Grammar Question

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1

<p>If I say:</p>

<p>The dogs and cats, which are on the roof, are making a fuss.</p>

<p>Does that mean both dogs and cats are on the roof or just the cats? </p>

<p>To generalize the question: Does a relative pronoun only modify the noun directly preceding it or can it modify an entire group of nouns?</p>

2

<p>I think its modifies both. </p>

<p>Let's isolate cats and make it singular:</p>

<p>The cat, which is on the roof, is making a fuss. I think the key verbs are plural, it is modify the entire group of nouns.</p>

3

<p>I don't understand your reasoning.</p>

4

<p>Neither do I.</p>

<p>I'm probably wrong anyway, but this is my gut feeling. My gut is very reliable because it eats a lot of chicken.</p>

5

<p>I'm pretty sure that your statement implies that both the dogs and the cats are making a fuss. I don't have perfect grammar but I'm pretty sure that's how it goes.</p>

6

<p>Same here. My gut is awesome...and it was right.</p>

7

<p>I'm asking this question because I remember someone once said that relative pronouns only refer to it's directly proceding noun.</p>

8

<p>I don't understand a word of what you're saying, but I can tell you that in your OP, both the cats and the dogs are on the roof. That is pretty much standard English. Please don't throw big words at me like relative and proceding...let alone the word noun.</p>

9

<p>I think the confusion rests on whether dogs and cats are to be considered as a compound entity or as two separate entities. If we consider the subject as 2 separate entities then there may be a question as to which "dogs" or "cats" we are referring to. </p>

<p>Correctly, context would dictate whether said subject is a compound entity or two separate entities. However, a single sentence in isolation does afford us the ability to distinguish between these two categorizations. Hence, unless there is some other contextual cue in the sentence we must assume that "cats and dogs" is a single, albeit compound, entity. </p>

<p>Hence, everyone is correct. Relative pronouns only refer to the directly preceding noun, lest we have a situation of an ambiguous reference. But the directly preceding noun is a compound entity hence it is the case that both the dogs and the cats are on the roof and both the canines as well as the felines are making a fuss (who says "making a fuss" anymore?). </p>

<p>Enjoy that chicken-perhaps that's why the dogs and cats are making a fuss?</p>

10

<p>i would say "which are BOTH on the roof" just to clarify</p>

11

<p>That sentence is just unclear -- most people would interpret it to mean that the dogs and cats were all on the roof, but it is definitely vague. Interpretation for a sentence like this usually depends on context.</p>

12

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