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saumiljacksparrow
- Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2010 12:59 pm
I am extremely confused as I dont know when to use "which"? Should which only be used to describe objects?
Hi saumiljacksparrow,
You post an excellent question about "which" that is very important for success on GMAT Sentence Correction problems.
Relative clauses (modifying clauses starting with relative pronouns such as that, which, who, whose, where, etc ) are one of the most misused structures in the English language. Therefore, they are tested often on GMAT Sentence Correction problems. Specifically it is the "which" clauses that cause problems.
Consider the following sentence: It rained yesterday, which forced me to cancel the event.
This sentence is a classic misuse of a relative clause. A which clause such as "which forced me to cancel the event" can only be used to modify a noun, as you asked in your post. In this sample sentence, there is no noun in the sentence for the clause to logically modify. It is being used improperly to modify the action of the entire sentence. To correct the sentence, the entire structure needs to be changed:
It rained yesterday, and as a result I was forced to cancel the event.
Another problem that is often seen with "which" clauses is that they are put too far from the noun that they are supposed to be modifying.
Consider the following example: The deposit that I put on the house, which is non-refundable, used up most of my savings.
Here the "which" clause is supposed to be modifying the deposit but it has been put beside house, suggesting that the house is non-refundable. To correct this simply put the modifier directly beside the noun as follows:
The non-refundable deposit that I put on the house used up most of my savings.
Here are a couple of correct examples using a "which" relative clause where the clause is directly beside a noun that it logically modifies:
The rain, which was at times torrential, forced me to cancel the event.
My truck, which I bought only two weeks ago, is already having engine problems.
In terms of using this knowledge on GMAT Sentence Correction problems I recommend the following strategy:
Any time you see a "which" in any of the answer choices go immediately to that section. Look before the which and see if there is a noun directly beside it that can be logically modified by the clause. If there is no noun or it is too far away such that it causes ambiguity then you can safely eliminate those answer choices. NOTE: a "which" clause does not always have to be immediately beside the noun it is modifying. However, if there is any ambiguity as to what is being modified then you can be sure it is wrong.
Obviously there are many other grammatical issues relating to relative clauses, but this simple knowledge will help improve your accuracy substantially on GMAT Sentence Correction. Hope that helps!
