Use of which

Question

Please tell me if which is incorrect here.

The temperature dropped suddenly last night, which will mean that the shoots emerging from the soil will be killed by the frost.

I don't see it to be wrong here. But the explanation given here leaves me in doubt.

http://www.majortests.com/gmat/sentence_correction_expl.php?exp=423030312432243130

Though it does not a noun antecedent, as I read it, "which" refers to the whole idea " The temperature dropped suddenly last night".

Please give your comments.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

2. The temperature dropped suddenly last night, which will mean that the shoots emerging from the soil will be killed by the frost.

A. which will mean that the shoots emerging from the soil will be killed by the frost.
B. which will mean that the frost will kill the shoots emerging from the soil.
C. and this will mean that the shoots emerging from the soil will be killed by the frost.
D. and the resulting frost will kill the shoots that are emerging from the soil.
E. and as a result, the shoots will be killed by the frost, emerging from the soil.

vsureshPlease give your comments.

I see nothing wrong with the subordinating 'which' referring to the whole main clause. I find that rule apocryphal. I don't really understand the point of this exercise, as nothing seems to be wrong with any of the answers as paraphrases of the underlined clause. Whatever it is testing is prescriptive beyond my ken.

BillJ · Answer

The temperature dropped suddenly last night, which ~~will~~ means that the shoots emerging from the soil will be killed by the frost.

I agree with MM, though answer E with its misplaced modifier is pretty awful.

The explanation given in the test for A and B being wrong is nonsense. Unlike defining relative clauses, non-defining ones don't just have nouns as antecedent – they can have virtually any expression as antecedent including entire clauses. In this case, "which" has the entire preceding clause as antecedent, and hence they are both acceptable.

The reason given for C being incorrect is also nonsense – it's fine. The pronoun "this" (and "that/it") can have not just a noun phrase as antecedent but an entire clause, as is the case here.

I do have one small niggle about the example: if the emerging shoots are susceptible to frost, they will presumably already be dead at the time of the utterance, so “will have been killed by the frost” would seem more appropriate for the final clause.

Incidentally, there is another possible paraphrase that is not listed:

The temperature dropped suddenly last night, meaning that the shoots emerging from the soil will have been killed by the frost.

Use of which

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