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SGSim Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
multiple nouns & which
Given the phrase "... a tremendous bulge on the north side of the mountain [,] which...."
Do we need full context to determine whether 'which' represents the bulge, the north side, or the mountain?
Grammatically, should 'which' always go with the closet noun or the noun positioned right before 'of' (in this case, the mountain and the north side, respectively) ?
Would the presence / absence of the comma help clarify the paring?
Thanks,
Do we need full context to determine whether 'which' represents the bulge, the north side, or the mountain?
Grammatically, should 'which' always go with the closet noun or the noun positioned right before 'of' (in this case, the mountain and the north side, respectively) ?
Would the presence / absence of the comma help clarify the paring?
Thanks,
Top answer
Hi, Without full context, I would wonder to what "which" refers. The comma doesn't tell me enough in this case, but it may be sufficient in other cases. g, "...
- Hi, Without full context, I would wonder to what "which" refers.
- The comma doesn't tell me enough in this case, but it may be sufficient in other cases.
- g, "...
- " When the "which" does refer to one of the specific items (bulge, north side, mountain), it makes sense to pair the "which" closely to the item, but I think, again, it depends on the context.
- In this case, if the phrase was "...
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2 Answers
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Hi,
Without full context, I would wonder to what "which" refers. The comma doesn't tell me enough in this case, but it may be sufficient in other cases. In this sentence, the "which" could be an intro to a clause referring to the whole of the three things together (bulge, north side, mountain), e.g, "... which hid the potential problem from the people living in the valley to the south."
Without full context, I would wonder to what "which" refers. The comma doesn't tell me enough in this case, but it may be sufficient in other cases. In this sentence, the "which" could be an intro to a clause referring to the whole of the three things together (bulge, north side, mountain), e.g, "... which hid the potential problem from the people living in the valley to the south."
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The referent of which is always dependent on the meaning of the clauses before and after. Commas have nothing to do with it.
CJ
CJ
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