[Grammar] English grammar stuff,,,would pls answer this?

[son5018]

Would anybody help me with this sentence pls?


'Superglue' is a thin, runny glue with special molecules which hardens anything it touches.

What does it indicate?
Superglue OR a thin, runny glue?


The sentence comes out of these two sentences I reckon. Is it right?
'Superglue' is a thin, runny glue with special molecules.
+
'Superglue' hardens anything it touches.


AND there's no comma before 'which'. If I put comma before 'which', first, does it make sense and does it make any difference?



Pls....answer me..................I would very much appreciate it.
Thank you very much...^^:-o

 

[Barb_D]

Gramatically the "it" refers to thin, runny glue (which is a bit redundant in itself, actually), but since superglue=thin glue in the sentence, semantically it makes no difference.

I would have used "that" instead of which because it is restrictive. I realize most people these days use "which" for either, but the comma would be incorrect since it does need to be restrictive and the comma would make it non-restrictive.

 

[shoaib 1]

Would anybody help me with this sentence pls?


'Superglue' is a thin, runny glue with special molecules which hardens anything it touches.

What does it indicate?
Superglue OR a thin, runny glue?


The sentence comes out of these two sentences I reckon. Is it right?
'Superglue' is a thin, runny glue with special molecules.
+
'Superglue' hardens anything it touches.


AND there's no comma before 'which'. If I put comma before 'which', first, does it make sense and does it make any difference?



Pls....answer me..................I would very much appreciate it.
Thank you very much...^^:-o

'which' and 'it' qualify 'superglue' which is the subject of the sentence.Using a comma is not advisable in this sentence.If it is used, it will make no difference in the meaning of the sentence.Comma may be used before 'which' when the main clause is split, and the clause between the commas is not integral to the meaning of the sentence. e.g.
"King Lear,which is a tragic play, was written by Shakespeare"
You see the clause starting with 'which' can be omitted without causing any serious trouble to the understanding of the sentence. But if you write:
"The play which you watched yesterday was written by Shakespeare."
Here, you cannot omit the which clause otherwise the meaning of the sentence will be seriously damaged. But 'which' can be dropped to mean the same thing
"The play you watched yesterday was written by Shakespeare

 

[lauralie2]

Comma may be used before 'which' when the main clause is split, and the clause between the commas is not integral to the meaning of the sentence.

Here's my favorite example:

• A suitcase, which has no handles, is useless.
  • Meaning, a suitcase is useless. :lol:

 

[Pedroski]

Why do you say 'which' and 'it' are pronouns of 'Superglue'?

'Superglue' is a thin, runny glue which (glue) hardens anything it touches. Normally, the relative pronoun refers to the adjacent noun. 'it' is trickier. It could mean 'Superglue' or 'thin runny glue'. I don't know how you will decide with certainty. But it's early morning here!

 

[lauralie2]

I agree with Barb_D and Pedroski. Both pronouns refer back to the closest noun,

Superglue is a thin, runny glue with special molecules which hardens anything it touches.

But that's hard to see because the word 'glue' occurs twice, once in the subject as once in the subject complement.

To get a better understanding of the structure, remove the ambiguity by changing the word 'glue',

Superglue is an adhesive material with special molecules which hardens anything it touches.