Teaching relative clause in secondary school english. Relative clauses learnenglish teens british council. Defining clauses restrictive clauses a defining relative clause tells which noun we are talking about. English grammar relative clauses relative clauses introduction there are two types of relative clauses. The relative clause will follow one of these two patterns. A clause of this kind is essential to the clear understanding of the noun. Using whose if the defined sentence is the subject of the basic sentence, the relative clause is located between the subject and the predicate. A discourse explanation of the grammar of relative clauses in english conversation. English, at lower and intermediate levels, has a relatively simple grammar.
Relative clauses defining and nondefining that, which. They can act as the subject or the object of the relative clause. This paper focuses on how such decisionmaking affects choices in relative clause constructions in. I have a friend who spent a year at a british university. A collection of english esl relative clauses, advanced c1 worksheets for home learning, online practice, distance learning and english classes to teach abo.
A relative clause always begins with a relative pronoun, which substitutes for a noun, a noun. It has a subject and verb, but cant stand alone as a sentence. Relative clauses are used to describe the noun naming the process or position when discussing tasks that need to be completed, or explaining how certain things work. By combining sentences with a relative clause, your text becomes more fluent and you can avoid repeating certain words. They function rather like adjectives, and are found as postmodifiers in a noun phrase. Pdf a discourse explanation of the grammar of relative. Nondefining relative clauses give us extra information about someone or something. English esl relative clauses powerpoint presentations.
The most important unit of grammatical organization in linguistics is the sentence. A collection of english esl relative clauses powerpoints for home learning, online practice, distance learning and english classes to teach about. This first gap fill test contains 25 multiple choice questions on the topic of relative clauses adjective clauses of english grammar. We can leave out the pronoun if it is the object of the relative clause. Defining and nondefining relative clauses relative clauses with prepositions gap fill text short text on a historic english castle with gaps for relative pronouns and. The relativisation strategy in english uses casemarked relative pronouns such as who, which, that, whom, and whose.
They may add meaning, but if they are removed, the sentence will still function grammatically. To understand the distinctions between that and which it is necessary to understand defining restrictive and nondefining nonrestrictive clauses learning these distinctions is one technical aspect of grammar that every user of english should understand, because it is at the root of an assortment of grammatical errors. This free online english language course will teach you about the relative clauses, which are basically nonessential parts of a sentence. The correct use of who and whom is a matter which many nonnative and native speakers of english alike have difficulty with. Relative clauses english grammar today a reference to written and spoken english grammar and usage cambridge dictionary. It is also called adjective clause because it defines a noun. English esl relative clauses, advanced c1 worksheets. Relative clauses are nonessential parts of a sentence. So pay attention, because this post is going to be a little complicated, but really, really useful for those of you seeking.
A relative clause is a type of subordinate clause introduced by a relative pronoun what is the name of that boy who just walked in here the clause who just walked in is an example of a relative clause. Sentences with relative clauses often use relative pronouns such as who, that, which, whose, when or where. We dont use that in nondefining relative clauses, so we need to use which if the pronoun refers to a thing, and who if it refers to a person. Defining relative clauses 1 in pdf here defining relative clauses 2 in pdf here defining relative clauses 3 in pdf here defining relative clauses 4 in pdf here go to the main relative clauses explanation page here.
Tenses printable pdf worksheets for english language learners intermediate level b1. In this kind of relative clause, we can use that instead of who or which. Relative clauses give us information about the person or thing mentioned. If you think reporting verbs were tough, dont get your hopes up with participle clauses, coz they aint easier, im telling ya. Relative clauses are clauses starting with the relative pronouns who, that, which, whose, where, when. Relative clauses and contact clauses englischtipps.
The relative pronouns where and when are used with place and time nouns. They may add meaning to the sentence, but if removed, the sentence will still function grammatically. Both english learners and esl teachers can use this online exercise as a revision to check the knowledge of english relative clauses adjective clauses. Relative clauses in advanced english are clauses that begin with the following relative pronouns. In nondefining relative clauses, you cannot replace other pronouns with that. Relative pronouns are mostly used when combining sentences in which a word or phrase is repeated. Relative pronouns and relative clauses learnenglish. Relative clauses b1 pdf worksheets english practice. We use relative clauses to give additional information about something without starting another sentence. It is important to distinguish between them because it affects the choice of pronoun used to introduce the clause. It isnt essential for understanding who or what we are. My dog floyd, who eats too much pizza, has developed pepperoni breath.
Relative clauses, using where, when, whose a relative clause is a sentence describing a noun, however, it cannot be used separately. Nondefining relative clauses defining relative clauses these describe the preceding noun in such a way to distinguish it from other nouns of the same class. It comes after the noun defined by a basic sentence. Relative clauses in advanced english are clauses that begin. The correct use of who and whom is a matter which many non native and native speakers of english alike have difficulty with. Photocopy pdf from the oxford advanced english file. Defining relative clauses also called identifying relative clauses or restrictive relative clauses give detailed information defining a general term or expression. The relative pronoun can be deleted if there is a new subject and verb following it a. Relative clauses definition and examples in english.
They are introduced by a relative pronoun like that, which, who, whose, where and when. Noun clauses any clause that functions as a noun becomes a noun clause. Note that that can be used in informal english instead of whowhomwhich but it is never used after commas, i. Teaching the meaning of relative clauses to teach the meaning of relative clauses, amore conversational activity by using student information is suggested by sandra elbaum as cited in celcemurcia and larsenfreeman, 1999, p. It is important to distinguish between them because it affects the. A defining relative clause tells which noun we are talking about. The pronoun can never be omitted in a nondefining relative clause. In defining relative clauses, the pronouns who, whom, and which are often replaced by that in spoken english.
They are most often used to define or identify the noun. Nondefining relative clauses defining relative clauses these describe the preceding noun in such a way to. Here you will find many relative clauses english grammar exercises at all levels so you can practice and improve your knowledge of relative clauses. Relative pronouns learning english online grammarbank. We sometimes use whom as the object of a verb or preposition this is george, whom you met at our house last year. We use whose as the possessive form of who this is george, whose brother went to school with me. You also cannot leave out the relative pronoun in nondefining relative clauses, in the way you sometimes can in defining relative clauses.
Relative clauses are a way of giving more information about a person, thing, place, event, etc. Relative clauses we use relative clauses to modify a noun afterwards. We use relative clauses to make clear which person or thing we are talking about. Relative clauses are also called adjective clauses. In so doing, we make clear which person or thing we are referring to. Relative clauses nondefining relative clauses grammar. They contain within their structure an anaphoric element whose interpretation is determined by the antecedent. There are two broad types of relative clauses in english. In the overt case the relative clause is marked by the presence of one of the relative words who, whom, whose. Heres a list of all the relative clause exercises on the site. They specify a noun or pronoun in the main clause and are necessary if we want to understand the. However, todays grammatical point is not one of them. We cant drop the relative pronoun in this kind of clause, even if the relative pronoun is the. Note that some of them also function as interrogative pronouns.
The noun that is modified is called the antecedent. Downloadable pdf grammar and vocabulary worksheets. Intermediate english grammar course relative clauses. Reduced relative clauses esl gold learn english today. Anaphoric elements in relative clauses relative clauses are so called because they are related by their form to an antecedent. Second in importance is the clause and the best way to think about clauses is as part of a sentence. Relative pronouns are used to join two or more clauses and in doing so, form what are known as relative clauses. The relative pronoun can be the subject or the object of the relative clause. Relative pronouns are the words that introduce relative clauses.
Relative clauses quizzes 1 like any pronoun, relative pronouns are substituted for nouns and other pronouns that functions as subjects or objects in a sentence. Defining relative clauses these describe the preceding noun in such a way as to distinguish it from other nouns of the same class. It is sometimes called an adjective clause because it functions like an adjectiveit gives more information about a noun. Relative clauses normally begin with who, whom, whose, or that. A clause of this kind is essential to clear understanding of the noun.
The information is essential in order to understand what or who is being referred to. Theres a boy in grade 8 whose father is a professional tennis player. The relative pronoun whose is used in place of the possessive pronoun. A relative clause can be used to give additional information about a noun. Relative clauses defining and nondefining test english. Relative clauses b1 rc005 relative clauses combine the two sentences. The ability to use relative clauses easily is important to all english learners, but perhaps even more important to those wanting to use english in their workplaces. Defining relative clauses exercise 4 make one sentence by changing the sentence in italics into a defining relative clause.