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Azz Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

The dishes which are

Can one say

a. The key which is for opening the main doors is lost.
b. The key which is to open the main doors is lost.

c. The dishes which are for using at official dinners have to be washed.
d. The dishes which are to use at official dinners have to be washed.

Many thanks.
  

Top answer

My suggestions: The key to the main doors has been lost; The dishes for use at official dinners have to be washed . Avoiding the complete relative clause often makes the sentence more easily read. However, both a.

  • My suggestions: The key to the main doors has been lost; The dishes for use at official dinners have to be washed .
  • Avoiding the complete relative clause often makes the sentence more easily read.
  • However, both a.
  • and b.
  • are okay.
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4 Answers
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My suggestions: The key to the main doors has been lost; The dishes for use at official dinners have to be washed. Avoiding the complete relative clause often makes the sentence more easily read. However, both a. and b. are okay. Neither c. nor d. is correct.
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A is correct, although you need commas. C is awkwardly said and should be reworded. B and D are not correct at all.
This is how I would write them:

a. The key, which is for opening the main doors, is lost.
b. The key to open the main doors is lost.
c. The dishes, which are for official dinners [only], have to be washed.
d. The dishes used at official dinners have to be
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Your sentences are not wrong, but they do not sound natural.
Here are examples of more natural English.

The key to the main doors has been lost.
The main-door key has been lost.
Someone has lost the main-do
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Doctor DA is correct, although you need commas. C is awkwardly said and should be reworded. B and D are not correct at all.
A needs commas if you consider the relative clause non- defining. If you consider the relative clause defining, no commas are required.
B is possible.

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