[Grammar] In which?

[sorkroto]

Why do we put "in" when we write "in which?" Does that mean we are talking about a place? Like "where?"
I'm confused with "in which" and "where"; sometimes I see "where" in a similar case to ones that used "in which."

These are examples I saw:

1) Prosperity: a condition IN WHICH a person or community is doing well financially.

2) Anorexia: an illness IN WHICH a person has an overwhelming fear of becoming fat, and so they refuse to eat enough and become thinner and thinner.

I found out that when we use 'where' or 'in which', a word that follows them is a noun, unlike how we use a verb after 'which'. Am I on the right track? :roll:

I'd really appreciate if you could explain why we use "IN which", and also how it's different from "where", and just "which" (without in).

Thank you guys! God bless you! :-D

 

[Raymott]

Why do we put "in" when we write "in which?" Does that mean we are talking about a place? Like "where?"
I'm confused with "in which" and "where"; sometimes I see "where" in a similar case to ones that used "in which."

These are examples I saw:

1) Prosperity: a condition IN WHICH a person or community is doing well financially. OR
1) Prosperity: a condition WHICH a person or community is doing well IN, financially. - not as good

2) Anorexia: an illness IN WHICH a person has an overwhelming fear of becoming fat, and so they refuse to eat enough and become thinner and thinner.

I found out that when we use 'where' or 'in which', a word that follows them is a noun, unlike how we use a verb after 'which'. Am I on the right track? :roll:

I'd really appreciate if you could explain why we use "IN which", and also how it's different from "where", and just "which" (without in).

Thank you guys! God bless you! :-D

Yes, "in which" means 'where', but sometimes the 'where' is used colloquially, not to mean a place. For example, you might see "Anorexia is a condition where a person ..." "In which" would be more strictly correct, but 'where' is common.

The reason you need "in which" is that in these sentences a preposition is needed. Compare these sentences:
"This is the city I grew up in; This is the city in which I grew up." These mean the same thing, as does your example 1, and my amendment in blue above.

Here are some more sentences that need a preposition:
"This is the table from which I took the book; This is the table which I took the book from." You can see that "This is the table which I took the book" doesn't work.
"This is the man to whom I owe the money; This is the man [whom] I owe the money to"

 

[sorkroto]

A-ha!!!! Now I completely get it! Thank you so much Raymott!!!!! :-D :up: