The houses on Canal street, of which many had been damaged in the storm, looked abandoned.
Is the modifier "of which many… storm" correct?
I know that "on canal street" is a prepositional phrase so it cannot be the antecedent of "which".
also, I can say that "of which many… storm" is a subgroup modifier which modifies "houses."
But I doubt whether the modifier is properly used. My friend suggested this:
The houses on canal street, many of which had been damaged in the storm, looked abandoned.
Although I know that this is correct and more appropriate, I cannot figure out what is wrong with the original sentence.
Is the modifier "of which many… storm" correct or not, and why so?
Best Answer
First of all, I would have said the same as your friend. Though, both solutions are grammatically possible.
Without the relative clause, you would have two sentences.
The use of a relative clause turns "many of them" into "many of which" or also "of which many".
or: