Sentence Correction

WHOSE

1)Can " whose" refer to non living things and animals on GMAT? I am told it is not so.
However, Wren and Martin's English grammar states that "whose" means "of which" and gives the following example:
A Triangle whose two sides are equal is an isoceles triangle.

2) Should the relative pronoun whose and its antecedent always touch (be apposition)?

In the following sentence (an official problem where I have fused the question with the correct option) to whom does "whose" refer to?
- to only Jerry Garcia ?
- to BOTH Elvis and Gerry?
- or to "many musicians" (with ",including elvis and jerry," as a middleman, in which case "whose" needn't touch its antecedent )


Bluegross musician Bill Monroe, whose repertory, views on musical collaboration, and vocal style influenced generations of bluegrass artists, also inspired many musicians, including Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia, whose music differed significantly from his own.

I'll answer the first question.

Yes, it can refer to non-living things, but I am not sure about animals.

Case #1:

OG SC question #102, correct answer uses "whose" for clans.

Case #2:

Diagnostic test in the OG12, I think #48, the actual question uses "whose" to reference weapon.

magnus opus wrote:WHOSE

1)Can " whose" refer to non living things and animals on GMAT? I am told it is not so.
However, Wren and Martin's English grammar states that "whose" means "of which" and gives the following example:
A Triangle whose two sides are equal is an isoceles triangle.

2) Should the relative pronoun whose and its antecedent always touch (be apposition)?

In the following sentence (an official problem where I have fused the question with the correct option) to whom does "whose" refer to?
- to only Jerry Garcia ?
- to BOTH Elvis and Gerry?
- or to "many musicians" (with ",including elvis and jerry," as a middleman, in which case "whose" needn't touch its antecedent )


Bluegross musician Bill Monroe, whose repertory, views on musical collaboration, and vocal style influenced generations of bluegrass artists, also inspired many musicians, including Elvis Presley and Jerry Garcia, whose music differed significantly from his own.

It's unusual to see "whose" of non-people and I don't think you'll ever see "who" of non-people. As for your other question, "whose" would refer back to "many musicians", as the phrase with "including . . ." is parenthetical and set off by commas.

Answer to the first question:

A loud and clear yes. There are innumerable instances in OG itself where whose is used to refer to inanimate objects, ideas etc. A couple of examples have been stated above by uwhusky. I could not find anything for animals but I am sure that they will be correct if used properly.

Few simple examples of phrases with whose-
1) An idea whose time has come...
2) The girl whose tattoos are red...
3) The hyena whose haunting laughter-like calls are frightening...

Answer to the second question:

whose refers to many musicians. The takeaway is that whose need not touch the noun but the reference should be clear from the sentence.

check out : https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/645/1/
It has details on relative pronouns too