Author Edith Wharton thoroughly understood the society ____. A. she had grown up B. which had she grown up in C. in which she had grown up D. she had grown up in it (TOEFL)
我初学英语时就已牢记 the house in which I lived 和 the house which I lived in(我住过的房子)这两个结构都是正确的。但上面试题的命题者却把 B 判为错误,这是我无法理解的。而且我从 CGEL 中查到了后一结构的例句:
the table(which) the boy crawled under 男孩在下面爬的那张桌子
在定语从句中，当关系代词 which 作介词的宾语时，从语法上说，既可以把介词放在 which 之前，也可以放在 which 之后。但是，把介词放在关系代词之前(in which, to whom)的结构是正式语体。在上面的试题中之所以不能选 B，并不是因为介词 in 放在了 which 之后，而是因为主语和谓语的语序不对。如果把 had 放在主语 she 之后，那么，选 B 也就是正确的了（但多用于非正式语体）。请对比下列例句：
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The documents for which they were searching have been recovered. (Chambers) 他们寻找的文件已经找到了。
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This is a subject about which we might argue for a long while. (Sinclair) 这是一个我们可能要争论很长时间的问题。
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Collet's gaze moved now to a shelf on which were stacked several hundred audio cassettes, all labelled with dates and numbers. (Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code) 他把目光转移到堆满几百盒音响磁带的架子上，这些磁带都标有日期，也都编了号。（《达·芬奇密码》）
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This is the room(which) Churchill was born in. 这是丘吉尔出生的房屋。
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She spent all evening talking about her latest book, which none of us had ever heard of.
(PEU) 她花了整个晚上谈她最近的新书,关于这本书,我们没有一个人听说过。
但是, TOEFL 等测试专家只承认正式语体的用法为正确用法。因此, 我们在 TOEFL 试题中所能查到的, 都是介词 + which 的用法, 而无 which... + 介词的用法。请考察下面的实例:
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The extent of the harmful effect of locoweeds on animals depends on the soil ____ the plants grow. A. which B. which in C. in which D. in (TOEFL)
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Dams can be very beneficial to the areas ____. A. in which they are built B. building them where C. which they are built D. where are they built (TOEFL)
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Janet Collin's struggle to make a place for herself in ballet is the kind of life story ____ a fascinating novel might be written. A. of B. by C. for whom D. about which (TOEFL)
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Detergents vary in composition depending on the cleaning task ____ intended. A. which they B. for which they are C. they D. which are they(TOEFL)
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Hundreds of wildlife refuges have been established throughout North America to provide animals with a safe place which to live. (TOEFL)
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Government reports, examination compositions, legal documents and most business letters are the main situations ____ formal language is used. A. in which B. at what C. on which D. in that(全国四级,01.6-46)
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By nine o'clock, all the Olympic torch bearers had reached the top of Mount Qomolangma, ____ appeared a rare rainbow soon. A. of which B. on which C. from which D. above which(全国高考福建卷,08-31)