舟動之穿林吟嘯行

麻煩的WHERE

where當作連接詞，特別是用來連接「關係」的狀況，有時候很麻煩。

1.)

先談簡單一點的。where 有兩種意思，若讀者能都讀得出以下兩句中的 where 的意義，在區辨子句為「疑問」或「關係」的涵意上，應該比較不會有什麼問題（哈，偏偏這兩句的句型相似，可見 usage 比 grammar 重要得多）：

a.) Love is everywhere, he knows. But the question is where he can find it.

b.) The Egyptian Bazaar is where tourists head to buy spices and dried fruits.

2.)

有時 where 意指 whereas; while on the contrary，大概是中古英文晚期才演變出來的用法：Where Roman and Byzantine art had striven to achieve space in its simplest form, the North worked for interior space. (SOED6)，以現代英文來說最直接的選字就是 while，稍微正式一點的文體可能用whereas 呈現對比關係，美式辭典中也可找到類似的兩例：Where facts are few, experts are many. ∥ Where others are weak, he is strong. ∥ That model has an attractive design, where this one is more dependable. 另一例 Where a calculator on the ENIAC is equipped with 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons, computers in the future may have only 1,000 vaccuum tubes and perhaps weigh 1.5 tons.

3.)

和主要子句對照，表達出一種條件關係，在台灣國、高中最常見拿來講解的用例就是「有志者，事竟成」這句諺語：Where there's a will there's a way.事實上，採用 when 來表達，亦無不可，基本上同樣也是「在 A 狀況下，B 就會發生」的意涵。該諺語有時會簡化如下：Max has no idea of how to get the money to repair his boat, but where there's a will.

4.)

where 之前能不能加 in 或其他介系詞？照理來說——不能！但很多人都會這麼用，因為意思接得起來，例如 Paradise is exactly like where you are right now. 彷彿 Fools rush in where fools have been before. 可是很多人都接受這種語句了（所以光學 grammar 不夠，一定要進階到 usage 的層次）。

5.)

where 和 in which 之間的爭議。在較為口語、隨性的語句中，大多數會採用 where，我個人的看法是與音節數有關。AHD 提出一個語句：Show me an example where government intervention in the market has worked.很明顯這是比較隨性的口語，因此在2001年的統計調查中，AH Usage Panel 投票表決後發現認可該句的人有60%。此外，Garner 也提出一個句子：I've deliberately chosen an example where this unspeakable cluster did not stand out. 由於 I've 的縮寫形式通常出現在較隨意的口語中，所以後面跟著 where，而不是 in which。

in which 大多出現在「公告」：A student can no longer repeat a course in which a C or higher grade is earned. 或「學術論文、較嚴肅的教科書」：This calculation is based on data from a study in which a group of patients with insomnia were treated with either eszopiclone or placebo.

6.)

where 和 when 之間的爭議。Bernstein 提出一個學童使用的句子：ADDITION is when/where you add two and two.，這是很不成熟的說話方式，文法沒錯，但就是不夠成熟，然而語言經驗不足學童只能用如此不成熟的句型去「定義」事物。如果換成是語言學家，他（她）應該會用更成熟的語句去定義一個詞彙，ADDITION is the process of calculating the total of two or more numbers.

然而，學童的用例很明顯是受到 Noon is when the sun is directly overhead. ∥ Home is where you can relax and laugh hard. 等表達定義時的句型所影響。

7.)

和前項不同，可以確定是誤用，顯然和 when 混淆了。現今在報章中偶爾都可能找到類似的錯誤，像 Garner 就舉出一個錯例：If ever there was a year where athletes burned and raged at close of day, it was this one. 此例句中的 where 應改用 when 才對。

——舟動（2015.02.26）