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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

Commas with relative clauses

This sentence is from a commentary on "Lord of the Files": Yet the tension in the group changes immediately into an excited rush when Ralph proposes building a signal fire on the top of the mountain which could be seen by any passing ship.

My question is: is it clear what the "which" refers to? I am concerned that, following the rule that the relative clause modifies the noun immediately preceding it, "which" refers to to the mountain rather than the fire. I tried adding a comma before "which". Does this help? Is the problem the position of "on the top of the mountain"?
  

Top answer

You don't need a comma. I see your point, though. "Which" might be said to refer to the mountain.

— Anonymous

  • You don't need a comma.
  • I see your point, though.
  • "Which" might be said to refer to the mountain.
  • However, one might also say that from the point of view of getting the meaning across to the reader, it doesn't really matter here if "which" refers to the mountain, instead of the signal fire, since if the mountain can be seen by anyone, then the fire, being on top of the mountain, will also be seen.
  • So it doesn't really matter here exactly what word "which" refers to, since the meaning gets across in any case.
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6 Answers
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You don't need a comma. I see your point, though. "Which" might be said to refer to the mountain. However, one might also say that from the point of view of getting the meaning across to the reader, it doesn't really matter here if "which" refers to the mountain, instead of the signal fire, since if the mountain can be seen by anyone, then the fire, being on top of the mountain, will also be se
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Anonymousis it clear what the "which" refers to?
It depends who you ask! To most native speakers with common sense, it's clear that 'which' refers to the fire.
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Thanks for the reply; I suppose the best strategy would be to move the adverb phrase, "on top of the mountain", wouldn't it?
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Thanks for your reply. As a non-native (Polish) speaker, I'm quite obsessed with grammar rules such as those relating to commas and relative clauses.
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AnonymousI suppose the best strategy would be to move the adverb phrase, "on top of the mountain", wouldn't it?
You could do that, but I don't see any point in attempting to improve on the work of a well-known and respected author.
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AnonymousAs a non-native (Polish) speaker, I'm quite obsessed with grammar rules such as those relating to commas and relative clauses.
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