Sentence Correction

the box of nails, which is on the counter, is to be used on this project.

lunarpower wrote:

Ron, do the rules for which/who are also valid for 'that'? If not plz provide the rule for use of 'that'

you have more leeway with "that". (also remember that there are tons of different uses of "that"; i'm talking about the use of "that" as a relative pronoun, in a role analogous to "which" but without a comma.)

"that" is usually used in a way similar to the way "which" is used, but there's more of a tolerance for inserting intervening constructions, such as small clauses, between the noun and "that".

for instance, there have been official problems to which the correct answers have been built like the following: (these are not the actual problems - i can't reproduce those - but they are built the same way)
* a chemical has been discovered that will revolutionize the petroleum-processing industry.
* the chemists have discovered a way of processing crude oil into useful petroleum extracts that has the potential to revolutionize the industry.

lunarpower wrote:

Ron, do the rules for which/who are also valid for 'that'? If not plz provide the rule for use of 'that'

you have more leeway with "that". (also remember that there are tons of different uses of "that"; i'm talking about the use of "that" as a relative pronoun, in a role analogous to "which" but without a comma.)

"that" is usually used in a way similar to the way "which" is used, but there's more of a tolerance for inserting intervening constructions, such as small clauses, between the noun and "that".

for instance, there have been official problems to which the correct answers have been built like the following: (these are not the actual problems - i can't reproduce those - but they are built the same way)
* a chemical has been discovered that will revolutionize the petroleum-processing industry.
* the chemists have discovered a way of processing crude oil into useful petroleum extracts that has the potential to revolutionize the industry.

lunarpower wrote:

Ron, do the rules for which/who are also valid for 'that'? If not plz provide the rule for use of 'that'

you have more leeway with "that". (also remember that there are tons of different uses of "that"; i'm talking about the use of "that" as a relative pronoun, in a role analogous to "which" but without a comma.)

"that" is usually used in a way similar to the way "which" is used, but there's more of a tolerance for inserting intervening constructions, such as small clauses, between the noun and "that".

for instance, there have been official problems to which the correct answers have been built like the following: (these are not the actual problems - i can't reproduce those - but they are built the same way)
* a chemical has been discovered that will revolutionize the petroleum-processing industry.
* the chemists have discovered a way of processing crude oil into useful petroleum extracts that has the potential to revolutionize the industry.

heshamelaziry wrote:Can I use "which" in the first example to refer to "Chemical" ?

Can I use "which" in the second example to refer to "petroleum extracts" ?

crackgmat007 wrote:Ron,

Quick question in the below example

the box of nails, which is on the counter, is to be used on this project.

vs

the box of nails, which are on the counter, is to be used on this project.

If question tests singular vs plural (is vs are), how do we deduce what 'which' is referring to? Do we need to go by meaning & context?