Room (in which) to do

Question

??1. There is no room to drink a beer.2. There is no room in which to drink a beer.3. Many of these children live in housing so small that there is no room to eat together.4. Many of these children live in housing so small that there is no room in which to eat together.5. A space to eat and share food is important for all children but infants and toddlers have particular needs.6. A space in which to eat and share food is important for all children but infants and toddlers have particular needs.Q1) I'm not really sure whether there must be "in which" in 1,3,5. Is there no need to add "in which" and are 1 3 5 still correct English?Q2) Whether there is "in which" or not, does each pair (1,2), (3,4), (5,6) have the same meaning?Q3) It seems like only when "to infinitive" modifies a noun like place, space, nowhere, anywhere.., there is no need to add a preposition as in 1,3,5. What do you think?

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

fire1??1. There is no room to drink a beer.

This means that you are in a space so cramped that you can't get the bottle to your lips. This is a strange thing to say.

fire12. There is no room in which to drink a beer.

This is a rather awkward way of saying that none of the chambers in the building can be used for beer-drinking. This is also an odd thing to say because it is not immediately clear what attributes such a room would have to possess.

fire13. Many of these children live in housing so small that there is no room to eat together.

This means that they would have to eat in separate rooms, but that is not immediately clear because "no room" is read to mean "not enough area" and not "no enclosed area within a building". If you are trying to say that no one room in the house will hold them all at one time for a meal, you have to say it a different way.

fire14. Many of these children live in housing so small that there is no room in which to eat together.

A more natural way of saying this is "Many of these children live in housing so small that there is no one room where they can all eat together."

fire15. A space to eat and share food is important for all children but infants and toddlers have particular needs.

There is a comma missing: "A space to eat and share food is important for all children, but infants and toddlers have particular needs."

fire16. A space in which to eat and share food is important for all children but infants and toddlers have particular needs.

This is also good. The "in which" is a bit clearer and more formal.

fire1Q3) It seems like only when "to infinitive" modifies a noun like place, space, nowhere, anywhere.., there is no need to add a preposition as in 1,3,5. What do you think?

Yes, but not "room" as in four-walled section of a house. I hope a teacher shows up to tell us the rule.

Room (in which) to do

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