Use of Which - nuances

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Use of Which - nuances

by krazy800 » Sat Sep 26, 2009 8:28 am
Confused about use of which. Please explain

I read the following material from Wren & Martin.

Some times which is used as a relative pronoun to refer to the noun immediately preceding it.

ex: I gave him a dollar, which was all I had with me.

Some times which is used to refer to a previous sentence/a preceding clause.

ex: The man was said to be drunk, which was not the case.

and now I read the following example in MGMAT SC

The police found the murder weapon, which made the procesutors job easier.

MGMAT says 'which' is used to refer to a noun immediately preceding it. So in this sentence, 'which' refers to a weapon, while the intention is finding the weapon has made the prosecutor's job easier.

My question is why can't 'which' indicate that the 'finding of the weapon' has made the prosecutors job easy?

How can we catch the difference in usage of 'which' in GMAT? can someone explain with more examples?

Thanks in advance!!
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by scoobydooby » Sat Sep 26, 2009 9:45 am
"which" must only refer to an immediately preceding noun. it cannot refer to a preceding clause.

the 2nd example would be a wrong usge of "which" per gmat.

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by Stacey Koprince » Wed Oct 07, 2009 9:35 am
The key here is that you have to make sure you're studying what the GMAT tests - that's not necessarily the same as what another grammar source says is acceptable. Wren & Martin is a very reputable source. But the GMAT tends to cling to the old formal rules much longer, while more modern sources will adapt more quickly to recent changes.

Because the GMAT people are writing the test, we have to go by what they say, not by what modern usage may allow in everyday speech or writing.

I think Wren & Martin (or something similar) can be a good secondary resource if you want some additional information about something you read, but use GMAT-based works (such as OG or our SC guide) as your primary source and, if there are contradictions, go with what the GMAT-based source says.
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which

by navdeepbajwa » Wed Oct 07, 2009 1:04 pm
Does "which" needs to refer to immediate preceding noun or it can refer to any noun in the clause but not the whole clause