Google
English-Test.net
Find penpals and make new friends today!
 
officer of a monastery; high-ranking member of a religious order
money
pad
prior
worry
TOEIC test: Word games: Free Online Nouns Quiz Answer
 
Username
Password
 Remember me? 
Search   FAQ   Memberlist   Profile   Private messages   Register   Log in 

What does 'which' here mean?



 
ESL/EFL Worksheets and Handouts for Students Printable, photocopiable, clearly structured
Designed for teachers and individual learners
For use in a classroom, at home, on your PC
ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
Did you see the tabloid in today's paper? The Prime Minister has resigned! | Difference between "job" and "work"
Listening exercises
Message
Author
What does 'which' here mean? #1 (permalink) Wed Apr 25, 2007 15:27 pm   What does 'which' here mean?
 

Hi,guys

Here,there is one article I read. I have one question. Could you help me?

Quote:
Secondly, most businesses focus on their core activities and cooperate with other businesses to obtain other required services, so as to meet customers’ requests. However, existing inter-business electronic systems, mostly following Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) standard, are implemented with proprietary data formats and communication protocols. Nevertheless, in today’s dynamic environment, businesses are very likely to change their partners for the purpose of reducing costs or improving product quality, which will in turn incur much cost resulted from incompatible systems or applications. Hence it is imperative that businesses need an architecture that supports loosely integration of heterogeneous applications, which will lower the cost of system integration and thus make businesses more competitive.


What does 'which' mean here? My answer is 'architecture'. Am I right?

Thanks in advance.

Greetings!

Maggie Laughing
_________________
In my view,the more mistakes someone else corrects me,the more I could learn.
And welcome to my blog: http://0rz.tw/793HL
Maggie
I'm here quite often ;-)


Joined: 10 Apr 2007
Posts: 328
Location: Taiwan

What does 'which' here mean? #2 (permalink) Wed Apr 25, 2007 16:03 pm   What does 'which' here mean?
 

I think you are right that the writer meant it to go with "architecture" in this case. The "which", however, should support "heterogeneous applications". It is one of the grammar rules this writer didn't follow...Technical writers often try to squeeze too much into a sentence, making it unclear. This is one of the cases.
Diverhank
I'm here quite often ;-)


Joined: 25 Apr 2007
Posts: 362
Location: California, USA

How do you use the English Prepositions correctly?Learn how to explore English words! Subscribe to free email English courseEnglish grammar exercises — improve your English knowledge and vocabulary skillsAre you a native speaker of English? Then you should read this!
What does 'which' here mean? #3 (permalink) Wed Apr 25, 2007 19:51 pm   What does 'which' here mean?
 

Hi Maggie,

In the passage you have quoted you'll see that there is a comma before the relative pronoun 'which' and thereby indicates that this is a non-defining relative pronoun or doesn't refer directly to the previous word. My feeling is that the 'which' in your sentence:

Quote:
an architecture that supports loosely integration of heterogeneous applications, which will lower the cost of system integration and thus make businesses more competitive.


refers to the whole idea of what this type of architecture achieves.

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Book Expressions
Alan
Co-founder
Alan Townend

Joined: 27 Sep 2003
Posts: 9191
Location: UK

Display posts from previous:   
Did you see the tabloid in today's paper? The Prime Minister has resigned! | Difference between "job" and "work"
ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms What does 'which' here mean? All times are GMT + 1 Hour
Page 1 of 1
Latest topics on English Forums
Grammar Quesion: This is the first time ... to Londonthe usage of the verb wishLet's start vs Let's get startedCould anybody please help shed some light on this?a couple of english idiomsmeaning of "defending champions"Incorrect sentences: The man speaking to Vickey yesterday...sole use by the following people or of the following people?What do 'dumbed down' and 'high brow' mean here?A few questions about English grammarThe use of definite article "the" before proper nounsExpression: to get married inShould I ask myself not to speak 'bye bye'?Meaning of "Driving me bananas"Unit vs Modulestay away vs keep away; "pass away" vs "fade away"Difference between "Not Given" and "Not been given"?What is the name for this phenomenon?What does 'which' here mean?

Discover English-test.net
Waving their arms aboutIntent vs intentionMeaning of "walk"Confused exercises: I think you'll find that the inconvenience of the diet is...Personal Profile (Unit 3)GRE Preparation: Learn English Vocabulary: English NounsGRE preparation test: Free online word games: Noun QuizDefine imposture, wizardry, heyday, materialism, gourmet, inebrietyDefinition of all, this, that, mine, them, us, which, those, it, eachFree ESL Quiz Online: Idioms with the phrasal verb breakSpeak any English: American Slang Words (16)audiobooks on sale

 
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Subscribe to FREE email English course
First name E-mail