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Wholegrain Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
What does where refer to?
<<The quoted text is from testimony to the US House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Financial Services by Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System. http://financialservices.house.gov/banking/72498fed.htm >>
............. There is a significant business in oil-based derivatives, for example. But unlike farm crops, especially near the end of a crop season, private counterparties in oil contracts have virtually no ability to restrict the worldwide supply of this commodity. (Even OPEC has been less than successful over the years.) Nor can private counterparties restrict supplies of gold, another commodity whose derivatives are often traded over-the-counter, where central banks stand ready to lease gold in increasing quantities should the price rise.
What does where refer to?
............. There is a significant business in oil-based derivatives, for example. But unlike farm crops, especially near the end of a crop season, private counterparties in oil contracts have virtually no ability to restrict the worldwide supply of this commodity. (Even OPEC has been less than successful over the years.) Nor can private counterparties restrict supplies of gold, another commodity whose derivatives are often traded over-the-counter, where central banks stand ready to lease gold in increasing quantities should the price rise.
What does where refer to?
Top answer
wholegrain Nor can private counterparties restrict supplies of gold, another commodity whose derivatives are often traded over-the-counter, where central banks stand ready to lease gold in increasing quantities should the price rise. What does where refer to? over-the-counter, I would imagine.
- wholegrain Nor can private counterparties restrict supplies of gold, another commodity whose derivatives are often traded over-the-counter, where central banks stand ready to lease gold in increasing quantities should the price rise.
- What does where refer to?
- over-the-counter, I would imagine.
- CJ
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15 Answers
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wholegrainNor can private counterparties restrict supplies of gold, another commodity whose derivatives are often traded over-the-counter, where central banks stand ready to lease gold in increasing quantities should the price rise.
What does where
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Hi,
Perhaps it refers to the practice of 'trading derivatives over the counter'.
Clive
Perhaps it refers to the practice of 'trading derivatives over the counter'.
Clive
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wholegrainBut isn't it an adjective?No. It's a adverb of place in your example sentence. It tells where the trading is done.
You might want to think of it this way:
... traded over-the-counter, a place [in which / where] central banks ...
It's OK for where to refer back to an adverb of place:
I'll leave t
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Hi CJ,
To my ear, 'where' in the original example sounds a bit more like the definition-oriented 'where' in a sentence like 'Chess is a game where you have to think carefully'.
Clive
To my ear, 'where' in the original example sounds a bit more like the definition-oriented 'where' in a sentence like 'Chess is a game where you have to think carefully'.
Clive
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Clive'where' in the original example sounds ...Could be. I find the usage of 'where' in the original example a bit weird. I can substitute 'because' there and get the same basic meaning. There's even a case to be made for a reference to 'gold'.
...restrict supplies of gold, ..., in the case of which central banks ...
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Where seems appropriate, but do we all agree that it basically stands for the defining version of "in which" and it refers to gold? Alan Greenspan is well versed in rhetoric so I doubt there is a questioning to do about his English.
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Hi,
do we all agree that it basically stands for the defining version of "in which" Yes
and it refers to gold? I'm not so sure about that.
You think the meaning is basically this?
. . . gold. . . , in which/where central banks stand ready to lease gold in increasing quantities should the price rise.
Seems odd to me.
Clive
do we all agree that it basically stands for the defining version of "in which" Yes
and it refers to gold? I'm not so sure about that.
You think the meaning is basically this?
. . . gold. . . , in which/where central banks stand ready to lease gold in increasing quantities should the price rise.
Seems odd to me.
Clive
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