Hi prasun9

WW II is singular noun, but "their composition" needs a plural antecedent. Thus, "which" can't modifies "W.W.II".
"which" modifies plural noun - divisions. In this case, "which" does not need to modifies the preceding noun - W.W.II.
In addition, W.W.II does not have "substantial ethnic majorities".

Hope it helps.

get772 could you please specify the source of this question ? All options seem to have errors.

I guess all the options have some error. The question itself is debatable.

The question appears to be incorrect.There are no punctuations at all to clearly make out tenses, modifiers etc.

Although option A is correct, which MUST be preceded by a comma and it modifies the word preceding it. So option A with a comma before which is correct. Also "The Soviet Red Army formed" the beginning of the question is not correct.

Divisions is plural, so I doubt whether had is correct or something else should be used

C actually is better worded but have had is incorrect usage.

Further which usually introduces non-essential information and that introduces essential information.

EXPERTS HAVE TO REPLY.

The Soviet Red Army formed at least 42 divisions during the Second World War which had substantial ethnic majorities in their composition.

a) formed at least 42 divisions during the Second World War which had -- Correct here which clearly refers to WW II. however a comma is required before which.
b) was formed at least 42 divisions during the Second World War that had -- The Soviet Red Army was formed at least 42 divisions is missing a of. The correct sentence would be was formed of at least 42 divisions
c) was comprised of at least 42 divisions throughout World War II who has -- in this sentence the use of who is ambiguous, is it reffering to Red Army or the 42 divisions.
d) formed at least 42 divisions during the Second World War which have had -- have had is not required here, simple past would sufice
e) created some 42 divisions for World War II wherein -- wherein substantial ethnic majorities in their composition. makes no sense
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I'm using v7 of GMAT Club Grammar book. On page 25, it says not to use the with World War 2. Errata in the correct answer?
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get772,
I dont see anything wrong with the underlined statement, it describes everything in simple past tense correctly.
WRT your doubt B incorrectly uses "was formed", here in the statement its the soviet red army that formed 42 units, so the given statement itself is right.
Hope I am clear.

hmm, in A the word "which" confuses me. please explain
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+1 for A; best of the lot but still plagued with usage of "which". Not sure if which refers to second world war or the army!

Chose A by POE.

Between C and A, usage of 'which' is confusing!
Can someone help out!

While usage of which is confusing, all choices that don't use which are clearly wrong. A is best answer.

Get772 wrote
The SOURCE of the question is GMAT ULTIMATE GRAMMAR first edition, published by GMAT CLUB, is the question number 39 of the practice test 1. I´m also having some trouble with this question.
I also believe that the usage of "which" in answer A is incorrect, I don´t know if it refers to divisions or Second World War. I´s it a publishing error?

A will be my bet, though not completely convinced

[quote="get772"]The Soviet Red Army formed at least 42 divisions during the Second World War which had substantial ethnic majorities in their composition.
a) formed at least 42 divisions during the Second World War which had
b) was formed at least 42 divisions during the Second World War that had
c) was comprised of at least 42 divisions throughout World War II who has
d) formed at least 42 divisions during the Second World War which have had
e) created some 42 divisions for World War II wherein

I was stuck between A & D

Can someone tell me when to use "have had"

Hello,

Thanks for your reply. But I keep reading everywhere that which should be located exactly after the word it is referring to. Also, that there should be a comma before which. How can you explain those discrepancies here?

Thanks.

The sentence says "The second world war"
What you are referring to is "world war 2"

2 different expressions and both are correct in usage.
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AjiteshArun VeritasKarishma

What is subtle difference between which vs that in A/B ?
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I think the sentence wants to say that there were at least 42 divisions with a particular quality. If that is indeed the case, both which and that are being used in a restrictive sense. I'm not sure whether the GMAT would do that (use a restrictive which in the correct option), as the OGs no longer say that which cannot be used in a restrictive sense. That said, the error in option B is bigger than the (possible) error in option A.
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