In the sentence ‘That restaurant the roof of which is painted yellow is going out of business.’, the phrase ‘of which’ may seem complicated at first, but it is a common structure used in relative clauses. This article will break down the usage and grammar of ‘of which’ in this sentence to help you understand it better.
1. What is a Relative Clause?
A relative clause is a part of a sentence that gives more information about a noun. It usually starts with a relative pronoun, such as ‘who,’ ‘which,’ ‘that,’ or ‘whose.’ In the sentence above, the relative clause ‘the roof of which is painted yellow’ gives additional information about the noun ‘restaurant.’
2. The Structure of ‘of which’
‘Of which’ is used to indicate possession or a relationship between the noun and the information that follows. In this case, the phrase ‘the roof of which’ means ‘the roof that belongs to the restaurant.’
Here, ‘which’ refers to ‘restaurant,’ and ‘of which’ shows that the roof is a part of the restaurant. The ‘which’ acts as the subject of the clause, and the phrase ‘is painted yellow’ gives more detail about the roof.
3. When to Use ‘of which’
‘Of which’ is typically used when referring to something that belongs to or is a part of a larger entity. It is more formal and is often found in written English. In informal speech, you may hear ‘whose’ used in place of ‘of which,’ though ‘of which’ is grammatically more precise in this case.
For example: ‘The car whose engine is broken is mine.’ Alternatively, you could say: ‘The car the engine of which is broken is mine.’ Both convey the same meaning, but the latter is more formal.
4. How ‘of which’ Functions in the Given Sentence
In ‘That restaurant the roof of which is painted yellow is going out of business,’ the relative clause ‘the roof of which is painted yellow’ provides more information about the restaurant. Specifically, it tells us that the roof of the restaurant is yellow, and that detail is important for the context of the sentence.
In this sentence, ‘of which’ shows the relationship between ‘restaurant’ and ‘roof’—it tells us that the roof belongs to the restaurant, and then adds the detail that the roof is painted yellow.
5. Conclusion
In summary, the phrase ‘of which’ is a useful structure in English for indicating possession or a relationship between a noun and additional information. In the sentence ‘That restaurant the roof of which is painted yellow is going out of business,’ ‘of which’ connects the restaurant with its roof and provides more context about the roof. Understanding the use of ‘of which’ can help you construct more precise and formal sentences in English.
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