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RELATIVE CLAUSES B1 Explanation, Exercises.

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389 views4 pages

RELATIVE CLAUSES B1 Explanation, Exercises.

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vorozcom27
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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RELATIVE CLAUSES.

B1
We can use relative clauses to join two English sentences, or to give more information about something.
I bought a new car. It is very fast.
→ I bought a new car that is very fast.

She lives in New York. She likes living in New York.


→ She lives in New York, which she likes.

Defining and Non-defining


A defining relative clause tells which noun we are talking about:

 I like the woman who lives next door.


(If I don't say 'who lives next door', then we don't know
which woman I mean).

A non-defining relative clause gives us extra information about something. We don't need
this information to understand the sentence.

 I live in London, which has some fantastic parks.


(Everybody knows where London is, so 'which has some
fantastic parks' is extra information).

Defining relative clauses:


1: The relative pronoun is the subject:

First, let's consider when the relative pronoun is the subject of a defining relative clause.
We can use 'who', 'which' or 'that'. We use 'who' for people and 'which' for things. We can use
'that' for people or things.
The relative clause can come after the subject or the object of the sentence. We can't drop the
relative pronoun.
For example (clause after the object of the sentence):

 I'm looking for a secretary who / that can use a computer


well.
 She has a son who / that is a doctor.
 We bought a house which / that is 200 years old.
 I sent a letter which / that arrived three weeks later.

More examples (clause after the subject of the sentence):

 The people who / that live on the island are very friendly.
 The man who / that phoned is my brother.
 The camera which / that costs £100 is over there.
 The house which / that belongs to Julie is in London.

EXERCISE where the relative pronoun is the subject here. Relative Clauses 1.

2: The relative pronoun is the object:

Next, let's talk about when the relative pronoun is the object of the clause. In this case we can
drop the relative pronoun if we want to. Again, the clause can come after the subject or the object
of the sentence. Here are some examples:
(Clause after the object)

 She loves the chocolate (which / that) I bought.


 We went to the village (which / that) Lucy recommended.
 John met a woman (who / that) I had been to school with.
 The police arrested a man (who / that) Jill worked with.

(Clause after the subject)

 The bike (which / that) I loved was stolen.


 The university (which / that) she likes is famous.
 The woman (who / that) my brother loves is from Mexico.
 The doctor (who / that) my grandmother liked lives in New
York.

EXERCISE where the relative pronoun is the object here. Relative clauses 2.
EXERCISE defining relative clauses, both subject and object. Relative clauses 3.

Non-defining relative clauses:


These clauses give us extra information about someone or something. We don't use 'that' in non-
defining relative clauses, so we need to use 'which' if the pronoun refers to a thing, and 'who' if it
refers to a person. We can't drop the relative pronoun in this kind of clause, even if the relative
pronoun is the subject of the clause.
(Clause comes after the subject)

 My boss, who is very nice, lives in Manchester.


 My sister, who I live with, knows a lot about cars.
 My bicycle, which I've had for more than ten years, is
falling apart.
 My mother's house, which I grew up in, is very small.

(Clause comes after the object)

 Yesterday I called our friend Julie, who lives in New York.


 The photographer called to the Queen, who looked
annoyed.
 Last week I bought a new computer, which I don't like now.
 I really love the new Chinese restaurant, which we went to
last night.

More examples using non-defining relative clauses.

My grandfather, who´s 87, goes swimming every day.


The house, which was built in 1883, has just been opened to the public.
Yesterday I met my new boss, who was very nice.
Last month I read a novel, which was very interesting.
The house, which is very big, is also very cold!
The teacher, who is very young, studied at Harvard.
The school, which is located in a very nice neighborhood, is very beautiful.
Relative Clauses 1
Add the phrase in brackets to the sentence using 'that' ´which´ or 'who' and a
relative clause.

1) She worked for a man (the man used to be an athlete)


She worked for a man who used to be an athlete.

2) I sent an email to my brother (my brother lives in Australia)


I sent an email to my brother who lives in Australia.

3) The customer liked the waitress (the waitress was very friendly)
The customer liked the waitress who was very friendly.

4) We broke the computer (the computer belonged to my father)


We broke the computer that belonged to my father.

5) I dropped a glass (the glass was new)


I dropped a glass which was new.

6) They called a lawyer (the lawyer lived nearby)

7) She loves books (the books have happy endings)

8) They live in a city (the city is in the north of England)

9) The girl works in a bank (the girl is from India)

10) My sister has three children (my sister lives in Australia)

11) The money is in the kitchen (the money belongs to John)

Relative Clauses 2
Add the phrase in brackets to the sentence using a relative clause. Use 'that' or no
pronoun.

12) She bought the computer (her brother had recommended the computer)
She bought the computer her brother had recommended.
13) He lost the money (I had given him the money)
He lost the money I had given him.

14) We called the taxi company (Julie often uses the taxi company)
We called the taxi company Julie often uses.

15) John met a girl (I used to employ the girl)


John met a girl I used to employ.
16) Lucy called the doctor (my mother knows the doctor)
Lucy called the doctor my mother knows.

17) The wallet belongs to John (Lucy found the wallet in the garden)

18) The food was delicious (David cooked the food)

19) The man was arrested (I reported the man to the police)

20) The doctor was right (Lucy asked the doctor about her problem)

21) We ate the fruit (I bought the fruit)

Relative Clauses 3
Add the phrase in brackets to the sentence using a relative clause. If it's possible,
you should drop the relative pronoun.
22) I broke the plate (the plate was a wedding present)
I broke the plate that was a wedding present.
23) The police arrested the man (I saw the man steal a handbag)
The police arrested the man I saw steal a handbag.
24) The Queen fired the chef (we had met the chef)
The Queen fired the chef we had met.

25) She wrote to her friend (her friend lives in San Diego)

26) Jill ate the sandwich (the sandwich had tomato and cheese inside)

27) The book is very interesting (the book is about Japanese culture)

28) He likes films (the films come from Asia)

29) The movie was very funny (Lucy recommended the movie)

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