duongthang wrote:"main clause, noun+which clause/adjective"---she is beautiful, a fact I know---
in this pattern, noun phrase is a summary of main clause.
yes.
this sort of modifier (COMMA + ABSTRACT NOUN) can be used to refer back to the WHOLE IDEA of the preceding clause.
let's say that scientists discover that X is 60 percent of Y, and that they are shocked by this finding.
then:
recent studies have shown that X is 60 percent of Y, which has shocked many in the scientific community.
incorrect.
this sentence implies that Y itself has shocked many in the scientific community. not the point.
recent studies have shown that X is 60 percent of Y, a finding that has shocked many in the scientific community.
or
recent studies have shown that X is 60 percent of Y, a statistic that has shocked many in the scientific community.
these are correct.
the noun "finding" or "statistic" refers to the whole idea of the preceding clause.
in fact, this is an essential reason for the very existence of these modifiers. they don't even exist in spoken language, but, in
written english, they do things that more "normal-sounding" modifiers (e.g., "which") aren't allowed to do.
for 2 problems that use this sort of modifier, see:
* #59 in the purple OG verbal supplement (in which this sort of modifier is present in the NON underlined section)
* #79 in the same source (in which it's present in the correct answer choice)
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on the other hand,
the same type of modifier can also describe the preceding noun (much like "which").
for instance:
james went for dinner and drinks with mr. easton, a consultant from the west end.
here, "a consultant" describes only "mr. easton", not the whole idea of the preceding clause.
james went for dinner and drinks with mr. easton, an outing that was much more enjoyable than working all day.
here, "an outing" describes the whole previous clause (going for dinner and drinks).
note that, if exactly one of these assignments is sensible and the other is absurd, then the sentence is fine--i.e., there's no "ambiguity".
for instance, in the last sentence above, mr. easton is clearly not "an outing", so the exact meaning of this sentence is uniquely specified.
Last edited by
lunarpower on Wed Oct 15, 2014 12:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.
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Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron en castellano
Potete chiedere domande a Ron in italiano
On peut poser des questions à Ron en français
Voit esittää kysymyksiä Ron:lle myös suomeksi
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Quand on se sent bien dans un vêtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vêtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.
Yves Saint-Laurent
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