Ashley Tran
Please help me with this grammatical structure. Thank you :)

I have come across this sentence in a book: ' My parents arrived in New York in 1951, where they stayed for the rest of their lives'

I learned that 'where' is a relative pronoun replacing New York, but why it does not stand next to New York in the sentence, but stand next to 'in 1957'. Please help me to understand this grammatical structure. Thank you so much.

Apr 12, 2017 11:01 AM
Comments · 4
2
Ashley: Normally it is a good idea to put relative pronouns immediately after the nouns they refer to, although native speakers often don't bother to do so. While this may occasionally cause confusion, your example is unambiguous. There can be no doubt as to the antecedent, since "where" can only refer to a place.
April 27, 2017
2

My parents arrived in New York in 1951.  They stayed in New York for the rest of their lives.

hmm   boring.  'New York' repeats.  Use a pronoun 'it'

My parents arrived in New York in 1951.  It was where they stayed for the rest of their lives.

hmm   Too many words in two sentences.  Can I make it shorter?  Use 'where' as a relative pronoun for 'it was in New York' where...

My parents arrived in New York in 1951, where they stayed for the rest of their lives'


April 12, 2017
Thank you for your answer. Does it mean that I do not have to put relative pronouns next to the nouns they refer to? 
April 12, 2017
The ''where'' still refers to '' New York'',  it's ok you can still put ''in 1991'' before ''in New York'' or at the beginning of the sentence, if it helps you with understanding
April 12, 2017
Ashley Tran
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English, Vietnamese
Learning Language
Chinese (Mandarin), English
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