ZZZ: Preposition structure with Which and That

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"X of Y that.... " for this structure that refers to X. Ex: A way of producing corn that is cheapest....[that here refers to "a way"]
Same rule apply to "which"? "X of Y which....." [I've seen it refer to both X and Y. They are from different sources so it is hard to make a conclusion. What is the GMAT way?]


Edit: Here are the two examples:

1) By merging its two publishing divisions, the company will increase their share of the country's $21 billion book
market from 6 percent to 10 percent its share of the $21 billion book market in the country, which ranges obscure textbooks to mass-market paperbacks.

Here, this wrong answer choice is explained to be wrong because "which" refers to country rather than book market.

2) An economic recession can result from falling employment rates triggered by a drop in investment, which cause cutbacks in consumer spending, starting a cycle of layoffs that lead to even lower employment rates.

Here, this is the correct answer choice and which refers to the drop rather than the investment.
Last edited by gmatusa2010 on Tue Aug 10, 2010 5:19 am, edited 2 times in total.
Source: — Sentence Correction |

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by seshadrivyas » Mon Aug 09, 2010 11:06 pm
I remember a simple example to differentiate between which and that. Try it and see if it works for you.

From the books on the table, bring the book which is red.
From the books on the table, bring the book that is red.

The 2 sentences convey different meanings.
1st - means that the book on the table is red in color.
2nd - asks you to bring the book the book which is red in color, i.e among the many books, bring the red colored one.

The first sentence does not tell any thing about the possibility of there being other colored books, but the second does.

Try this example:

Go to end of the road and enter the first house which is red.
Go to end of the road and enter the first house that is red.

Do both the directions refer to the same house? No.

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