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Moon7296 Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

a preposition plus a relative pronoun

1. t had long been something of a mystery where, and on what, the northern fur seals of the eastern Pacific feed during the winter, which they spend off the coast of North America from California to Alaska.

Q) Is "on" in #1 thought to be connected with "feed" just like #3?
Actually I've seen a preposition plus a relative pronoun structure like #2
2. That is the way in which we proceed.
[That is the way. We proceed in the way]
[That is the way which we proceed in]]
[That is the way in which we proceed]]
But it's unfamiliar to me why "on" is with "what" in #1.

3. t had long been something of a mystery where, and what, the northern fur seals of the eastern Pacific feed on during the winter, which they spend off the coast of North America from California to Alaska.
  

Top answer

moon7296 Q) Is "on" in #1 thought to be connected with "feed" just like #3? Yes. The mysteries are: Where do they feed?

  • moon7296 Q) Is "on" in #1 thought to be connected with "feed" just like #3?
  • Yes.
  • The mysteries are: Where do they feed?
  • On what do they feed?
  • = What do they feed on?
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1 Answers
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moon7296Q) Is "on" in #1 thought to be connected with "feed" just like #3?
Yes. The mysteries are:

Where do they feed?
On what do they feed? = What do they feed on?

However, #3 does not work properly as a whole because "on" seems to also apply to "where".

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