In the mid-1920s the Hawthorne Works

[RonPurewal]

If I remove "changes in working conditions" then below sentence makes sense?
xxx experiments investigating the effects that would have on workers' performance.

nope. this one is nonsense.
"have" needs an object.
Remy has. ––> not a sentence. (he has what?)
Remy has stuff. ––> sentence.

your sentence is like the first of these.

[puntkub]

Hi Instructor,

i have 2 questions would like to ask below.

1.) are these three phase technically different?
(B) investigating
(D) that investigated
(E) to investigate


2. if i changed choice (D) from
(D) that investigated changes in working conditions' effects on workers' performance
to
(D) that investigated the effects that changes in working conditions would have on workers' performance

is this correct?

Thank you
Punt

[tim]

1. If you use different words, then the result is technically different.

2. I would caution you against ever asking "what if" questions about changing parts of verbal questions, because there are often several interconnected parts that cannot be fully accounted for by a single change. Just focus on why the right answer is right and why all the wrong answers are wrong.

[JbhB682]

Hi Experts - I am afraid - i actually chose (E) because of the presence of what

In the mid-1920’s the Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric Company was the scene of an intensive series of experiments that would investigate changes in working conditions as to their effects on workers’ performance.
(B) investigating the effects that changes in working conditions would have on workers’ performance
(E) to investigate what the effects changes in working conditions would have on workers’ performance

In (E) - the bit in blue is a giant modifier.

This blue modifier acts as an object to the verb "investigate" within the preposition "to investigate ___"

These modifiers called - WH Subordinate clauses - can itself be subjects of sentences or or objects of the verbs

Examples of Wh-Suborindate clauses

(i) When are you coming IS a question [WH-subordinate is a subject of a sentence]
(ii) I am investigating what did you bring [WH-subordinate is an object]
(iii) I am investigating WHO is the killer [WH-subordinate is an object]

In (B) - the modifier in red - is modifying the noun "Effects"

But in (B) - the noun "Effects" is missing a verb, no ?

Where is the verb for "Effects" ?

Thus I preferred (E) > (B)

[Whit Garner]

Hi jbhB682!

You've actually brought up a few different questions/points, so I'll start with your last question first as it is the easiest and is also the reason why you eliminated the right answer.

But in (B) - the noun "Effects" is missing a verb, no ?

Where is the verb for "Effects" ?

The word "effects" in this sentence doesn't need a verb - it is the object of the participial modifier "investigating." What are the experiments doing? They're investigating. What are they investigating? The effects. There is nothing grammatically that would require a verb here. (Nothing says that effect has to be a subject of something; it's just a noun).

Next I'd like to clarify your use of what and other WH- words, both in terms of part of speech and in standard use.

Examples of Wh-Suborindate clauses

(i) When are you coming IS a question [WH-subordinate is a subject of a sentence]
(ii) I am investigating what did you bring [WH-subordinate is an object]
(iii) I am investigating WHO is the killer [WH-subordinate is an object]

Something important to note is that all of the wh- words can be a little annoying in terms of parts of speech. They do NOT, however, need to be involved in clauses (subordinate or otherwise). I should also note that your three examples aren't consistent with typical American English usage. For the first example, if you're trying to show someone example text, then you'd quote that and that entire quote would be the Subject:

"When are you leaving?" is an example of a question you might ask in English.

For your second and third examples, the words "what" and "who" would be properly used as a pronouns, but you'd have to change the syntax:

I am investigating what you brought. and I am investigating who killed the victim.

Here, what are you investigating? You're investigating a thing or a person (in this case, the thing is "what" and the person is "who"). Note that your versions were still in the form of a question "what did you bring?" and "who is the killer?" When we put those words into the body of a sentence, we don't use the question phrasing - we move to a more active voice.