spot where

[aysaa]

Hi,

We can omit 'where' after some words such as 'place, anywhere, nowhere,...etc'. For example;

I need a place I can stay for a month.

My question is can we apply this to the noun 'spot' also?

-Spanish researchers fnd the exact spot Julius Caesar was stabbed.

Must I put 'where' after the word 'spot'?

Thanks.

 

[mykwyner]

Sorry, but I need a place I can stay for a month is not common usage it Standard American English. It is awkward and confusing. The clause, I can stay for a month is a relative clause and it should be introduced with the relative pronoun, where.

 

[emsr2d2]

"I need a place I can stay for a month" is absolutely fine in BrE. It would be equally fine with "where" after "place".

 

[aysaa]

Thank you for the answer, emsr2d2.

Could you please tell me can we apply it for the word 'spot'?

-Spanish researchers fnd the exact spot Julius Caesar was stabbed.

Is it OK or must I say 'Spanish researchers fnd the exact spot where Julius Caesar was stabbed' ?

Thanks.

 

[MikeNewYork]

In most cases, pronouns introducing relative clauses (relative pronouns) can be omitted provided they are not the subjects of those relative clauses. Your first example is fine, in my opinion.

In your second sentence the pronoun is optional also. One strange thing about the second example is the word "spot". It likely refers to the physical location of the attack, but it could also mean the place on his body where he was stabbed. +|;-)

 

[Barb_D]

I thought the first sentence was fine too.

 

[probus]

Sorry, but I need a place I can stay for a month is not common usage it Standard American English. It is awkward and confusing. The clause, I can stay for a month is a relative clause and it should be introduced with the relative pronoun, where.

With all respect, I strongly disagree. I even suspect that I had occasion to utter this line in my youth.

 

[probus]

In colloquial AmE, you can generally substitute spot for place and vice-versa. A parking place is the same a a parking spot. The spot where Cassius stabbed Julius is the same as the place where, except for the ambiguity noted by MikeNewYork.

And to answer your original question, where is optional in both cases,