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Relative Clauses

 

These two sentences contain relative clauses:

My sister who's a nurse moved to Italy.
This sentence contains a defining relative clause. I have more than one sister and it is needed to tell you which sister I am talking about.
My sister, who's a nurse, moved to Italy.
This sentence contains a non-defining relative clause. It just adds information, but could be omitted without loss of meaning. Such clauses are more common in written English.

The small words which join relative clauses are called relative pronouns. For things we use which; for people, who; for places, where; for times, when etc.

In defining relative clauses that can replace which and who in informal English. Eg Tim's the person who's responsible for catering = Tim's the person that's responsible for catering.

In defining relative clauses we can omit the relative pronoun if it is the object in its clause. Eg Can I borrow the CD which/that you played at your party = Can I borrow the CD you played at your party. (Can I borrow the CD. You played it at your party).


Complete these sentences using which / who / when / where / whose / that / nothing:


There�s the woman _________ taught me English.
Do you know a pub _________ sells cheap beer?
Do you know a shop _________ I can buy a computer?
The police haven�t found the person _________ killed Jill Dando.
Jack Smith, _______ book "English made simple" sold a million copies, died today.
The language ________ people speak in Algeria is called Arabic.
Ted, _________ fixes my car, has just won the lottery.
This is Joe Bloggs, _________ works in Greenwich.
I�d like to speak to the person _________ deals with accounts.
I hate it ________ my boss asks me to work overtime.
Have you got a typewriter _________ I can borrow?
The job ________ he got wasn�t very interesting.

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Guess what the blanks are:

A blank 1 is something you sit on.
Blank 2 is something you spread on bread
A blank 3 is a man who sells meat.
A blank 4 is a place where cars are fixed.
Blank 5 is something you use to send e-mail and surf the web.
A blank 6 is something you bang bails in with.

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Write sentences defining these things: A pair of scissors, a saw, a telephone, a barber, a supermarket, Christmas, a library, a baby. Test your friends.



Complete the blanks in your own way:

Joe Jackson is a middle-aged man, ______. He lives in a big house, ______, in Leicester. Joe works in an office, ______, in London. He drives a Ford Orion, ______. Every year Joe goes to a seaside town called Bognor, ______, for his holidays. He stays at the Grand Hotel, ______, on the sea front. Last year he met a woman called Mabel, ____, while he was on holiday. Joe and Mabel want to get married but Mabel�s mother, _____ , is angry about their plans.

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