Difference – Are ‘At Which,’ ‘To Which,’ and ‘After Which’ Synonymous?

difference

I thought about it and it seems they can often be substituted for one another? Is this the case? When would you use each of them?

  1. He glared back at his brother, to which his brother told him to go out of the house with him.
  2. He glared back at his brother, after which his brother told him to go out of the house with him.
  3. He glared back at his brother, at which his brother told him to go out of the house with him.

Are these sentences interchangeable?

Best Answer

I had answered the question about this on the ELU site. I am taking the liberty of reposting my answer here:

The trick to knowing how to use; of which, at which, in which, to which, from which (etc.) is to analyse the prepositional phrases, phrasal verbs, verbs and prepositions in a sentence and then see how it can be transformed:

He /spoke of/ war and peace and many other topics that day. The topic /of which he spoke/ was complex. The verb here that means to speak about a topic is /to speak/ of a topic/: to mention

The party /at which/ he spoke/ was noisy. Phrase: A party is held /at a place/. It is implied.

The situation /in which/ we found ourselves was dire. Phrase: /to find oneself /in a situation.

The bonds /from which/ we broke free were tight. phrase: to /break free/ from bonds.

The town /to which/we were driving was 50 ks away. phrase: to /drive/ to a place.

Summary (and not a complete answer but a general one): The preposition depends on the verb that takes a preposition, a phrasal verb that includes a preposition, or it depends on the prepositional phrase used. Also, there are many other prepositions that can be paired with which: under, during, about, over, etc.

Related Topic