a situation in which/when

[Ulysses]

Hi, I need to know whether I can use 'when' in place of 'in which' in the following sentence:

This is a situation in which no single party possesses a majority of seats in the House of Commons

Could I change it to something like this:

This is a situation when no single party possesses a majority of seats in the House of Commons

 

[BobK]

Many teachers (and probably all examining bodies) would prefer 'in which'. I'm not a fan, and tend to say "where" or "when"; none of them is ideal - but this isn't the sort of forum in which I should say why I think so!

b

 

[Raymott]

Hi, I need to know whether I can use 'when' in place of 'in which' in the following sentence:

This is a situation in which no single party possesses a majority of seats in the House of Commons

Could I change it to something like this:

This is a situation when no single party possesses a majority of seats in the House of Commons

No, you'd need "where", not "when".

 

[2006]

Hi, I need to know whether I can use 'when' in place of 'in which' in the following sentence:

This is a situation in which no single party possesses a majority of seats in the House of Commons

Could I change it to something like this:

This is a situation when no single party possesses a majority of seats in the House of Commons

My opinion is that a situation is not a 'when' or a 'where', although those two words are not infrequently used when referring to a situation.

I think a situation is a '(in) which' or a 'that'.

So I would keep your original sentence, or say something like 'This is a situation that has no single party possessing a majority........'.