Sometimes I understand it, sometimes not. It is one of the relative
clauses, I think.
Please explain more about relative clauses such as 'of which',
'by which', 'on which', 'where', etc.
Roger
Woodham replies:
relative
clauses
We use relative clauses and relative pronouns like
who, which, where to introduce them in order
to identify people and things or to give more information about
them.
That boy who is standing at the bus stop over there
is my little brother.
My new camera which I bought on the internet last
week is broken.
The High Street jeweller's which bought and sold silver
and where you could get a good price by bargaining has
closed down.
where / in which / at which
In which and at which are sometimes used as more
precise sounding alternatives to where to introduce relative clauses
after nouns referring to place:
Near where I live there's a wood where you can find woodpeckers.
Near where I live there's a wood in which you can find
woodpeckers.
The fancy-dress party, where the men all turned up as
gangsters, was held in Manhatten.
The fancy-dress party, at which the men all turned up
as gangsters, was held in Manhatten.
when / on which
On which is sometimes used as a more precise sounding alternative
to when to introduce relative clauses after nouns referring
to time:
The day when I'm forced to give up riding will be
a sad day for me.
The day on which I'm forced to give up riding will
be a sad day for me.
position of prepositions
Note that in questions the preposition is more frequently placed
at the end of the clause. It can also be placed before
the relative pronoun where it sounds more formal:
In which street does he live?
Which street does he live in?
He lives in the street where all the houses are surrounded
by high fences.
He lives in the street in which the houses are surrounded
by high fences
For which organisation does he work?
Which organisation does he work for?
He works for a spy network, about which I know nothing.
He works for a spy network (which) I know nothing
about.
Note from examples above and below that putting the preposition
at the end of the clause is usually also possible in statements:
The people with whom he worked have all been arrested.
(Formal)
The people (who) he worked with have all been
arrested. (Informal)
This is the bedroom in which he was murdered. (Formal)
This is the bedroom (that) he was murdered in.
(Informal)
Note from these examples, that in statements when the preposition
is placed at the end of the clause, we can use that
instead of who or which or we can omit the relative
pronoun completely!
preposition + relative pronoun
A wide range of prepositions are often used in prepositional structures
with relative pronouns who and which to introduce
relative clauses. In most cases, the prepositions retain their original
meaning. Compare the following:
That post marks the beginning of the mined area, beyond
which it is inadvisable to go.
In the clearing lay the badly injured soldier, above whom
birds of prey were circling.
We passed a giant toadstool in the forest, under which
fairies were sitting.
They had collected the sap from the sugar maple trees, from
which maple syrup is manufactured.
Before us we could see a forest orchid of which there
are many varieties.
An Austrian naturalist, with whom I worked closely
in the Eighties, discovered this particular orchid.
Note that when the relative pronoun is placed immediately
after the preposition we can't use who instead of
whom, and we can't use that or zero pronoun either.
If
you would like more practice more please visit our in the You, Meand Us part of our
website.
