Why are "Das Zimmer, worin ich stehe, ist leer." and "Das Zimmer, in dem ich stehe, ist leer" both correct
But "Der Stil, worin man schreibt, ist wichtig" is wrong with the correct form being "in dem" rather than "worin"?
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Sign up to join this communityWhy are "Das Zimmer, worin ich stehe, ist leer." and "Das Zimmer, in dem ich stehe, ist leer" both correct
But "Der Stil, worin man schreibt, ist wichtig" is wrong with the correct form being "in dem" rather than "worin"?
You write correctly that style matters :-) Hence, worin
refers mostly or exclusively to a location. You ask where
or wherein
, while in dem
is much more general. You ask In what style, in what room.
Therefore in dem
fits for both and worin
only for room.
The adverb wo relates to a location - which is perfectly valid for a room.
But even if you write in a specific style, this is no location, so "wo" cannot refer to it.
(I wouldn't say it's necessarily wrong from a language POV, but rather from a logical one. Dictionaries consider such a usage colloquial - A lot of German native speakers will accept this as a perfect sentence)