here is a sample sentence that I read in 'Economist'.

Question

Radiation causes cancer, which makes it scary. It is undetectable and hard to understand,  which  leaves people feeling powerless

The first 'which' seems to modify 'Cancer'. however, the second 'which' seems to modify clause 'It is undetectable and hard to understand'. is it correct usage as per GMAT rules or is my understanding that which is modifying the clause wrong?

Thanks,
Aditya

egmat · Answer

Hi Aditya,

Notice that “which” is relative pronoun and hence can refer to a noun entity only. However, in general English, for example in newspaper articles, more often than not, “which” is used to modify the preceding clause, as in the example presented by you:

It is undetectable and hard to understand, which leaves people feeling powerless.

In this sentence, “which” is modifying the preceding cause. It is accepted in general English writing. However, GMAT does not accept this modification. In GMAT, “which” must always refer to a noun entity, in most cases, the preceding noun entity. In our SC course concept namely "Modifiers - Relative Pronouns", we discuss in details the correct usage of relative pronoun modifers including "which".

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha

inquisitive · Answer

Thank you. this is very helpful. now, I understand how to analyse noun modifiers. I am going through your articles which are very helpful.

Thanks,
Aditya

here is a sample sentence that I read in 'Economist'.

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