Collins Cobuild English Grammar (155 page)

That is
a major reason why
they were such poor countries.

Whereby
is used in defining clauses after words such as
arrangement
and
system
.

…
the new system whereby
everyone pays a fixed amount.
Counselling is
a process whereby
the person concerned can learn to manage the emotional realities that face them.

USAGE NOTE

8.108
    Other expressions can be used in defining clauses in place of
when
,
where
,
why
, and
whereby
.

After
time
you can use
at which
instead of
when
.

…
the time at which
the original mineral was formed.

After
place
,
room
,
street
, and words such as
year
and
month
, you can use
in which
instead of
where
or
when
.

…
the place in which
they found themselves.
…
the room in which
the meeting would be held.
…
the year in which
Lloyd George lost power.

After
day
you can use
on which
instead of
when
.

Sunday was
the day on which
we were expected to spend some time with my father.

After
reason
you can use
that
or no pronoun instead of
why
.

…
the reason that
non-violence is considered to be a virtue.
That’s
the reason
I’m checking it now.

After words such as
situation
,
stage
,
arrangement
, or
system
you can use
in which
instead of
where
or
whereby
.

…a situation
in which
there’s a real political vacuum.

Additional points about non-defining relative clauses

8.109
    In written English, you can use a non-defining clause, that is, a clause that simply gives extra information, to say that one event happened after another.

For example, instead of saying
I gave the book to George
.
George then gave it to Mary
, you can say
I gave the book to George, who gave it to Mary
.

I sold my car to a garage,
who
sold it to a customer at twice the price.
The hot water ran on to the ice,
which promptly melted
.
Later he went to New Zealand,
where he became a teacher
.

commenting on a fact

8.110
    You can use a non-defining clause beginning with
which
to say something about the whole situation described in a main clause, rather than about someone or something mentioned in it.

These computers need only tiny amounts of power,
which means that they will run on small batteries
.
I never met Brando again,
which was a pity
.
Before the exam she was a little tense,
which was understandable
.

commenting on a time or situation

8.111
    When you want to add something to what you have said, you sometimes use a non-defining clause beginning with a preposition,
which
, and a noun, to add extra information. The noun is often a word like
time
or
point
, or a very general word for a situation like
case
or
event
.

They remain in the pouch for some seven weeks,
by which time
they are about 10 cm long.
I was told my work was not good enough,
at which point
I decided to get another job.
Sometimes you may feel too weak to cope with things,
in which case
do them as soon as it is convenient.

Nominal relative clauses:
What you need is
…

8.112
    When it is difficult to refer to something by using a noun phrase, you can sometimes use a special type of relative clause called a
nominal relative clause
.

What he really needs
is a nice cup of tea.
Whatever she does
will affect the whole family.

8.113
    Nominal relative clauses that begin with
what
can be used.
What
can mean either
the thing that
or
the things that
.

What he said
was perfectly true.
They did not like
what he wrote
.
I believe that is a very good account of
what happened
.
I’m
what’s generally called a dustman
.

People often use a
what
-clause in front of
is
or
was
to say what kind of thing they are about to mention.

What I need
is a lawyer.
What you have to do
is to choose five companies to invest in.

These structures are explained in paragraphs
9.28
to
9.30
.

For another use of
what
in nominal relative clauses see paragraph
8.116
.

8.114
    Nominal relative clauses that begin with
where
are usually used after a preposition or after the verb
be
.
Where
means
the place where
.

I crossed the room to
where she was sitting
.
He lives two streets down from
where Mr Sutton works
.
This is
where I crashed the car
.

8.115
    Nominal relative clauses beginning with
whatever
,
whoever
, or
whichever
are used to refer to something or someone that is unknown or indefinite.

Whatever
is used only to refer to things.
Whoever
is used to refer to people.
Whichever
is used to refer to either things or people.

Whatever
,
whoever
, and
whichever
can be used as pronouns.
Whichever
is often followed by
of
.

I’ll do
whatever you want
.
I want to do
whatever I can
to help them.
You’ll need written permission from
whoever is in charge
.
People will choose
whichever of these systems they find suits them best
.

Whatever
and
whichever
can also be used as determiners.

She had had to rely on
whatever books were lying around there
.
Choose
whichever one of the three methods you fancy
.

For more information about
whatever
,
whoever
, and
whichever
see paragraph
8.42
.

8.116
    
What
can be used with the same meaning as
whatever
, both as a pronoun and a determiner.

Do
what you like
.
We give
what help we can
.

The main use of
what
in nominal relative clauses is explained in paragraph
8.113
.

Nominal
that
-clauses

8.117
    A
nominal
that
-clause
is a type of subordinate clause that functions like a noun, and is introduced by
that
. When this type of clause is used to say what someone says or thinks (e.g.
She said
(that) she was leaving
), this grammar refers to it as a
reported clause
.

There are some verbs and adjectives, however, that do not refer to saying or thinking, but that are followed by
that
-clauses because they refer to actions relating to facts: for example, checking or proving facts.

He checked that both rear doors were safely shut.
Research with animals shows that males will mother an infant as well as any female.

Here is a list of verbs that are not verbs of speech or thought, but can be followed by a
that
-clause:

arrange

check

demonstrate

determine

ensure

indicate

pretend

prove

require

reveal

show

Note that
determine
can also be a verb of thought, and
reveal
can also be a verb of speech. See paragraphs
7.30
,
7.38
, and
7.48
.

Arrange
and
require
are used with a
that
-clause containing a modal or a subjunctive.
Arrange
can also be used with a
to
-infinitive.

They had arranged
that I would spend Christmas with them
.
They’d arranged
to leave at four o’clock
.

Demonstrate
,
prove
,
reveal
, and
show
can also be followed by a clause beginning with a
wh
-word that refers to a circumstance involved in a fact.

She took the gun and showed
how the cylinder slotted into the barrel
.

Prove
,
require
, and
show
can also be used in the passive followed by a
to
-infinitive.

No place on Earth can
be shown to be safe
.

If you want to mention another person involved in these actions, you can put an object after
show
, use
to
after
demonstrate
,
indicate
,
prove
, and
reveal
, and use
with
after
arrange
and
check
.