Starting a sentence with Which

Question

I ran across the following passage:"Everything was going fine, .... , then the next day-- big trouble. Which was strange because  nothing was modified or changed - to my knowledge."What does which stand for? Does which emphasize 'big trouble'?Would its use in this situation be appropriate?Thank you much in advance,Hoa Thai

Marius Hancu · Accepted Answer

"Everything was going fine, .... , then the next day-- big trouble. Which situation was strange because nothing was modified or changed - to my knowledge."

"Everything was going fine, .... , then the next day-- big trouble. A situation which was strange because nothing was modified or changed - to my knowledge."

Hoa Thai · Answer

Marius Hancu"Everything was going fine, .... , then the next day-- big trouble. Which situation was strange because nothing was modified or changed - to my knowledge."

"Everything was going fine, .... , then the next day-- big trouble. A situation which was strange because nothing was modified or changed - to my knowledge."

Hi Hancu,

Did you make a correction or suggest that which stands for the omitted situation?

Cool Breeze · Answer

Hoa Thai"Everything was going fine, .... , then the next day-- big trouble, which was strange because nothing was modified or changed - to my knowledge."

Hi HT

Which should start a relative clause in your example. It is incorrect to begin a sentence with a subordinate relative clause. In this case the relative clause is the only clause of the "sentence". The author has just taken the stylistic liberty of bending the rules a little.

CB

Hoa Thai · Answer

Cool Breeze
Hoa Thai"Everything was going fine, .... , then the next day-- big trouble, which was strange because nothing was modified or changed - to my knowledge."

Hi HT

Which should start a relative clause in your example. It is incorrect to begin a sentence with a subordinate relative clause. In this case the relative clause is the only clause of the "sentence". The author has just taken the stylistic liberty of bending the rules a little.

CB

Hi Cool Breeze,

Your modification shows what I thought how which should be use such as 'She left, which creates a big loss for our team'. However, when you said, "The author has just taken the stylistic liberty of bending the rules a little," I wonder about his intention of bending the rule with such a fragmented sentence - Did he try to emphasize his surprise or wonderment about the event? If that is the case, do you know any sources that cover various uses of ungrammatical phrases for special effects?

All the best,
Hoa Thai

Cool Breeze · Answer

Hoa ThaiDid he try to emphasize his surprise or wonderment about the event? If that is the case, do you know any sources that cover various uses of ungrammatical phrases for special effects?

No, I don't know any such books or other material. Usage experts usually concentrate on how language should be used correctly, they don't concentrate on incorrect usage.

It is of course also possible that the author just has a poor knowledge of English and/or grammar and thinks his "relative clause" is correct! It is impossible to know for sure what he is after or why he has written what he has written.

CB

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