Where and Whence

Where and Whence Where and Whence Where and Whence By Maeve Maddox A few years ago a TV special aired with the title The From Whence We Came Awards. I dont recall what the awards were for. I just remember reacting to the use of from with the word whence. Whence is not synonymous with where. Whence means from what place/source/origin. Examples: The wealthy man never forgot the poverty whence he came. A stranger appeared in our midst. We know not whence he came. Whence came these caterpillars? Clearly, the use of whence in modern English is extremely limited. If you choose to use it, remember that the from is built in. Where has the meaning at what place or in what place. Unnecessary prepositions also show up with where. One often hears Wheres he at? and Whered he go to? instead of the more grammatical Where is he? and Where did he go? The unnecessary to is not as frequent as the added at. Perhaps the contraction of where is into wheres accounts for the speakers need to add the unnecessary at for balance. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How Many Tenses in English?3 Types of Headings10 Types of Hyphenation Errors