<p>Sentence: In those cities in which public transportation is adequate, fewer traffic problems occur and pedestrians are rarely involved in accidents. </p>
<p>Underlined Portions: A-those cities, B-in which, C-are rarely, D-involved in, E-no error</p>
<p>The correct choice is E, but I put B because I thought it should be ''where''...''In those cities where..''. Why is ''where'' wrong here?</p>
<p>In this particular situation “where” would be an acceptable alternative to “in which”. Indeed in informal speech most of us would say “where”. On the SAT you’re not asked if some alternative is perhaps better than the one presented. Rather you’re asked if the presented phrase is correct. And “in which” is almost always correct. Moreso, in formal writing “in which” is “preferred” to “where”. Well – probably most of the time.</p>
<p>For the long answer see “grammar girl” (a recommended web site for grammar questions). She explains it all. The relevant URL is: [Grammar</a> Girl : “Where” Versus “In Which” :: Quick and Dirty Tips](<a href=“http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/where-versus-in-whichadverbs.aspx]Grammar”>http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/where-versus-in-whichadverbs.aspx)</p>
<p>They do this all the time. Don’t change in which for places to where on the sat. Simple as that!</p>
<p>actually where=in which ,that’s it</p>
<p>Wording preference has no place in the SAT. Often there are multiple ways of wording something (where vs in which) but both are grammatically correct. Therefore, while your solution works within the sentence, there was no error to begin with. An error is different than wording preference. If there’s no error then you shouldn’t change things even if it sounds “better” your way.</p>