We finally returned all the books to the library,which we left at the front desk.
--> which refers to library; INCORRECT

We finally returned all the books which we left at the front desk to the library
--> According to me, this sentence is incorrect.. because we use "which" for non-essential/optional part. Here, the "at the front desk to the library" is not optional.
The better versions could be:
- We finally returned all the books that we left at the front desk to the library

MinnieLiu wrote:We finally returned all the books to the library,which we left at the front desk.

Here "which" modifies "library" and is wrong. We are talking about "books" here.

Is this right?We finally returned all the books which we left at the front desk to the library.

"Which" is usually preceded by a comma. Your sentence can be said this way

"We finally returned all the books, and were left at the front desk of the library"
"Which" usage may not give a concise meaning. Avoid it here

The better versions could be:
- We finally returned all the books that we left at the front desk to the library[/quote]

I do not think the above sentence is correct meaning wise.

here is why, it can mean

We returned those books, which we left at the front desk, to the library.

While the original meaning is "we left the books, (which we had) at the front desk of the library"

@theCodeToGMAT,Umm..I see.The word that is better than which for important part.But the given answer is "We finally returned all the books, leaving them at the library's front desk." Are both of them correct?
And in the given answer,"leaving them at the library's front desk" is a modifier,and modifies books,right?

Put a comma before which,the sentence is also incorrect,you mean that?

vinay1983 wrote:

MinnieLiu wrote:We finally returned all the books to the library,which we left at the front desk.

Here "which" modifies "library" and is wrong. We are talking about "books" here.

Is this right?We finally returned all the books which we left at the front desk to the library.

"Which" is usually preceded by a comma. Your sentence can be said this way

"We finally returned all the books, and were left at the front desk of the library"
"Which" usage may not give a concise meaning. Avoid it here

vinay1983 wrote:The better versions could be:
- We finally returned all the books that we left at the front desk to the library

I do not think the above sentence is correct meaning wise.

here is why, it can mean

We returned those books, which we left at the front desk, to the library.

While the original meaning is "we left the books, (which we had) at the front desk of the library"[/quote]

Yep, meaning is affected.. I will just trying to demonstrate the usage of "which" & "that"

I don't know the differences between the three sentence.
1.we finally returned all the books that we left at the front desk to the library.
2.We returned those books, which we left at the front desk, to the library.
3.we left the books, (which we had) at the front desk of the library.
They express the same meaning,don't they?

theCodeToGMAT wrote:

vinay1983 wrote:The better versions could be:
- We finally returned all the books that we left at the front desk to the library

I do not think the above sentence is correct meaning wise.

here is why, it can mean

We returned those books, which we left at the front desk, to the library.

While the original meaning is "we left the books, (which we had) at the front desk of the library"

Yep, meaning is affected.. I will just trying to demonstrate the usage of "which" & "that"[/quote]

MinnieLiu wrote:Put a comma before which,the sentence is also incorrect,you mean that?

vinay1983 wrote:

MinnieLiu wrote:We finally returned all the books to the library,which we left at the front desk.

Here "which" modifies "library" and is wrong. We are talking about "books" here.

Is this right?We finally returned all the books which we left at the front desk to the library.

"Which" is usually preceded by a comma. Your sentence can be said this way

"We finally returned all the books, and were left at the front desk of the library"
"Which" usage may not give a concise meaning. Avoid it here

MinnieLiu,

The sentence given by Manhattan is correct and concise. Even though we may lot of discussion on "what can be alternate statements", MGMAT answer wins any day. It is concise and preferable.

A lot of things can be "used" or "not used". It all depends on what the sentence is trying to convey. Give preference to the meaning, words phrases, construction, parallelism can always be fitted in later or modified.

I am not discouraging you, but as such many usages cannot be categorised or indexed.

@Rahul no offence buddy, just trying to help

Okay,thanks very much~

vinay1983 wrote:

MinnieLiu wrote:Put a comma before which,the sentence is also incorrect,you mean that?

vinay1983 wrote:

MinnieLiu wrote:We finally returned all the books to the library,which we left at the front desk.

Here "which" modifies "library" and is wrong. We are talking about "books" here.

Is this right?We finally returned all the books which we left at the front desk to the library.

"Which" is usually preceded by a comma. Your sentence can be said this way

"We finally returned all the books, and were left at the front desk of the library"
"Which" usage may not give a concise meaning. Avoid it here

MinnieLiu,

The sentence given by Manhattan is correct and concise. Even though we may lot of discussion on "what can be alternate statements", MGMAT answer wins any day. It is concise and preferable.

A lot of things can be "used" or "not used". It all depends on what the sentence is trying to convey. Give preference to the meaning, words phrases, construction, parallelism can always be fitted in later or modified.

I am not discouraging you, but as such many usages cannot be categorised or indexed.

@Rahul no offence buddy, just trying to help

I think I am little out of Sync with the ongoing discussion

Anyways, MinnieLiu I would like to convey some rules:

- "which" generally modifies the nearest legitimate Noun
- "which" is used to introduce non-essential/optional information; use "that" for essential information
- "COMMA VERB+ING" is an adverbial modifier which modifies the complete clause before the "comma"

One issue in sentence 1 "we finally returned all the books that we left at the front desk to the library" is
- the missing "had" with "left"

hehe~~ O(∩_∩)O~~Thanks for your help.I learned so much from the discussion.

theCodeToGMAT wrote:I think I am little out of Sync with the ongoing discussion

Anyways, MinnieLiu I would like to convey some rules:

- "which" generally modifies the nearest legitimate Noun
- "which" is used to introduce non-essential/optional information; use "that" for essential information
- "COMMA VERB+ING" is an adverbial modifier which modifies the complete clause before the "comma"

One issue in sentence 1 "we finally returned all the books that we left at the front desk to the library" is
- the missing "had" with "left"