[Grammar] relative pronoun, which

What do you think is the antecedent of which in the following example?

He began digging again with more energy. A tear grew in his eyes. Not because the dumpster smelled rank, which it did, but because he felt horrible for having let his best friend down.

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Thanks in advance!

dumpster, for sure - you could rephrase this with less emphasis as 'not because of the dumpster, which smelled rank, but because ...'

Not because the dumpster smelled rank, which it did

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The antecedent is not Dumpster because if it is, what is the antecedent of it then? To me, the antecedent seems to be smelled rank; however, a verb phrase as an antecedent is kind of new to me, which was again the reason for this query. Any thoughts on this?

bertietheblue said:

dumpster, for sure - you could rephrase this with less emphasis as 'not because of the dumpster, which smelled rank, but because ...'

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Surely, in the phrase "which it did", 'it' refers to the dumpster.
If so, how can 'which' also refer to the dumpster?

One possibility: 'Which' refers to 'rank', 'it' refers to 'dumpster', and 'did' refers to 'smelled'.
"Not because the dumpster smelled rank, which it did, but..." = "Not because the dumpster smelled rank, and rank the dumpster smelled, but ..."

Another possibility: 'Which' could refer to "smell rank" if you read it as: "Not because the dumpster smelled rank, and smell rank the dumpster did, but ..."

Naturally, you can make 'which' refer to 'dumpster' by writing a different sentence.

PS: I posted this before I read your (yuria) above post. I agree.

Raymott said:

Surely, in the phrase "which it did", 'it' refers to the dumpster.
If so, how can 'which' also refer to the dumpster?

One possibility: 'Which' refers to 'rank', 'it' refers to 'dumpster', and 'did' refers to 'smelled'.
"Not because the dumpster smelled rank, which it did, but..." = "Not because the dumpster smelled rank, and rank the dumpster smelled, but ..."

Another possibility: 'Which' could refer to "smell rank" if you read it as: "Not because the dumpster smelled rank, and smell rank the dumpster did, but ..."

Naturally, you can make 'which' refer to 'dumpster' by writing a different sentence.

PS: I posted this before I read your (yuria) above post. I agree.

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Oops, wrong again! I'm going to have to stop posting in my fag breaks and limit myself to a few posts when I've got time to read more attentively. Until then, with apologies!

yuriya said:

What do you think is the antecedent of which in the following example?


Thanks in advance!

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***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Good morning, Yuriya.

(1) Thanks for another thought-provoking question.

(2) I found something in Professor George O. Curme's scholarly book:

In descriptive relative clauses that refer to a THOUGHT, AN IDEA, whether

contained in a PROPOSITION, A GROUP OF WORDS, or a single NOUN or

ADJECTIVE, "which" is used with reference to a preceding statement or to

a single noun or adjective.

(3) Then the professor gives examples:

I am getting gray and wrinkled, which is not particularly cheering.

We talked a long while about our boyhood days, after which we had a

good dinner.

When overwrought, which he often was, he became acutely irritable.
( from a novel by Ms. Charlotte Bronte)

(4) Since you are a serious and advanced student, do think about trying

to get a copy of Dr. Curme's two-volume A GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH

LANGUAGE. It was written in the 1930's and is probably out-of-print.

He covers the historical development of English with many examples from

literature. I believe it is what people call a tour de force.

Have a nice day!