Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - where

Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. You use where to ask questions about the place something is in, or is coming from or going to. Where did you meet him?... Where’s Anna?... Where are we going?... ‘You’ll never believe where Julie and I are going.’—‘Where?’ QUEST 2. You use where after certain words, especially verbs and adjectives, to introduce a clause in which you mention the place in which something is situated or happens. He knew where Henry Carter had gone... If he’s got something on his mind he knows where to find me... Ernest Brown lives about a dozen blocks from where the riots began. CONJ • Where is also a relative pronoun. ...available at the travel agency where you book your holiday... Wanchai boasts the Academy of Performing Arts, where everything from Chinese Opera to Shakespeare is performed. PRON 3. You use where to ask questions about a situation, a stage in something, or an aspect of something. If they get their way, where will it stop?... It’s not so simple. They’ll have to let the draft board know, and then where will we be? QUEST 4. You use where after certain words, especially verbs and adjectives, to introduce a clause in which you mention a situation, a stage in something, or an aspect of something. It’s not hard to see where she got her feelings about herself... She had a feeling she already knew where this conversation was going to lead... I didn’t know where to start. CONJ • Where is also a relative pronoun. ...that delicate situation where a friend’s confidence can easily be betrayed... The government is at a stage where it is willing to talk to almost anyone. PRON 5. You use where to introduce a clause that contrasts with the other parts of the sentence. Sometimes a teacher will be listened to, where a parent might not. = whereas CONJ