.

Which can jump over a prepositional phrase to modify the nearest noun.
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generis
Satellite radio transmissions, a popular feature in car stereos, differ from those of AM and FM radio, which is sent directly from earthbound towers and then to a car stereo.

A) which is sent directly from earthbound towers and then to a car
are should be the right usage therefore out

B) which are sent directly from earthbound towers to a car's
which is perfectly refering back to FM and Am where in are should be used the meaning and tense is perfect therfore let us hang on to it

C) sent from earthbound towers and then directly to a car
the sentence is not having a right reference whether the meaning is intended to refer back to satetlite or some other source therefore out

D) sending them directly from earthbound towers to a car's
sent is the right usage therefore out

E) being sent directly from earthbound towers to a car
being is a huge red flag and never the right option therefore out

Therefore IMO B
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GMATNinja avigutman KarishmaB Isnt the use of 'being' correct? Isnt it being used in passive continuous form which is basically acceptable since 'being' is acceptable as a noun and passive continuous tense. If you dont thik so pls break down how it is not acting in that form?

Also, whats the difference b/w car stereo and car's stereo
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GMATNinja avigutman KarishmaB Isnt the use of 'being' correct? Isnt it being used in passive continuous form which is basically acceptable since 'being' is acceptable as a noun and passive continuous tense. If you dont thik so pls break down how it is not acting in that form?

Also, whats the difference b/w car stereo and car's stereo

comma + verb-ing at the end of the clause modifies the entire previous clause or the subject of the clause.
Hence, 'being sent...' is modifying 'satellite radio' not 'AM and FM radio' though logically it needs to modify AM and FM radio.
Hence option (E) is not correct.

Both 'a car stereo' and 'a car's stereo' serve the same purpose.
In ' a car stereo,' car is acting as a modifier and telling us what kind of a stereo it is - the kind that goes into a car.
'A car's stereo' is possessive. We are talking about a stereo found in a car, belonging to a car.
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KarishmaB thanks but how can you say it is logical to modify FM/ AM? Satellite can be different from FM by itself being transmitted . How can we decide which one would be logical in this ?

So car stereos in the non underlined portion is sane as car’s stereo in underlined part?

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