Difference Between Which and In Which in English Grammar

Which vs In Which in English Grammar

Thoughin whichis a variation of the wordwhichthere is a difference between their usages. Therefore, we can say thatwhichandin which are two words that are characterized by different usages in the English language. Bothwhichandin whichare relative pronouns. They are, however, at times also used as interrogative pronouns. Out of the two, the wordwhichhas a wider scope in which it can be used. However, the wordin whichcan only be used in specific instances. We will see how different these two terms are in their usages and also get to know about each term in this article.

What does Which mean?

The wordwhichis used as a relative pronoun as well as aninterrogative pronoun. As a relative pronoun,whichis used to give an additional information about a word in the samesentence. For example, look at the following sentence.

I saw the same snake which I saw at my house a few days ago.

In this sentence, the wordwhichis used as a relative pronoun in the sense that it related or identified the snake that was previously seen. The wordwhichis also used in the question formation, such as, ‘Which is the tallest building in the world?’ One thing to remember is that,whichis used to refer to objects, animals, plants, and other living beings. It is not used to refer to human beings. Observe the sentences,

Which of these flowers do you like?

Which is the coolest place in the world?

In the first sentence,whichis used to refer to flowers and, in the secondsentence, whichis used to refer to a place. In the same way,whichis also used as a relative pronoun to refer to things and places. As you can see which can refer to anything as long as we are talking about objects and not people.

When it comes towhichwhat most people find confusing is that whether to use a comma beforewhichor not. You may also have come across sentences that use commas before the wordwhichand sentences that do not use commas before the wordwhich.The comma comes depending on the importance of the information the whichclauseprovides. As we all know, the wordwhichis the first word of a clause that provides additional information. If the information is not essential, then there is a comma before the wordwhichand at the end of the clause too. However, if the information is essential to the sentence and the sentence does not give the correct sense without it, then we do not have commas.

Snoopy, which is very mischievous, is a brave dog.

The table cloth which is pure white stains quickly.

In the first sentence, the comma shows that the information thewhichclause provides is not essential. The dog’s bravery is not connected to its mischievousness. However, the second sentence with no comma beforewhichshows that the information is essential.

What does In Which mean?

On the other hand,in whichis used as a combination of thepreposition‘in’ and the relative pronoun ‘which.’ Look at the following sentence.

的块,在医院里有一个事故my friend was admitted.’

The same sentence can be said differently usingin whichas,

‘In the hospital there is an accident block in which my friend was admitted.’

Thus,in whichis used as an easy way to introduce a relative clause after a noun that refers to a place.

Look at the following sentence.

‘It was a time when people used stones.’

The same sentence can again be said differently usingin whichas,

‘It was a time in which people used stone.’

Thus,in whichis used as an easy way to introduce a relative clause after a noun that refers to time.In whichcan also be used as a interrogative pronoun. Look at the following example.

In which storey does he live?

As you can see,in whichcan also be used as an interrogative pronoun as long as we are speaking about a place or a time.

What is the difference between Which and In Which in English Grammar?

Definitions of Which and In Which:

Which:Which is a relative pronoun that is used to give additional information about a word that is in the same sentence.

In Which:In which is a specific type of relative pronoun that is used to give information about a place or a period.

Usage:

Which:Which can be mainly used a relative pronoun. However, it is also used as an interrogative pronoun at times.

In Which:In which is a relative pronoun that is used to refer to a period or a place. In which can also be used as an interrogative pronoun.

Images Courtesy:

1. FlowersbyAlvesgaspar(CC BY-SA 3.0)
2. Upmarket flats in Bristol, England, UKvia Wikicommons (Public Domain)