'Where' Versus 'In Which'

Today, we’ll be looking at the words “which” and “where.” In some sentences, either one is correct, but which one you choose depends on your audience.

'In which' versus 'where'

Consider these two sentences: “This is the store at which I met my friend” and “This is the store where I met my friend.” As you can probably guess, “which” is more formal than “where.”

Relative pronouns

In the two sentences about the store, the words “which” and “where” both function as relative pronouns. Relative pronouns, such as “who” and “that,” introduce dependent clauses. (1) So in the sentence “The dog that I adopted needed its shots,” the clause “that I adopted” is a dependent clause headed up by the relative pronoun “that.” The relative pronouns “which” and “where” specifically describe place.

When to use 'which'

If you want to discuss where you adopted the puppy, you might say, “The pound at which I found Spot was on State Street.” That’s a pretty formal-sounding sentence, though. You might say that sentence in a courtroom or in another formal situation.

Other than maintaining formality, there are two valid reasons you might want to use “which” instead of “where.” Many times, you can add a preposition before the relative pronoun “which” to make your sentence quite precise. (2) For example, “The house at which I saw you” has a slightly different meaning from “The house in which I saw you.” In the second example, you were definitely inside the house. If you use “where,” you lose the subtle distinction: “The house where I saw you” could mean you were inside or outside the house.

The other reason you might want to use “which” is to avoid using a preposition at the end of a sentence. That isn't wrong, but quite a few people still think it's wrong, so it can be distracting or risky in some situations, like writing a cover letter for a job application. For example, the sentence “This is the desk in which the papers are stored” is probably safer than “This is the desk the papers are stored in.” However, in that sentence, a more natural-sounding solution is to use "where," as in...

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