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navderm
In this case, isn't the use of 'which' wrong and modifying hormones ?
You are right. The use of which is incorrect.

We discuss the usage of which in this video
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Quote:
Until Berta and Ernst Scharrer established the concept of neurosecretion in 1928, scientists believed that either cells secreted hormones, which made them endocrine cells and thus part of the endocrine system or conducted electrical impulses, in which case they were nerve cells and thus part of the nervous system.

a) either cells secreted hormones, which made them

b) either cells secreted hormones, making them

c) either cells secreted hormones and were

d) cells either secreted hormones, in which case they were

e) cells either secreted hormones, which made them


There are two issues here. 1. The parallelism of correlative conjunctions 'either … or' and 2. The parallelism of the relative clause after the word 'hormones'

AS per the first tenet, only D maintains the proper parallelism and hence is the correct choice. In the case of the second tenet, yet again D is the only choice that uses the 'in which' format parallelly for both the items.
However, there may be no reason to look for all the errors in a given choice in the hall, if one can be damn sure about the correlative conjunction parallelism alone in this case.

However, if parallelism were not an issue, then the reference of 'which' and the modification of 'making' would be major issues and the easiest way of dumping three choices to the good.
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"in which case" is refering to the case in which cells secreted homones, but is it correct to use "which" to refer to a "situation" (sentence)? I thought that "which" could only refer to independent words.
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Greetings to you all ! I got the answer right by choosing option D but have a doubt nevertheless . In option D Isnt which referring to cell secreted hormone , the entire clause itself instead of just the secretion ? And if that is the case can which refer to a clause in accordance to grammar rules ?
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SarthakHaruray
Greetings to you all ! I got the answer right by choosing option D but have a doubt nevertheless . In option D Isnt which referring to cell secreted hormone , the entire clause itself instead of just the secretion ? And if that is the case can which refer to a clause in accordance to grammar rules ?
Hi SarthakHaruray, this should not be looked from the lens of which only; the structure here is: "in which case".

Which case?

Answer: When cells secreted hormones.
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Mizar18
"in which case" is refering to the case in which cells secreted homones, but is it correct to use "which" to refer to a "situation" (sentence)? I thought that "which" could only refer to independent words.

Hi Mizar

The prepositional phrase being used here is not "which", but "in which". They differ in their usage.

"which" is typically used to refer to independent things/nouns/noun ideas, as you have rightly pointed out. "in which", on the other hand, is used in two distinct ways:

i) to point to a physical location/ inside, for example:

On the shelf there is a blue box in which the sugar is kept.

ii) to describe metaphorical place such as situations or circumstances, for example:

My friend and I had an argument in which she nearly lost her temper.

As you have correctly identified, the usage in the question here falls under case (ii), which is perfectly alright. Hope this clarifies.
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Ron's take on "in which case"

just remember "in which case" as a special animal that doesn't fit neatly into any other category.

"in which case..." is a modifier that can describe the entire situation in the preceding clause. that's all you have to remember.
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tarek99
Until Berta and Ernst Scharrer established the concept of neurosecretion in 1928, scientists believed that either cells secreted hormones, which made them endocrine cells and thus part of the endocrine system, or conducted electrical impulses, in which case they were nerve cells and thus part of the nervous system.

a) either cells secreted hormones, which made them

b) either cells secreted hormones, making them

c) either cells secreted hormones and were

d) cells either secreted hormones, in which case they were

e) cells either secreted hormones, which made them


Although I know when to use the construction of "either...or", however, this particular sentence confused me. Can anybody show me how to tackle this? thanks

How is "them" in option D NOT modifying the word "hormones"?
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