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Trouble with "which" as modifier

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by tnkippen » Fri Nov 30, 2012 7:45 am
Emily Dickinson's letters to Susan Huntington Dickinson were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's marriage to Emily's brother and ending shortly before Emily's death in 1886, outnumbering her letters to anyone else.

(A) Dickinson were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's marriage to Emily's brother and ending shortly before Emily's death in 1886, outnumbering
(B) Dickinson were written over a period that begins a few years before Susan's marriage to Emily's brother and ended shortly before Emily's death in 1886, outnumber
(C) Dickinson, written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's marriage to Emily's brother and that ends shortly before Emily's death in 1886 and outnumbering
(D) Dickinson, which were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's marriage to Emily's brother, ending shortly before Emily's death in 1886, and outnumbering
(E) Dickinson, which were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's marriage to Emily's brother and ending shortly before Emily's death in 1886, outnumber

OA: E

I'm having trouble understanding how this can be correct. When modifying, doesn't "which" have to touch the noun it's modifying? Here, "which" modifies Susan Huntington Dickinson, not letters...
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Source: — Sentence Correction |

by Sk1ver » Fri Nov 30, 2012 7:49 am
tnkippen wrote:Emily Dickinson's letters to Susan Huntington Dickinson were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's marriage to Emily's brother and ending shortly before Emily's death in 1886, outnumbering her letters to anyone else.

(A) Dickinson were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's marriage to Emily's brother and ending shortly before Emily's death in 1886, outnumbering
(B) Dickinson were written over a period that begins a few years before Susan's marriage to Emily's brother and ended shortly before Emily's death in 1886, outnumber
(C) Dickinson, written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's marriage to Emily's brother and that ends shortly before Emily's death in 1886 and outnumbering
(D) Dickinson, which were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's marriage to Emily's brother, ending shortly before Emily's death in 1886, and outnumbering
(E) Dickinson, which were written over a period beginning a few years before Susan's marriage to Emily's brother and ending shortly before Emily's death in 1886, outnumber

OA: E

I'm having trouble understanding how this can be correct. When modifying, doesn't "which" have to touch the noun it's modifying? Here, "which" modifies Susan Huntington Dickinson, not letters...
Hi!
You can find an explanation to your question here - https://www.beatthegmat.com/emily-dickin ... 21769.html
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by Bill@VeritasPrep » Fri Nov 30, 2012 3:03 pm
tnkippen wrote:
I'm having trouble understanding how this can be correct. When modifying, doesn't "which" have to touch the noun it's modifying? Here, "which" modifies Susan Huntington Dickinson, not letters...
If the noun directly before the "which" phrase is part of a prepositional phrase (as it is here), then the "which" phrase can modify the noun being modified by the prepositional phrase ("letters").
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