of which 虽跟 whose 类似，但用法不尽人意

英语中 who 有对应的所有格形式 whose，而 which 和 that 没有对应的所有格，因此 whose 是否能指代无生命的物体一直是一些人争论的话题，有的人认为 whose 只是 who 的所有格形式，只用来指代有生命的先行词人或有的时候动物如狗等，但它不能用来指代无生命的物体，如树或车等。
一、尽管有些人不喜欢用 whose 来指代无生命的物体，但其实事实是 whose 是唯一一个英语单词可以用来指代无生命的，历代诗人如莎士比亚和简·奥斯汀等都一直在用，例如：
I could a tale unfold whose lightest word/Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood, …
我可以告诉你一桩事，最轻微的几句话，都可以使你魂飞魄散，使你年轻的血液凝冻成冰，…
On reaching the house, they were shown through the hall into the saloon, whose northern aspect rendered it delightful for summer.
他们一到房子，就被带到大厅里，走进了酒馆，那里的北面使夏天的景色很愉快。

二、当然那些不使用 whose 来表示无生命的物体的所有格的人可能会使用 of which 来表示所有格。在某些情况下你或许得使用 of which，但大多数时候你的句子会变得生硬，听起来很不自然，感觉“句子流”被切断了，例如：

of which 作从句的主语：

Congress passed the statute, the purpose of which was to lower taxes.

国会通过了这项法令，其目的是降低税收。

The car the lines of which are sleek is beautiful.
线条圆滑的那辆车很漂亮。
of which 作从句的宾语：
Congress passed the statute, the purpose of which everyone expected was to lower taxes.
国会通过了这项法令，每个人都期待这项法令的目的是降低税收。
The car the lines of which I love is beautiful.
我喜欢的那辆车线条很漂亮。
再试比较：
1. 他正在看那部我以前记不起片名的电影。
a) He was watching the movie whose title I couldn’t remember earlier.
b) He was watching the movie, the title of which I couldn’t remember earlier.
解析：感觉句b)很不自然，且“句子流”有被切断的感觉，又如：
2. 这是一个时机已经到来的想法。
a) It was an idea whose time had come.
b) It was an idea the time of which had come.
解析：句b)读起来很不自然，感觉牛头不对马嘴。
三、下面看一下用 whose 指代无生命物体的几个例句，从语法角度是可以接受的，而且句子流畅通顺，丝毫没有生硬的感觉：
1. The car whose windshield wipers weren't working was driving in the fast lane.
挡风玻璃雨刷坏了的那辆车在快车道上行驶。
2. The tree whose leaves were falling seems to be dying.
叶子掉下来的那棵树似乎快要死了。
解析：它们在语法上都是可以接受的。
四、当然如果有人还是耿耿于怀或很纠结，我们还可以通过用其他的单词改写句子来避免使用 whose，例如句1和句2可以改写为：
句1改写为：
Although the car’s windshield wipers weren’t working, it was driving in the fast lane.
尽管汽车的挡风玻璃雨刷坏了，但它还是在快车道上行驶。
The car with broken windshield wipers was driving in the fast lane.
挡风玻璃雨刷坏了的汽车在快车道上行驶。
句2改写为：
The tree with fallen leaves seems to be dying.
那棵在落叶的树似乎快要死了。
Being falling leaves, the tree seems to be dying.
落叶飘落，那棵树好像快死了。
总结一下，除非你觉得使用 of which 不会别扭，否则尽量少用或不用 of which，那么就堂堂正正地用 whose 或者通过使用其他的句型或单词来重写句子，这其实也是英语水平高低的一种体现。

五、容易犯的错误

1. 书名是《来自内部》的这本书写于20世纪90年代。
✔: The book, whose title is From Within, was written in the 1990s.
✔: The book, the title of which is From Within, was written in the 1990s.
❌: The book, which's title is From Within, was written in the 1990s.
2. 他驾驶一辆消音器需要更换的汽车。
✔: He drives a car whose muffler needs replacement.
✔: He drives a car that needs a new muffler.
❌: He drives a car that its muffler needs new one.
词或词组辨析：

1. harrow [ˈhærəʊ] 意为“耙，耙地，折磨，使苦恼”等
2. rotten [ˈrɒtn] 意为“腐烂的，恶劣的”等

3. muffler [ˈmʌflə(r)] 意为”围巾，消音器“

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