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Taka Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Where
Do these below sound natural?
The little kid could not reach the shelf where the cake was.
The little kid could not reach the shelf which the cake was on
The little kid could not reach the shelf on which the cake was.
The little kid could not reach the shelf where the cake was.
The little kid could not reach the shelf which the cake was on
The little kid could not reach the shelf on which the cake was.
Top answer
kid is a very informal word. which is a considerably more formal word. which after a preposition is even more formal.
- kid is a very informal word.
- which is a considerably more formal word.
- which after a preposition is even more formal.
- It isn't natural to mix the two kinds of words, so only the first sounds really natural.
- You have, perhaps unknowingly, listed them from the most to the least natural.
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3 Answers
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kid is a very informal word. which is a considerably more formal word. which after a preposition is even more formal.
It isn't natural to mix the two kinds of words, so only the first sounds really natural. You have, perhaps unknowingly, listed them from the most to the least natural.
CJ
It isn't natural to mix the two kinds of words, so only the first sounds really natural. You have, perhaps unknowingly, listed them from the most to the least natural.
CJ
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TakaThen if it were 'child' instead, would they all sound OK?They would be more consistent in register, but even so shelf on which sounds more literary than conversational, so it depends what sort of style you're aiming at.
And if you want something more literary, even the last one needs a stronger verb than to be. That was at t
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