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JJDouglas Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
What exactly can and can't a relative clause modify?
I know that it most commonly modifies the noun that immediately precedes it, but can it also modify the whole of the preceding sentence?
For instance, would the following be marked as incorrect?
"The children were running up and down the street with their eyes fixated on their phones, which is apparently to do with some new craze."
"Work-related dermatitis most often develops as a result of an interaction with a hazardous substance, which is more specifically known as contact dermatitis."
For instance, would the following be marked as incorrect?
"The children were running up and down the street with their eyes fixated on their phones, which is apparently to do with some new craze."
"Work-related dermatitis most often develops as a result of an interaction with a hazardous substance, which is more specifically known as contact dermatitis."
Top answer
JJDouglas but can it also modify the whole of the preceding sentence? Yes (though it wouldn't strictly be a whole sentence, since the relative clause is normally also part of the same sentence). For example: He won the event four times, which was an incredible achievement.
- JJDouglas but can it also modify the whole of the preceding sentence?
- Yes (though it wouldn't strictly be a whole sentence, since the relative clause is normally also part of the same sentence).
- For example: He won the event four times, which was an incredible achievement.
- The first of your examples is acceptable in everyday English.
- The second one does not work.
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3 Answers
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JJDouglas but can it also modify the whole of the preceding sentence?Yes (though it wouldn't strictly be a whole sentence, since the relative clause is normally also part of the same sentence). For example:
He won the event four times, which was an incredible achievement.
The first of your examples is acceptable in everyday English. T
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GPYThe second one does not work.Is there any way I can make it work while still using a non-restrictive relative clause, such as the following?
"Work-related dermatitis most often develops as a result of an interaction with a hazardous substance, which leads to a form of the condition more specifically known as contact dermatitis."
Or do exa
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JJDouglas"Work-related dermatitis most often develops as a result of an interaction with a hazardous substance, which leads to a form of the condition more specifically known as contact dermatitis."This works for me, but I doubt that the relative clause modifies the whole of the main clause. I read it as modifying "interaction with a hazardous substance". The
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