The “Graceland” album by Paul Simon, which is my favorite, is the one

Question

The “Graceland” album by  Paul Simon, which is my favorite, is the one that I loaned to Mudita.

(A) Paul Simon, which is my favorite, is the one that I loaned to Mudita.

(B) Paul Simon, that is my favorite, is the one I loaned to Mudita.

(C) Paul Simon, which is my favorite, is the one which I loaned to Mudita.

(D) Paul Simon which is my favorite is the one which I loaned to Mudita.

(E) Paul Simon, which is my favorite, is one that I loaned to Mudita.

Source:  Nova GMAT

GMATNinja · Accepted Answer

Typically, we want to place noun modifiers (i.e. which, that, where, when, etc.) as close as possible to the noun, but sometimes a pesky little prepositional phrase (or other modifier) gets in the way, as is the case with choice (A). If we try putting the noun modifier next to "album", we get, "The 'Graceland' album, which is my favorite, by Paul Simon is the one that I loaned to Mudita." Now the noun modifier is right next to the noun but we've created a worse problem by splitting up the prepositional phrase and the noun that it modifies. In this case, putting the noun modifier right after the prepositional phrase is okay, because we really don't have any better options. You don't see this issue all that often on real GMAT questions, but here are a couple of classic examples: https://gmatclub.com/forum/emily-dickinsons-letters-to-susan-huntington-dickinson-were-10142.html https://gmatclub.com/forum/for-many-rev ... 60640.html

matthewsmith_89 · Answer

The “Graceland” album by Paul Simon, which is my favorite, is the one that I loaned to Mudita.

(A) Paul Simon, which is my favorite, is the one that I loaned to Mudita.
(B) Paul Simon,  that  is my favorite, is the one I loaned to Mudita.
(C) Paul Simon, which is my favorite, is the one  which  I loaned to Mudita.
(D) Paul Simon  (missing comma)  which is my favorite is the one  which  I loaned to Mudita.
(E) Paul Simon, which is my favorite, is  (the)  one that I loaned to Mudita.

Kryptographer · Answer

This appears quite strange to me .. Or may be I'm missing something ... :roll:

"Which" is supposed to modify a noun just preceding it; However, the fragment "by Paul Simon, which" suggests that "which" here refers to "Paul Simon" instead of "The “Graceland” album". Anyone... Any ideas why?

arjittak · Answer

You are absolutely correct that "which " refers to noun preceding to it 
And same thing is applied here too
The "Graceland Album by Paul Simon" together considered a single noun word.

I still believe that some ambiguity is there, but this is best among all other options

Sent from my A0001 using  GMAT Club Forum mobile app

arunavamunshi1988 · Answer

I guess here the word 'which' is clearly modifying 'Graceland Album' because in the phrase ' Graceland Album by Paul Simon ', ' by Paul Simon ' is the adverbial modifier so can be ignored.

guptarahul · Answer

Remember the following 2 rules for 'which' to be correct on the GMAT: 1. ‘Which’ should always come after a comma 2. ‘Which’ must refer to the noun that comes immediately before the comma. :-D

In case, either of these conditions is not satisfied, there's a pronoun error in the sentence and needs to be corrected. (A) Paul Simon, which is my favorite, is the one that I loaned to Mudita. (B) Paul Simon, that is my favorite, is the one I loaned to Mudita. Incorrect (C) Paul Simon, which is my favorite, is the one which I loaned to Mudita. Incorrect (D) Paul Simon ( missing comma ) which is my favorite is the one which I loaned to Mudita. Incorrect (E) Paul Simon, which is my favorite, is ( the ) one that I loaned to Mudita. Incorrect

broall · Answer

Expert please explains why the first "which" here refers to the album but Paul Simon.

Ruigr3 · Answer

Can someone explain what is wrong with b? which/that are supposed to be controversial in the given contraction.

daboo343 · Answer

The “Graceland” album by Paul Simon, which is my favorite, is the one that I loaned to Mudita.

(A) Paul Simon, which is my favorite, is the one that I loaned to Mudita.
(B) Paul Simon, that is my favorite, is the one I loaned to Mudita.
(C) Paul Simon, which is my favorite, is the one which I loaned to Mudita.
(D) Paul Simon which is my favorite is the one which I loaned to Mudita.
(E) Paul Simon, which is my favorite, is one that I loaned to Mudita.

which clause preceded by comma is used as non-essential modifier and that clause without comma is ueds as essential modifier
Now the question is what are essential modifier and what are non-essential modifier
essential modifer is that modifer without that the meaning of the sentence is not clear whereas non essential modifier is that modfier, even after removing non- essential modifier from the sentence the meaning doesn't chage.
So 
consider theoption B
 Paul Simon,  that is my favorite , is the one I loaned to Mudita.
now read the sentence without that clasue
the sentence looks like 
The “Graceland” album by Paul Simon is the one I loaned to Mudita , is the one that I loaned to Mudita.
do we have any problem in understanding the meaning? definitely no so we need a non essential modifer to add some extra meaning to the sentence.
We also need that after one that clause after one is essential modifer and we need that modifier.

Ruigr3 · Answer

Hey  daboo343 .
Thank you for the explanation.
I still have some difficulties with the second part.
If we omit the first non essential modifier, then we have:
 The “Graceland” album by Paul Simon is the one  that  I loaned to Mudita. vs The “Graceland” album by Paul Simon is the one I loaned to Mudita. Why  that  is so critical? Can't I say  The ticket on the table is the one I booked yesterday  ?

GMATNinja · Answer

I think you're correct,  Ruigr3 ! In plenty of cases (including your example about the ticket), there's really no need to use "that" if the meaning is clear without it. Actually, many American writing instructors would argue that the word "that" is completely unnecessary in (A), and shouldn't be included in the sentence at all.

But on the GMAT, you won't ever have to worry about that distinction. Whenever you see "that" or "which" used as a noun modifier, you generally just have to figure out whether the modifier makes logical sense. Here, "that I loaned to Mudita" is just modifying "the one" (album), and that's obviously fine.

And my usual disclaimer: the GMAT spends between $1500 and $3000 developing each GMAT question, and even the best test-prep companies can't compete. So as always, please take these non-official questions with a huge grain of salt. This one really doesn't resemble a real question -- even if it is generating some good discussion!

ydmuley · Answer

Though I chose option B, after reading multiple posts, it is clear that this is one of those questions where if we alter the position of "which" is going to change the meaning and/or make the sentence awkward.

And as GMATNinja says, we need to take this question with a "huge grain of salt" as this question is not an official question.

SAHILJPR · Answer

I marked B as the answer.
Experts pl inform why usage of "that" is incorrect.
I thought That is used as a noun entity and it reflects back to Graceland album by Paul Simon.

GMATNinja · Answer

Please check out my responses above -- I address both the use of "that" and the reasons why this question might not be worth much of your time: https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-gracelan ... l#p1856865 https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-gracelan ... l#p1868361 I hope this helps!

prabugmat · Answer

IMO A

(A) Paul Simon, which is my favorite, is the one that I loaned to Mudita. -- Correct
(B) Paul Simon, that is my favorite, is the one I loaned to Mudita. -- Usage of 'that' after comma
(C) Paul Simon, which is my favorite, is the one which I loaned to Mudita. -- Need 'that' after "the one"
(D) Paul Simon which is my favorite is the one which I loaned to Mudita. -- Usage of 'which' without comma
(E) Paul Simon, which is my favorite, is one that I loaned to Mudita. -- need 'the' before one

GittinGud · Answer

Can someone please tell me why option C is incorrect?

Lowkya · Answer

"which" unless preceded by "in" or "for" etc requires a "," before it.

In option C, 
(C) Paul Simon, which is my favorite, is the one  which  I loaned to Mudita.
There is no comma before the second which.
So, C is incorrect.

souvik19 · Answer

GMATNinja  you are the best! I spent almost 30 mins reading all the comments to understand why is the absence of "that" in option B incorrect and wasted all my time. This post should really be at the top of the discussion.

bb  I think GMAT Club topic discussions should really have a "expert filter" option. While I totally agree community discussions helps clarifying a lot of doubts, sometimes you just want to jump into what an expert has to say. Hope I am making sense.

Mani55511 · Answer

Understanding "which" and "that": 
Which is used to introduce non-essential clauses, meaning the information can be removed without changing the sentence's core meaning.
That is used to introduce essential clauses, meaning the information is necessary for understanding the sentence.

Analyzing the options: 
A: Correctly uses "which" to introduce a non-essential clause about the album.
B: Incorrectly uses "that" for a non-essential clause.
C: Redundant use of "which."
D: Missing a comma after "Paul Simon."
E: Missing "the" before "one."

The “Graceland” album by Paul Simon, which is my favorite, is the one

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

GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

The “Graceland” album by Paul Simon, which is my favorite, is the one

Prep Toolkit

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