the proper use of which

[sevdalisk]

What is the proper usage for the word 'which': "The car on the hill which is hard to climb", for example.
I'm under the impression that 'which' can not modify a word in a prepositional phrase? In the example above, the proper
read would be 'the car is hard to climb' and not 'the hill is hard to climb'? Thank you, Garth

 

[Allen165]

NOT A TEACHER.

Some people will tell you that "which" is wrong in your sentence and should be replaced with "that," but their opinion is a minority one. I do, however, think that changing "which" to "that" would make the sentence sound better.

 

[5jj]

I'm under the impression that 'which' can not modify a word in a prepositional phrase.

You have the wrong impression.

Goldilocks sat on Daddy Bear's chair, which was too hard.

 

[sevdalisk]

thanks for the reply...how about......."my Aunt in the city who writes to me often" Can I use the word 'who' after the prep phrase?

 

[5jj]

Yes, though if you have only one aunt in the city, you'll need a comma after 'city'. The word 'aunt' does not need a capital letter initially, unless it's part of a name - 'My Aunt Mary'.

 

[emsr2d2]

Bear in mind that neither "The car on the hill which is hard to climb" nor "The car on the hill that is hard to climb" is a complete sentence unless it is the answer to a question which probably begins "Which car ...?"

 

[sevdalisk]

thanks again for your words of wisdom!

 

[Mark_000]

"My aunt in the city, who writes to me offen" If we write the sentence this way, "who writes to me offen" will be an oppositive, correct? If not, why we need add a comma. Thanks.

 

[emsr2d2]

"My aunt in the city, who writes to me often" If we write the sentence this way, "who writes to me often" will be an oppositive, correct? If not, why we need add a comma. Thanks.

- Spelling of "often".
- Again, that's not a complete sentence. "My aunt, who writes to me often, rarely visits."