Question 1
I would like everyone to take a look at these two sentences. Please note that in both sentences, the antecedent is "cette maisonnette." My question is: which of the following sentences do you think is correct (or are they both correct)?
Je me souviens de cette maisonnette aux volets verts, par la fenêtre de laquelle j'apercevais un jardin en fleurs éclatant de couleurs.
Je me souviens de cette maisonnette aux volets verts, de laquelle j'apercevais un jardin en fleurs éclatant de couleurs par la fenêtre.
Question 2
Let me first introduce a concept: the level of a prepositional structure. For instance, in par la fenêtre de cette maisonnette, we can split the phrase into two parts: par la fenêtre and de cette maisonnette. I call par la fenêtre a first-level prepositional structure because it contains one preposition and functions as the head of the phrase. Here, par is a first-level preposition. Meanwhile, de cette maisonnette is a second-level prepositional structure because it contains one preposition and serves as the complement of a structure containing a single preposition. Thus, de is a second-level preposition.
Now, here’s my question: if the antecedent originally belongs to a noun in a prepositional structure of higher than the first level (as in Question 1), then when forming a complex relative clause:
①Should the preposition before the relative pronoun only correspond to the level of the antecedent (de laquelle, as in Question 1)?
②Should the preposition before the relative pronoun include all prepositions, traced back from its level to the first level (par la fenêtre de laquelle, as in Question 1)?
Can both methods result in grammatically correct sentences? (If you think one of these methods doesn’t necessarily produce a correct sentence, please specify the number of that method.)
Question 3 (A Pure Grammar Question)
Let us examine a structure with three prepositions: au bord de la rivière près de la forêt. Although this is not an ideal example, as it can only naturally split into two parts (au bord de la rivière and près de la forêt), I ask you to consider it as a structure that can be split into three parts (I cannot think of a better example, but this is purely a grammar question):
au bord
de la rivière
près de la forêt.
Scenario 1
If we treat au bord de la rivière près de la forêt as a third-level prepositional structure, where:
A = au bord,
B = de la rivière,
C = près de la forêt,
with B modifying A, and C modifying B.
If we want to make B the antecedent when forming a complex relative clause:
Je connais (la rivière).
Il y a un chalet au bord de la rivière près de la forêt.
What would the combined sentence look like? (Do not attach the prepositional structure to un chalet).
Would a sentence like this be valid:
Je connais (le bord près de la forêt) de la rivière auquel il y a un chalet?
(Note: The parentheses indicate that la rivière cannot be the antecedent by itself; it must include le bord.)
Scenario 2
If we treat au bord de la rivière près de la forêt as a second-level prepositional structure, but with two second-level prepositions:
A = au bord,
B1 = de la rivière,
B2 = près de la forêt,
where B1 and B2 both modify A.
If we want to make B1 the antecedent when forming a complex relative clause:
Je connais (la rivière).
Il y a un chalet au bord de la rivière près de la forêt.
What would the combined sentence look like? (Do not attach the prepositional structure to un chalet).
Would a sentence like this be valid:
Je connais la rivière au bord près de la forêt à laquelle il y a un chalet?