Defining Relative Clauses

Defining relative clauses give detailed information defining a general term or

expression. Defining relative clauses are not put in commas.

Imagine, Tom is in a room with five girls. One girl is talking to Tom and you ask
somebody whether he knows this girl. Here the relative clause defines which of the
five girls you mean.

i.e.: Do you know the girl who is talking to Tom?

Defining relative clauses are often used in definitions.

i.e.: A seaman is someone who works on a ship.

Object pronouns in defining relative clauses can be dropped.

i.e.: The boy (who/whom) we met yesterday is very nice.

Non-Defining Relative Clauses

Non-defining relative clauses give additional information on something, but do not

define it. Non-defining relative clauses are put in commas.

Imagine, Tom is in a room with only one girl. The two are talking to each other and you
ask somebody whether he knows this girl. Here the relative clause is non-defining
because in this situation it is obvious which girl you mean.

i.e.: Do you know the girl, who is talking to Tom?

Note: In non-defining relative clauses, who/which may not be replaced with “that”.

Object pronouns in non-defining relative clauses must be used.

i.e.: Jim, who/whom we met yesterday, is very nice.

Fill in who, which, whose, where or why.

My favourite place is York, a city in the North East o England, ___ the rivers Ouse
and Foss meet. It is a beautiful city also has and interesting history.

The city was not always called York. In 71 AD it was named Eboracum by the Romans
________ lived there. Then, the city was conquered by the Vikings, gave it
the name Jorvik. Only later did the city become known as York.

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 Visitors to York can go to the Castle Museum, an amazing collection of objects
is on show, or the National Railway Museum, is the only national museum
outside London.

Famous people were born in York include Guy Fawkes, ___ attempt to
blow up the Houses of Parliament led to his execution.

Relative clauses - defining or non-defining?

1. I have three brothers.

My brother who lives in Sidney came to see me last month.
My brother, who lives in Sidney, came to see me last month.
2. I have one sister.
My sister who is 25 years old spent her holiday in France.
My sister, who is 25 years old, spent her holiday in France.
3. Bob's mum has lost her keys.
Bob's mum who is a musician has lost her car keys.
Bob's mum, who is a musician, has lost her car keys.
4. My friend Jane moved to Canada.
My friend Jane whose husband is Canadian moved to Canada last week.
My friend Jane, whose husband is Canadian, moved to Canada last week.
5. I am a shoe fanatic.
The shoes which I bought yesterday are very comfortable.
The shoes, which I bought yesterday, are very comfortable.
6. Mr Robinson is very famous.
Mr Robinson whom I met at the trade fair is a famous inventor.
Mr Robinson, whom I met at the trade fair, is a famous inventor.
7. Tamara has two cats. Both of them are black.
Tamara's two cats which can play outside are black.
Tamara's two cats, which can play outside, are black.
8. Kevin has four cats. Two of them are black.
Kevin's two cats which are black can play outside.
Kevin's two cats, which are black, can play outside.
9. We are on holiday. Yesterday we visited a church.
The church which we visited yesterday is very old.
The church, which we visited yesterday, is very old.

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10. We are on holiday. Yesterday we visited a church.
St. Mary's Church which we visited yesterday is very old.
St. Mary's Church, which we visited yesterday, is very old.

Choose the correct relative pronoun or relative adverb.

1. The woman is sitting at the desk is Mr Winter's secretary.

2. I cannot remember the reason he wanted us to leave.
3. Jane, mother is a physician, is very good at biology.
4. She didn’t see the snake was lying on the ground.
5. Do you know the shop Andrew picked me up?

Combine the sentences with relative clauses. (Decide whether to use commas or
not.)
1. A monk is a man. The man has devoted his life to God.
A monk

2. I have one black cat. His name is Blacky.

I have

3. A herbivore is an animal. The animal feeds upon vegetation.

A herbivore

4. Carol plays the piano brilliantly. She is only 9 years old.

Carol

5. Sydney is the largest Australian city. It is not the capital of Australia.

Sydney

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Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense.(Past simple, Past continuous or Past
perfect)

It was Friday again, the day for famous parties at Wellington High School. Students
(dance) in the garden and everyone (enjoy) the pleasure of
being away from boring lessons.
When Sarah (come) to the party, the music (already / start).
Tim suddenly (notice) Sarah and (feel) shocked. He had
(look for) her for 2 years. They (meet) each other at a holiday camp in 1999,
but mysteriously Sarah (disappear) after a while. He (think)
about her since then.
At the party, Sarah (talking) to one of her friends while most of the students
(drink) as much as they could. Tim (decide) to talk to her and
(wait) for her friend to leave. When he (go) next to her, she
(search for) something in her bag, so she (not see) him. As soon
as he (touch) her on the shoulder, she (raise) her head and
couldn’t believe her eyes. She (never / forget) him.
At the end of the party, no one (be) happier than Sarah and Tim as they
(find) each other after 2 years.

Present Perfect Simple - Present Perfect Progressive

Exercise 10
Put the verbs into the correct tense (Present Perfect Simple or Present Perfect
Progressive).
A: (you / take) the dog for a walk yet?
B: I (work) all day. I (come / just) home from
work and I (have / not) the time yet to walk the dog.
A: How long (the dog / be) home alone?
B: For about 6 hours. You (walk / not) the dog for a long time.
Don't you want to go?
A: Well, I (laze / not) about all day either, you know. I have a very
important meeting tomorrow and I still (finish / not) my presentation.
B: Okay, I will go then. Where (you / put) collar and leash?
A: They are in the kitchen. By the way, (you / eat) anything yet? If
not, could you get us something from the supermarket?

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WRITE DE PAST SIMPLE AND PAST PARTICIPLE FORMS OF THE FOLLOWING VERBS:

• BRING:
• SING:
• EAT:
• FEED:
• SHAKE:
• SELL:
• READ:
• HAVE:
• LEAVE:
• MEET:
• DRAW:
• DRINK:
• FLY:
• MAKE:
• CHOOSE:
• TAKE:
• UNDERSTAND:
• SIT:
• GO:
• HEAR:
• SWIM:
• RUN:
• WRITE:
• PAY:
• WIN:
• BE:
• GIVE: