I have two books, of which one is borrowed.
Is this correct? Is there such a phrase?
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2Please support the proposed site for English language learners.– RegDwigнtJul 9, 2012 at 14:33
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1 Answer
Yes, it's grammatically correct, although it would be more usual to say "I have two books, one of which is borrowed".
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Thanks @Christi , I agree "one of which" does sound more usual. I think that is why I doubted
of whichwas correct in my construction.– watkibJul 9, 2012 at 10:17 -
I would use 'of which one...' only if I were then going on to say something about the other(s). Example: I have two books, of which one is mine and one is borrowed.– KarlJul 9, 2012 at 10:29
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"one of which is mine" would also work in that context. "The bank across the street, of which I am the manager, is up for sale" could not be rephrased in the same way, but I must confess I am at a loss as to the rule which means only the inverted form is appropriate in this final case.– ChristiJul 9, 2012 at 10:36
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1It's grammatical, but unlikely in authentic speech. What you would probably hear would be something like 'Yeh, I've got these two books, see? They're not both mine though. I borrowed one from a mate.' Jul 9, 2012 at 10:44
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@Christi: the difference is that one is the subject of the relative clause, but the manager isn't . The bank across the street, the manager of which is a friend of mine, ... is grammatical, if stilted. Jul 9, 2012 at 14:01