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Need help understanding this....

vramkissoon

後輩
12 Jun 2013
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Hi Everyone!

I really need help understanding why どこ was used in this sentence: ロシアとフラスと日本の中で、どこがいちばん寒いです か, when どこ means "where" and why いつ is used in this sentence: 季節の中でいつがいちばん好きですか, when いつ means when.

The first example is supposed to say, " Between Russia, France and Japan, which country has the coldest climate?" and for the second example it's supposed to say, " What season do you like best?" Am I not reading these right? Thanks in advance! :)
 
"where" in this case means "which place" (among those mentioned), and "when" means "which season".

That should be フラス I think.
 
So いつ and どこ can both mean "which"? Can't I use どれ or 何 instead?

Oh, and thank you for the correction. I did mean フランス.
 
No, I mean that "where" is asking "which place", and "when" is asking "which time", which in this case means "which season", just as, in English, if we ignore unimportant quibbles about what is the most idiomatic English:

"Between Russia, France and Japan, where is coldest?" = "Between Russia, France and Japan, which place is coldest?"
"Of all the seasons, when do you like best?" = "Of all the seasons, which season do you like best?"

I hope someone else will answer the question about making the sentences with どれ or 何.
 
どれ can be used, 何.cannot.

This is simply based on categorization of the topic. Russia, France and Japan are places. That's why どこ can be used. But you're also listing them. So どれ can also be used. (Of all these places, which is the coldest?). They are places, not things/objects, so 何 is inappropriate and does not make sense.
 
In the first example, neither どれ nor 何 can be used. ロシアとフランスと日本 are not "things" even if that they are listed previously. As for the second one, both どれ and 何 can be used.

Another way to say those sentences are to use どの, just like "which" in English.

ロシアとフランスと日本の中で、どの国(= which country)がいちばん寒いですか

季節の中でどの季節(= which season)がいちばん好きですか
(This sounds redundant, though. Just "どの季節がいちばん好きですか" without 季節の中で or "一年の中でどの季節がいちばん好きですか" is more natural.)
 
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