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Pter Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Antecedent of 'which'
Is the antecedent of 'which' always the noun immediately before 'which'?
For example, a copyright notice on the XYZ website
The permission does not extend to any materials on the linked websites or any contents on the XYZ website, the copyright of which belongs to a third party.
On first reading, I thought 'which' refers to the XYZ website. But this interpretation doesn't make sense. The 'which' supposedly refer to third party contents on the XYZ website.
Is the sentence incorrect? How can it be improved?
Thank you very much.
For example, a copyright notice on the XYZ website
The permission does not extend to any materials on the linked websites or any contents on the XYZ website, the copyright of which belongs to a third party.
On first reading, I thought 'which' refers to the XYZ website. But this interpretation doesn't make sense. The 'which' supposedly refer to third party contents on the XYZ website.
Is the sentence incorrect? How can it be improved?
Thank you very much.
Top answer
See how I applied the brackets to mark the constituencies. [The permission] [does not extend] [to (any materials on the linked websites) or (any contents on the XYZ website)], the copyright of which belongs to a third party. any materials on the linked websites + any contents on the XYZ website = which 'which" refers to the coordinated prepositional complement (coordinated NP).
- See how I applied the brackets to mark the constituencies.
- [The permission] [does not extend] [to (any materials on the linked websites) or (any contents on the XYZ website)], the copyright of which belongs to a third party.
- any materials on the linked websites + any contents on the XYZ website = which 'which" refers to the coordinated prepositional complement (coordinated NP).
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9 Answers
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See how I applied the brackets to mark the constituencies. [The permission] [does not extend] [to (any materials on the linked websites) or (any contents on the XYZ website)], the copyright of which belongs to a third party.
any materials on the linked websites + any contents on the XYZ website = which
'which" refers to the coordinated prepositional complement (coordinated NP).
any materials on the linked websites + any contents on the XYZ website = which
'which" refers to the coordinated prepositional complement (coordinated NP).
00
Just want to confirm my understanding. Do you mean 'which' can refer to the whole phrase instead of just the closest noun?
So it is perfectly grammatical for 'which' to refer to X as long as the verb agrees with X?
... X <preposition> Y, which <verb> ....
So it is perfectly grammatical for 'which' to refer to X as long as the verb agrees with X?
... X <preposition> Y, which <verb> ....
00
Hello,
Anyone else can reply to my original question below:
Is the antecedent of 'which' always the noun immediately before 'which'?
Using 'which' to refer to the whole coordinated prepositional complement seems to me a bad idea. In my original example, it is possible for 'which' to refer to
1. XYZ website
2. any contents on the XYZ website
3. any mate
Anyone else can reply to my original question below:
Is the antecedent of 'which' always the noun immediately before 'which'?
Using 'which' to refer to the whole coordinated prepositional complement seems to me a bad idea. In my original example, it is possible for 'which' to refer to
1. XYZ website
2. any contents on the XYZ website
3. any mate
00
Hi,
Don't you think this is too ambiguous? Yes, I do.
Would you like to try to rewrite it, showing clearly whatever you think the intended meaning is?
Best wishes, Clive
Don't you think this is too ambiguous? Yes, I do.
Would you like to try to rewrite it, showing clearly whatever you think the intended meaning is?
Best wishes, Clive
00
Thanks, Clive.
I agree with Inchoateknowledge on the intended meaning of the sentence. The problem is I can't think of ways to improve it (yet).
I agree with Inchoateknowledge on the intended meaning of the sentence. The problem is I can't think of ways to improve it (yet).
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Hi again,
The permission does not extend to any materials on the linked websites or any contents on the XYZ website, the copyright of which belongs to a third party.
How about something like this?
The permission does not extend to any materials on the linked websites or any contents on the XYZ website. The copyright for all these materials and contents belongs to a
The permission does not extend to any materials on the linked websites or any contents on the XYZ website, the copyright of which belongs to a third party.
How about something like this?
The permission does not extend to any materials on the linked websites or any contents on the XYZ website. The copyright for all these materials and contents belongs to a
00
PterIs the antecedent of 'which' always the noun immediately before 'which'?
For example, a copyright notice on the XYZ website
The permission does not extend to any materials on the linked websites or any contents on the XYZ website, the copyright of which belongs to a third party.
On first reading, I thought 'which' refers to the XYZ website. But
00
Hi Bill,
Thank you for the explanation.
What confuses me is that some people said 'which' should normally only refer to the closest noun while 'that' is more tolerant. Seems that you don't agree with this. Yes, your rephrased sentence is perfectly understandable in this particular structure, but I did mis-interpret the original sentence when I first read it. I had to reread t
Thank you for the explanation.
What confuses me is that some people said 'which' should normally only refer to the closest noun while 'that' is more tolerant. Seems that you don't agree with this. Yes, your rephrased sentence is perfectly understandable in this particular structure, but I did mis-interpret the original sentence when I first read it. I had to reread t
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