[Grammar] Which or in which

[mrmvp]

Which sentence is correct?

The diagram illustrates the way in which cement is made.

The diagram illustrates the way which cement is made.

The diagram illustrates the way that cement is made.

The diagram illustrates the way cement is made.

 

[tedmc]

The diagram illustrates how cement is made.
The diagram illustrates the production process of cement.

 

[Phaedrus]

Which sentence is correct?

The diagram illustrates the way in which cement is made.

[strike]The diagram illustrates the way which cement is made. [/strike]

The diagram illustrates the way that cement is made.

The diagram illustrates the way cement is made.

The first, third, and fourth sentences are correct. The second sentence attempt is ungrammatical.

 

[mrmvp]

Could you please explain when to use "in which"?

I always find phrases ( I do not know what they called)

For example,

In which, in that, by which, and on which.

 

[tedmc]

Cement is made in this way.
The way in which cement is made is illustrated in the diagram.

Imagine removing the preposition "in" from the above sentences.

 

[mrmvp]

I think it is not correct.

The way in which cement is made is illustrated in the diagram

As you can see above, if I omit the preposition "in" then, the sentence is grammatically incorrect because there are two verb without connectors.

I am still confused about using "in which."

 

[Rover_KE]

Could you please explain when to use "in which"?

Compare:

This is the room I sleep in.
This is the room in which I sleep.

This is the watch I rely on.
This is the watch on which I rely.

I keep my door key in this pocket.
This is the pocket in which I keep my door key.

You should look through this window.
This is the window through which you should look.

Are you getting the idea? You try these:

This is the ladder I climbed up.
This is the lamp I read by.
This is the cup I drink from.
This is the pen I write with.

 

[mrmvp]

Compare:

This is the room I sleep in.
This is the room in which I sleep.

This is the watch I rely on.
This is the watch on which I rely.

I keep my door key in this pocket.
This is the pocket in which I keep my door key.

You should look through this window.
This is the window through which you should look.

Are you getting the idea? You try these:

This is the ladder I climbed up.

This is the ladder by which I climbed.If I say "up which I climbed" sounds Incorrect to me.

This is the lamp I read by..

This is the lamp by which I read.

This is the cup I drink from.

This is the cup from which I drink.


This is the pen I write with.

This is the pen with which I write.

Why were most of the sentences began which "this"?

 

[mrmvp]

Are these sentences correct?

I gave him my car by which he drove yesterday.

I met the man by whom I could buy the car.

My friend Sami on whom I depend.

My friends find a manhole on which we find treasure.

What do "in which" and "by which" call in English?

 

[mrmvp]

Your version is wrong. You need to stick with the preposition used in the original.

So it should be this is the ladder up which I climbed.

 

[mrmvp]

Which one of these is formal in speaking and writing?

This is the room I sleep in.

This is the room in which I sleep.

 

[tedmc]

Which one of these is formal in speaking and writing?

This is the room I sleep in.

This is the room in which I sleep.

I would say: the room where I sleep.

 

[Phaedrus]

Which one of these is formal in speaking and writing?

This is the room I sleep in.

This is the room in which I sleep.

The second sentence is the more formal of the two. Interestingly, it is possible to say:

This is the room wherein I sleep.
This diagram illustrates the way whereby cement is made.

People don't generally talk or even write that way nowadays. Historically, however, such formulations were more common.

I have brought up those possibilities for two reasons:

1. You seem interested in formal language. Those constructions, with "wherein" and "whereby" and the like, are extremely formal.
2. The fact that "the way whereby cement is made" works is, I think, suggestive of why "[strike]the way which cement is made[/strike]" does not work.