[Grammar] Where used as a pronoun in relative clauses?

[Dinusha]

1.(a)Statement .....:He works in a office.
..(b)Relative clause: 1.The office where he works (is for rent).
............................2.The office in which he works (is for rent).
Here,'where =in which'. and I think 'Where' is used as an adverb to mean 'in,on,at or to which' in relative clauses.


2.(a)Statement ......:He works near the office.
..(b)Relative clause :The office near where he works.
I think here 'where=the office'


My questions,
....1.Is 'where' used as a pronoun? (as 2.(b) )

....2.Can we us other prepositions of places (except 'in,on,at,to') with 'where' as 2.(b)?
............e.g: 1.The bridge under where we live..
..................2.The Beach behind where i am standing..
..................3.The shop next to(close to/before/opposite/in front of/etc..) where we live..:-D

 

[TheParser]

2.(a)Statement ......:He works near the office.
..(b)Relative clause :The office near where he works.
I think here 'where' =the office



....1.Is 'where' used as a pronoun? (as 2.(b) )

...

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello, Dinusha:

1. Sometimes it is easier to analyze a complete sentence. May I please add a few words?

2. "The [post] office near where he works [is 100 years old]."

a. I THINK that "Where he works" is a noun clause because it is the object of the preposition "near." (And, I believe, "near where he works" is classified as a prepositional phrase, which modifies "[post] office."

b. I THINK that "where" is an indefinite relative adverb -- indefinite because it does NOT have an expressed antecedent. (Compare: "The post office near the bank where [in which] he works is 100 years old." My books call "where" in that sentence a definite relative adverb because it has an expressed antecedent ("the bank").

i. IF I understand my books, your sentence means something like: "The post office near the place in which he works is 100 years old".

3. Do you agree with my opinion that "where" in your sentence does NOT refer to the [post] office?



James



P.S. If I am correct, then all credit goes to R.W. Pence and D.W. Emery in their A Grammar of Present-Day English (1963), pages 164 -165.

 

[Dinusha]

Parser, thank you for your reply!

@3.I can't agree with you. because i think that in your sentence "The post office near the bank where(in which) he work is 100 years old", the post office(NOT the bank) is modified by the relative clause 'near where he works'. in your sentence "near the bank " is a prepositional phrase which has been used to describe the post office.

in my sentence "The [post]office near where he works (is for rent)" ,the [post] office is the antecedent.

 

[Matthew Wai]

in my sentence "The [post]office near where he works (is for rent)" ,the [post] office is the antecedent.

I think 'the [post] office' would be the antecedent if 'where' were replaced with 'which'. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Not a teacher.

 

[Dinusha]

@ Parser, you're absolutely correct. I was confused. and now I realize that.

1. "The office near where he works"=The office near (a place)where he works. or The office near (a place)in which he works.

2.'The office is not the antecedent and it must be 'The place'

thank you again.....:-D