Usage of "of which", "in which", "for which", "in that"?

Usage of "of which", "in which", "for which", and "in that" in GMAT verbal questions assess the grammar skills of the candidates. Candidates usually get confused between "of which", "in which" or "for which" instead of the plain and simple "which" as a relative clause. GMAT Grammar is primarily required for sentence correction questions. Grammar rules for sentence correction will help candidates to select the correct answer. Employing a variety of structures correctly will help you get a better score on GMAT grammar. We'll examine relative clauses today.

Which, that = things
Whose = people + things
Where = places
When = times

What is a Relative Clause?

A relative clause is one kind of dependent clause. It has a subject and verb, but it cannot stand alone as a sentence. It is also known as the “adjective clause”. Its function is like an adjective. It provides more information about a noun. A relative clause always begins with a “relative pronoun,” which substitutes for a noun, a noun phrase, or a pronoun when sentences are combined.

The relative pronouns are:

Pronoun	Stands For	Uses
who	people	substitutes for subject nouns/pronouns (he, she, we, they)
whom	people	substitutes for object nouns/pronouns (him, her, us, them)
whose	people or things	substitutes for possessive nouns/pronouns (his, hers, ours, theirs)
that	people or things	can be used for either subject or object can only be used in restrictive relative clauses (see below)
which	things	can be used for either subject or object can be used in non-restrictive relative clauses can also be used in restrictive relative clauses, though some people don’t like this use

How to Use Relative Clauses?

Candidates can use relative clauses to provide extra information in their GMAT exam. This can either be a defining clause or provide unnecessary but interesting added information non-defining clause.

Relative clauses can be introduced by:

A relative pronoun: who (whom), which, that, whose
No relative pronoun
Where, why, and when instead of a relative pronoun

Candidates can consider the following when deciding which relative pronoun to use:

Is the subject or object or possessive of a relative clause?
Does it refer to a person or an object?
Is the relative clause a defining or non-defining relative clause?

Use of “of which”, "in which", "for which", "in that"

For example:

Researchers have announced that the magnetic fields emitted by one manufacturer’s security surveillance system, of which type there are 200,000 worldwide.

Here, it can be seen that the relative clauses may have prepositions. In this particular question, it is seen that the relative pronoun is the object of that preposition. The prepositions are to be corrected in this question. So, the question stated "of which type there are 200,000 worldwide" in the sentence: There are 200,000 worldwide "of" this type.

It can be said: There are 200,000 worldwide of this type. But the statement is wrong.

For the sentence where the object of the preposition is a relative pronoun, then the preposition will come before the pronoun.

“Whose” can be used with both people and things. But “of which” is mostly used to compare things:

For instance: The house, the garden of which sloped down to the beach, was enormous.
The house, whose gardens sloped down to the beach, was enormous.

Note: The use "of which" is often formal in tone.

The things of which we rarely speak.
In the meeting, we discussed three topics, the details of which are shown below.
The play, whose style is rigidly formal, is typical of the period. =The play, the style of which is rigidly formal, is typical of the period.

Relative pronouns with prepositions

When who(m) or which have a preposition, the preposition can come at the beginning of the clause:

For instance:

I had an uncle in Germany, from who(m) I inherited a bit of money.
We bought a chainsaw, with which we cut up all the wood.
I live in the city where I study.
I need the wheat flour of which I bought 20 kg. two days ago.
I need the wheat flour 20 kg. of which I bought two days ago.
The bar in Barcelona where I met my wife is still there.
The bar in Barcelona that / which I met my wife in is still there.
The summer when I graduated from university was long and hot.

"In which" means "where", but sometimes the "where" is used colloquially. It can be used sometimes not to mean a place.

For instance:

This is the city which I grew up in.
This is the city in which I grew up.
The summer in which I graduated was long and hot.
The bar in Barcelona in which I met my wife is still there.
I live in the city in which I study.
To our knowledge, it is the only body in the solar system which currently sustains life, although several other bodies are under investigation.
I went to a musical theater in which a traditional Chinese opera was held.
I saw a movie in which the villain goes to jail.
There were ten chairs, four in which were booked.
This is the report in which the case was registered.

With relative clauses of place and time, we can use where and when instead of the preposition + which.

For instance:

Tuesday is the day when (or: on which) I go to the fitness club.
The school where (or: at which) I first studied English is in Thassos.
Chairs, which are found in many places of work, are often uncomfortable to sit on.
I sat on an uncomfortable chair, which was in my office.
Who ate the cake which I bought this morning?
You use that to introduce an explanation for which you use the statement.
The shaded region to the right of the break-even point represents quantities for which the company makes a profit.
For which refers to the reason for performing an action.
The boy misbehaved at the shop, for which his mother scolded him.
You can buy the application form here, for which you will have to pay INR 10.

“In that” can be used as an intrinsic property of a thing, or a person.

For instance:

Deliberately imitating the technique of Louis Armstrong, jazz singer Billie Holiday’s approach to singing was to use her voice like an instrument, in that she ranged freely over the beat, flattened out the melodic contours of tunes, and, in effect, recomposed songs to suit her range, style, and artistic sensibilities.

Billie Holiday’s approach to singing was to use her voice like an instrument, in that she ranged freely over the beat, flattened
Billie Holiday’s approach to singing was to use her voice in a similar way to how other musicians play instruments, in ranging freely over the beat, flattening
Billie Holiday approached singing by using her voice like other musicians played instruments, ranging freely over the beat, flattening
Billie Holiday used her voice in the same way that other musicians use their instruments, in that she ranged freely over the beat, flattening
Billie Holiday approached singing by using her voice like other musicians' Instruments, ranging freely over the beat, flattening

There is a clear cause-and-effect relationship between how Billie Holiday used her voice as other musicians used their instruments. Thus, the phrase "in that' would be the correct usage.

For instance:

There's the house (that, which) I'd like to buy.
It was everything (that) he had ever wanted.
There were only a few (that) really interested him.
To our knowledge, it is the only body in the solar system that currently sustains life, although several other bodies are under investigation.
I live in the city that / which I study in.
The summer that / which I graduated from university in was long and hot.
I have massive respect for choreographers working in that restrained language
I did a lot of sitting in that wood.
The book is good, in that it's well written.
You use in that to introduce an explanation of a statement

Suggested GMAT Verbal Questions

SHARE ON FACEBOOK SHARE ON TWITTER

Usage of "of which", "in which", "for which", "in that"?

What is a Relative Clause?

How to Use Relative Clauses?

Use of “of which”, "in which", "for which", "in that"

Comments

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWS LETTER