which
英 /wɪtʃ/美 /wɪtʃ/
pron. 代词 / det. 限定词
哪个;哪些;……的;那个
词义说明
which 的本义是“哪个/哪些”,用于在有限范围内进行选择。作为疑问代词,它直接询问特定的人或物,例如“Which book do you want?”。由此引申为关系代词,引导定语从句,指代前文提到的名词,如“The book which I bought is interesting.”。进一步引申为限定词,修饰名词,表示“哪个”,如“Which way should we go?”。在非限定性定语从句中,which 补充说明主句信息,如“He passed the exam, which made his parents happy.”。所有这些用法都围绕“在已知集合中指明或补充说明特定对象”的核心意义。
词源解析
which 源自古英语 hwilc,由 hwā(谁)和 līc(身体、形状)组合而成,字面意思为“什么形状的”,后演变为“哪一个”。与 who、what 同源。记忆时可联系“what + like”的合成概念,即“像什么”,进而理解其选择与指代的功能。
使用场景
which 广泛用于日常口语、学术写作、新闻报道和法律文本。在口语中,常出现在选择题问句,如“Which one do you prefer?”;在学术写作中,多用于引导定语从句以精确指代,如“The method which was proposed...”;新闻报道中用于引出事实或事件,如“The decision, which was made yesterday, has caused controversy.”;法律文本中,which 常用于正式定义和条款,如“the contract, which shall be governed by...”。不同场景下,which 的语气中性,但正式程度随文体变化。
语法要点
which 作为疑问代词时,可直接作主语或宾语,如“Which is yours?”;作为限定词时,后接名词,如“Which car is yours?”。作为关系代词时,引导定语从句,在从句中可作主语、宾语或介词宾语,如“The house in which I live is old.”。易错点:在非限定性定语从句中,which 不能与 that 互换;介词前置时只能用 which,不能用 that;且 which 不能用于指人(指人用 who/whom)。
近义辨析
which 与 what 都可用于提问,但 which 用于有限范围内的选择,what 用于无限或未知范围。例如:“Which color do you like?”(限定几种颜色)vs “What color do you like?”(开放式)。与 that 相比,在限定性定语从句中可互换,但 that 不能用于非限定性从句,且介词后只能用 which。与 who 相比,which 用于事物,who 用于人。
注意事项
which 为中性词,无褒贬色彩,适用于所有语域。常见误用包括:在非限定性从句中用 that 代替 which(错误);在介词后误用 that;在指人时误用 which。另外,口语中 which 有时用于反问,如“Which is worse?”。正式写作中,非限定性 which 从句前需加逗号。
高频搭配
- which one
- 哪一个
- which way
- 哪条路
- which of
- ……中的哪一个
- in which
- 在其中
- for which
- 为此
- of which
- 其中
- to which
- 到那个
- which one is
- 哪个是
句子示例
| Which of these books is yours? | 这些书中哪一本是你的? |
| I don't know which way to go. | 我不知道该走哪条路。 |
| The house which is on the corner is for sale. | 拐角处那栋房子待售。 |
| He said he was busy, which was true. | 他说他很忙,这是真的。 |
| Which dress did she choose? | 她选了哪件连衣裙? |
| The reason which he gave was not convincing. | 他给出的理由不能令人信服。 |