Hello !
One of the things about the grammer that gets me totally confused is the Diffrence between adverb and conjunction when it comes to determining part of speech of , e.g where or when in the followimg sentences .
I've taken these sentences from the Oxford English Dictionary :
Where as conjunction :
This is where I live
Thats where you are wrong
Where as adverb :
It's one of the few countries where people drive on the left .
We then moved to paris , where we lived for six years .
thanks
**********
NOT A TEACHER **********
Hello, Mr. Mckane.
(1) Please do not feel bad that this matter confuses you, for
it also confuses the experts who write books and dictionaries.
Of course, it
really confuses me.
(a) For example, you say that the most respected Oxford English
Dictionary calls it a conjunction. Some
other dictionaries and grammar books prefer to call
where a
so-called relative adverb.
(i)
relative adverb --
relative because it "relates" one part of the
sentence to the other part;
adverb because it serves as an adverb
in the second part.
(2) According to my books, your first two sentences are analyzed as:
This / is (linking verb) / where I live (noun clause that serves as a
subject complement). That is, it refers to the subject
This. Your
dictionary calls
where a conjunction. Fine. It does connect the
two parts, so I guess "conjunction" is OK. But
where also serves as
as an adverb modifying
live. That's why some people prefer to
call it a relative adverb. *** Same analysis for "That / is/ where you are
wrong."
*****
I like your last two sentences because they are "easier." I think most
books agree that this time
where is, indeed, a relative adverb:
...countries where people drive on the left. As you can see,
where clearly
refers to
countries. My favorite book says that
where is just a substitute
for
in which: countries in which people drive on the left. *** Same
analysis for ...to Paris, where [in which] we lived for six years. (
Where
modifies the verbs
drive and
lived.) (
Where people drive on the left is an
adjective clause modifying
countries;
Where we lived for six years is an
adjective clause modifying
Paris.)
Thank you
P. S. To make things even more confusing, some books say that your
sentence
This is where I live is just a short way to say
this is the place
where I live. In that case,
where would be a relative adverb for sure.
But without
a place, it would --according to your dictionary -- be a
conjunction. Fine.
P.P.S.
Maybe the best way to understand the difference between its use
as a so-called conjunction and a relative adverb is to post one sentence
with
where and ask what part of speech it is in that particular sentence.
I am sure that you will receive many interesting answers. Keep posting
one sentence each day until you feel confident that you understand the
difference.
