Could Who Modify 2 Nouns as one Noun

[mundasingh123]

Published in Harlem, the owner and editor of the Messenger were two young journalists. Chandler Owen j and A. Philip Randolph, who would later make his reputation as a labor leader.
(A) Published in Harlem, the owner and editor of the Messenger were two young journalists. Chandler
Owen and A. Philip Randolph, who would later make his reputation as a labor leader.

(B) Published in Harlem, two young journalists, Chandler Owen and A. Philip Randolph, who would later
make his reputation as a labor leader, were the owner and editor of the Messenger.
(C) Published in Harlem, the Messenger was owned and edited by two young journalists, A. Philip
Randolph, who would later make his reputation as a labor leader, and Chandler Owen.
(D) The Messenger was owned and edited by two young journalists. Chandler Owen and A. Philip
Randolph, who would later make his reputation as a labor leader, and published in Harlem.
(E) The owner and editor being two young journalists, Chandler Owen and A. Philip Randolph, who would
later make his reputation as a labor leader, the Messenger was published in Harlem.


Q)Could The `who `clause modify both Chandler Owen and A. Philip Randolph as 1 single unit or does it have to modify only the noun before it

[Frankenstein]

Hi,
It can modify both the nouns. But, in E it modifies only the one closest because it is followed by 'make his(singular) reputation'.

[mundasingh123]

Hi,
It can modify both the nouns. But, in E it modifies only the one closest because it is followed by 'make his(singular) reputation'.

So if the pronoun had been plural , it could have modified both .

[Frankenstein]

Hi,
It can modify both the nouns. But, in E it modifies only the one closest because it is followed by 'make his(singular) reputation'.

So if the pronoun had been plural , it could have modified both .

Yes!

[gmat25]

WHO can modify both the nouns but in that case the clause followed by WHO must indicate that the work was done by both those two modified nouns. Let's take OP A to explain my point.

(A)Published in Harlem, the owner and editor of the Messenger were two young journalists. Chandler
Owen and A. Philip Randolph, who would later make his reputation as a labor leader.

Now, Op A has two errors, first u know, incorrect modifier. Second, error is the answer of your question. If WHO is modifying both the journalists. Chandler Owen and A. Philip Randolph, then the clause followed by WHO..."who would later make his reputation as a labor leader"...here HIS is WRONG, it should be their.

In short if i modify Op C, then both the original OP C and modified one are correct.

Original Op C:

(C) Published in Harlem, the Messenger was owned and edited by two young journalists, A. Philip
Randolph, who would later make his reputation as a labor leader, and Chandler Owen.

Modified Op C:

(C) Published in Harlem, the Messenger was owned and edited by two young journalists, A. Philip
Randolph and Chandler Owen, who would later make THEIR reputation as a labor leader.

This modified version is answering your question.