The testmakers say this is an error. seen monkeys sleeping

Question

The testmakers say this is an error.

 seen monkeys sleeping on the branches, whose arms and legs hanging like socks on the clothesline.

 Does whose refer wrongly to branches? I'm not sure as I am no grammar expert.
 victor

bb · Answer

Victor, You are correct,

in the situation described above, whose is incorrectly modifying branches. Logically we understand that branches have no legs or arms, but gramatically they do.

I hope this helps. keep on knocking until you get the answer; it si better to get it now than after :wink:

skoper · Answer

is this also incorrect because "whose" can only be a pronoun for a group of persons, not objects such as branches? If so, what pronoun can one use?

bb · Answer

No, whose can be used with non-person items.

Here is what the dictionary has to say about this: Sometimes the phrase of which is used as the possessive of which: Chicago is a city of 
 which the attractions are many or Chicago is a 
 city the attractions of which are many. The use of 
 this phrase can often seem awkward or pretentious, 
 whereas WHOSE sounds more idiomatic: Chicago is a 
 city whose attractions are many.

died4me · Answer

bb, thanks!

I am going back to the beginning of the Verbal Forum and reading all posts. I already learned something new within 5 mins. haha.

WHOSE: I thought it is used only for peron/people. 
The chicago example is very good.

GMATT73 · Answer

Here's another coincidental "whose" pronoun SC that refers to Chicago. (taken from the set I posted earlier)

 Chicago,  whose  industrial growth in the nineteenth century was more rapid than that of any other American city, was plagued by labor troubles like the Pullman Strikes of 1894.

died4me · Answer

everyone kept saying that getting involved in the forum is the best way to learn.. I said "maybe for someone"

Now, I say "Yeah baby!"

tennis1ball · Answer

Good. I had doubt, but am clear now.

The testmakers say this is an error. seen monkeys sleeping

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