8.73 Place clauses

Sometimes, when you want to talk about the location or position of something, you need to use a clause rather than a simple adjunct. The kind of clause you use is called a place clause.

8.74

Place clauses usually begin with 'where'.

• He said he was happy where he was.
• He left it where it lay.
• ...an official policy which encouraged people to stay where they were.

'Where' is also used in relative clauses. This use is explained in paragraphs 8.104 to 8.106.

8.75

In formal or literary English, 'where'-clauses are sometimes put in front of a main clause.

• Where Kate had stood last night, Maureen now stood.
• Where the pink cliffs rose out of the ground there were often narrow tracks winding upwards.

8.76

When you want to say that something happens or will happen in every place where something else happens, you use 'wherever'.

• Soft-stemmed herbs and ferns spread across the ground wherever there was enough light.
• In Bali, wherever you go, you come across ceremonies.
• Wherever I looked, I found patterns.

'Everywhere' can be used instead of 'wherever'.

• Everywhere I went, people were angry or suspicious.

8.77

'Where' and 'wherever' are sometimes used in front of adjectives such as 'possible' and 'necessary'. When they are used like this, they mean 'when' or 'whenever', rather than 'where'. For a full explanation of this use, see paragraph 8.24.