Sentence Correction

Christ's mystical experiences toward the end of his life, which some say led Aquinas to abandon theological writing, might have opened him to Smith's talk of loss of self.

In the above sentence which is referring to? I know which refers to noun that is just before it.

Experts Can you please help me?

vishalwin wrote:Christ's mystical experiences toward the end of his life, which some say led Aquinas to abandon theological writing, might have opened him to Smith's talk of loss of self.

In the above sentence which is referring to? I know which refers to noun that is just before it.

Experts Can you please help me?

On the GMAT:
COMMA + which + SINGULAR VERB must serve to refer to the nearest preceding SINGULAR noun.
COMMA + which + PLURAL VERB must serve to refer to the nearest preceding PLURAL noun.
If the verb attributed to COMMA + which can be singular or plural, which must serve to refer to the nearest preceding noun.

Christ's mystical experiences toward the end of his life, which some say led Aquinas to abandon theological writing.
Here, the verb attributed to COMMA + which is led.
Since led can be either singular or plural, COMMA + which must serve to refer to his life -- the nearest preceding noun -- implying that CHRIST'S LIFE LED Aquinas to abandon theological writing.
Since which is intended to refer to Christ's mystical experiences, the sentence above would be incorrect on the GMAT.

Hello Mitch,

Thanks for replying to my query.

Can you please explain below question, which appeared in the GMAT in past. (see I used WHICH correctly in this sentence )

The Statue of Liberty's defects in its supporting structure that led to its deterioration have been corrected, according to the firm of consulting engineers.
A) The Statue of Liberty's defects in its supporting structure that led to its deterioration
B) The Statue of Liberty's defects in its supporting structure, leading to its deterioration
C) leading to its deterioration, the Statue of Liberty's defects in its supporting structure
D) The defects that the Statue of Liberty had in its supporting structure that led to its deterioration
E) The defects in the supporting structure of the Statue of Liberty which led to its deterioration

vishalwin wrote:Hello Mitch,

Thanks for replying to my query.

Can you please explain below question, which appeared in the GMAT in past. (see I used WHICH correctly in this sentence )

The Statue of Liberty's defects in its supporting structure that led to its deterioration have been corrected, according to the firm of consulting engineers.
A) The Statue of Liberty's defects in its supporting structure that led to its deterioration
B) The Statue of Liberty's defects in its supporting structure, leading to its deterioration
C) leading to its deterioration, the Statue of Liberty's defects in its supporting structure
D) The defects that the Statue of Liberty had in its supporting structure that led to its deterioration
E) The defects in the supporting structure of the Statue of Liberty which led to its deterioration

None of the answer choices seems viable.
I posted an explanation here:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/liberty-t285845.html#755781.

I doubt the legitimacy of this SC.
I have never encountered it in GMATPrep or among GMAC's other published materials.
Could you please post a screen shot of the source?

Hi Mitch,

I found this questions in one of the Book from an Indian GMAT prep coaching Institute. It seems that the sentence might have appeared pen-paper based tests.

"Engineers have corrected the defects in the statue's supporting structure that led to its deterioration."


Correct me if I am wrong.

vishalwin wrote:Hi Mitch,

I found this questions in one of the Book from an Indian GMAT prep coaching Institute. It seems that the sentence might have appeared pen-paper based tests.

"Engineers have corrected the defects in the statue's supporting structure that led to its deterioration."


Correct me if I am wrong.

Be very careful with non-GMAC SC questions. (Anything that isn't an Official Guide or mba.com question, more or less.) These questions are often incorrect, and very frequently also test concepts not tested on the actual exam. Sad to say, many of the "correct" answers are not even grammatical!

IMO there are enough GMAC SC questions out there that there's no need to look at any questionable sources, especially since those sources could do more harm than good.