Relative adverbs

A.    There are relative adverbs where, when, and why.

The houses where I used to live has been knockdown

Do you remember the time when we all went to a night club?

The reason why we can sell so cheapy is because we buy in bulk.

We use where after nuons like place, area, town, country, house, situation. We use when after nouns like time, day, weekend, moment, period. And we use why after reason.

B.    We can use where and when without a noun.

This is where I used to live.

(the place where I used to live)

Remember when we went to a club.

(the time when we went to a club)

C.     Instead of a clause with where, we can use these patterns.

This is the house in which I used to live.

This is the house that I used to live in.

This is the house I used to live in.

The pattern with in which is rather formal. In formal English yhe house I used to live in is more usual. Instead of when or why, we can use this pattern.

      Do you remember the time (that) we all went to a night club?

      The reason (that) we can sell so cheapy is because we buy in bulk.

D.    Clauses with when or where can be separated off by commas.

We walked up to the top of the hill, where we got a marvelous view.

I’d rather go next week, when I won’t be so bussy.

            We do not leave out where or when here, and we do not use that.

E.     With the noun way, we can use these patterns.

I hate the way in which these adverts pop up on the screen.

I hate the way that these adverts pop up on the screen.

I hate the way in which these adverts pop up on the screen.

The way in which is more informal.

We can also use how.

I hate how these adverts pop up on the screen.

Source: Eastwood, Jhon. Learner’s Pocket Grammar. Oxford University Press.