Usage of which

Question

Hi,

If I read two different interpretations of following structure: " ...X, Y, and Z, which ...." (where X, Y and Z are nouns) and ended up in confusing myself.

In the above structure, "which" is modifying only Z, it is modifying "X, Y, and Z" as a group, or it can be both the scenarios depending upon meaning of the sentence?

Thanks

EducationAisle · Answer

Only Z.

If the intent is to modify X,Y and Z, GMAT would use  that . Having said that, I have  not  seen this difference between usage of  which  and  that  being tested on GMAT.

rohitmanglik · Answer

Thanks Ashish.

So, only for GMAT SC questions, can I safely assume that "that" is used only for Z (based on the previous questions released by GMAT)?

EducationAisle · Answer

Hi Rohit, you might have misunderstood my post.

I meant  which  is used only for Z.

rohitmanglik · Answer

Ohh Sorry, my bad. I got it. Thanks a lot

GMATPill · Answer

Generally, you use "which” to describe a phrase.

And you use "that" when you want to restrict the scope of what you are talking about.

Let's take a look at an example

“She's going to the school that has a soccer field.”
instead of
“She's going to the school, which has a soccer field.”

You can assume there are lots of different schools. Which school is she going to? She is going to the one THAT has tennis courts.
When you are restricting the scope of ALL SCHOOLS down to a specific one–then you use THAT.

Try this link for more examples: https://www.gmatpill.com/difference/

rohitmanglik · Answer

Hi  EducationAisle

In this GMAT Prep question:  https://gmatclub.com/forum/bluegrass-musician-bill-monroe-whose-repertory-views-on-69382.html , we have  Bluegrass musician Bill Monroe, whose repertory, views on musical collaboration, and vocal style were influenced generations of bluegrass artists, also inspired many musicians, including Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia, whose music differed significantly from his own.

"many musicians, including Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia, whose music differed significantly from"

Here  whose  cannot modify musicians because it cannot skip Nouns between commas. Also as per above explanation whose can modify only Jerry Garcia (I am supposing that the rule of "which" applies to "whose" as well).

In above sentence is whose modifying only Jerry but not Elvis?

Thanks
Rohit

Usage of which

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