English Language Grammar Rules

RELATIVE CLAUSES

By M.A Vu Thuy Linh

 I. Definition
We use relative pronouns to introduce relative clauses.

Relative clauses tell us more about people and things.

• Lord Thompson, who is 76, has just retired.

• This is the house which Jack built.

• Marie Curie is the woman that discovered radium.

II. Relative pronouns (S-O)
1. Who: -for people
- can be Subject/ Object of a sentence
E.g. 1. The girl is Nam's girlfriend. She is sitting next to me.
=>The girl who is sitting next to me is Nam's girl friend.
2. The police have caught the men. They went out without
facemasks.
Þ The police have caught the men who went out without facemasks.
3. The actor invited me to his party. I met him yesterday.
2. Which: -for things, animals
-S &O
- “, which”- a whole sentence

E.g 1. Do you see the cat? It is lying on the roof.

=> Do you see the cat which is lying on the roof ?
E.g 2. The machine is now working again. It was broken down
yesterday
=> The machine which was broken down yesterday is now
working again.

E.g 3. He can’t read. It surprised us

3. Whom: - people
- Object
* can be omitted (mệnh đề XĐ- không dấu phẩy- có thể bỏ)
E.g 1. The man is coming to my house for dinner. You met him
yesterday
=> The man whom you met yesterday  is coming to my house for
dinner.
4. That: - people, things, animals
- S, O
* không dùng trong RC có “,”
* Both people and things/ animals
E.g1 Both people and horses must be in front of the gate at 8a.m. They take part
in the race
=> Both people and horses that take part in the race must be in front of the gate at
8a.m.
* Superlative, the first, the second… the last, the only,
E.g2 This is the most interesting book that I have ever read.
5. Whose : - possession of people and things/ animals
E.g 1. John is my classmate. His father is a doctor.
=> John whose father is a doctor is my classmate.
2. That book is about geography. Its covers are blue
=> That book whose covers are blue is about geography
the covers of which
Whose + N = N + of which
III. Relative Adverbs (place/ time/ reason
1. Where= in which/ on which/ at which: Place
E.g 1 We met him in a town. We grew up in the town
=> We met him in a town where we grew up.
in which we grew up

2. When= in which/ on which / at which: Time

I will never forget that day. I won the first prize on that day.
=> I will never forget that day when/ on which I won the first prize.

3. Why = for which : Reason

 III. Prepositions in
RC
1. WHOM/ WHICH- Preps can be BEFORE or AFTER in RC

Mr. Brown is a nice teacher. We studied with him last year.

→Mr. Brown, with whom we studied last year, is a nice teacher.

→ Mr. Brown, whom we studied with last year, is a nice teacher.

2. WHO / THAT- Preps are AFTER in RC

The playground wasn’t used by those children that it was built for. →
ĐÚNG
The playground wasn’t used by those children for that it was built → SAI
 IV. DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
- Important, necessary information, definitions
- No use comma “,”
- Relative pronouns as an Object- can be omitted
Eg.1 People who park illegally are fined
E.g2. The rock that they found last week may have landed on Earth from the
moon.
The rock that they found last week may have landed on Earth from the
moon
 V. NON- DEFINING RELATIVE
CLAUSES
- Additional, extra information
- Use comma “,”
- No use “THAT”
- Proper names (people, landscapes), my, his, her…this, that, these, those
Dalat, which I visited last summer, is very beautiful.
My cat, which I found on the street, is called Monty.
This ring, which was a present from my husband, is very valuable.
A picture is worth a
thousand words
 Capitalization rules

#1. First #2. #3. Days /

Word of a Proper Months /
Sentence
Mercury is the closest VenusNouns
has a beautiful Holidays
Despite being red, Mars
planet to the Sun name, but it’s hot is a cold place

#4. Places of #5. Titles #6. Only

the World of Works Sometim
It’s a gas giant and the Saturn is the ringed one es planet
It’s the farthest
biggest planet and a gas giant from the Sun
 #1. Capitalize the first word
of every sentence!

Dogs are said to be man’s best friend

Dogs are said to be man’s best friend

Here you could write your exercise

 Comma rules

You can write the comma rules here:

● Compound sentence
● Series
● Dialog
● Direct address
● Introductory phrase
● Transition words
 #2. Capitalize the name of a specific
person, or thing

Brandon went to Tomball Jenna and Joe took their dog

Memorial Hospital after he Bailey for a walk at the
broke his leg Central Park
Brandon went to Tomball Memorial Jenna and Joe took their dog Bailey for a
Hospital after he broke his leg walk at the Central Park

Here you could write your exercise Here you could write your exercise
 #3. Capitalize the days of the week
and months of the year
Holidays get capitalized too!

Valentine’s day is on February 14

each year
Valentine’s Day is on February 14 each year

Here you could write your exercise

 #4. Capitalize places including
addresses, cities, states, countries, and
continentsof these places
Capitalize abbreviations
too!
I live on Main Street in Houston, Texas.
Texas is a state in the United States of
America
I live on Main Street in Houston, Texas.
Texas is a state in the United States of
America
Here you could write your exercise
 #5. Capitalize the titles of written or
performed works like books or movies
Titles of artistic works also get
capitalized!
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
is a book that was later made into a
movie
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a book
that was later made into a movie

Here you could write your exercise

 #6. Many words only get capitalized
depending on how they are in the
sentence
Capitalize this... Only if...
north, south, east, west ...you use it as a specific place and not a direction

mom, dad, aunt, grandma, etc. ...you can replace the word with the relative’s name and still makes
sense

mountain, desert, river, ocean, etc. ...it is a part of its actual name, such as Mojave Desert

earth ...you’re talking about the planet Earth

college, school, library, university, ...you use it with the actual name, such as Hassler Elementary
etc. School
 02
Comma Rules
You could enter a subtitle here if you need it
Awesome
words
#1. Use a comma before a conjunction
when combining two complete
sentences
I need to go to the grocery, and my
sister needs to go to the library
{I need to go to the grocery}, {and my sister
needs to go to the library}

Here you could write your exercise

 #2. Use commas to separate three
or more words or phrases

I need to finish my homework, take

out the dog, and help Mom with the
dishes
{I need to finish my homework}, {take out the
dog}, {and help Mom with the dishes}

Here you could write your exercise

 #3. In dialog, use a comma to
separate the narrator from the
speaker
“I want to study medicine when i grow
up,” Maria declared.
Derek responded, “You do?”
“{I want to study medicine when i grow up},” {Maria
declared.}
{Derek responded}, “{You do?}”
Here you could write your exercise
 #4. Use a comma (or two) when you
directly mention a person

Julia, please hand me that box of

crayons. Will You, John, hand me the
pencils?
{Julia}, please hand me that box of crayons.
Will You, {John}, hand me the pencils?

Here you could write your exercise

 #5. Use a comma to separate an
introductory phrase from the sentence

After the big game, the baseball team

celebrated their win
{After the big game}, {the baseball team
celebrated their win}

Here you could write your exercise

 #6. Use a comma after a transition
word or phrase

Finally, mix the chocolate syrup and

the milk. After you’re done, enjoy
your tasty drink
{Finally}, mix the chocolate syrup and the
milk. {After you’re done}, enjoy your tasty
drink
Here you could write your exercise
 04
Dialogue Rules
Reference
You could enter a subtitle here if you need it
 Dialogue Rules Reference

#1. Quotation #2. Commas in

Marks quotation
Mercury is the closest Venus has amarks
beautiful
planet to the Sun name, but it’s hot

#3. ? and ! in
Quotation #4. Examples
Marks
Despite being red, Mars It’s the farthest planet
is a cold place from the Sun
#1. Use quotation marks around the
words that someone is actually saying

“This is so much fun!,” said Jenna

“This is so much fun!,” said Jenna

Here you could write your exercise

 #2. Commas are used to separate the
speaker from the narrator

“This is my favorite toy,” said Sally.

Charles responded, “I prefer my toy
car!”
“This is my favorite toy,” said Sally.
Charles responded, “It’s so cute!”

Here you could write your exercise

 #3. You can replace a comma with a
question mark or an exclamation point

“What are you doing?” asked Mom.

Jackson looked up, “having fun!” he
said
“What are you doing?” asked Mom.
Jackson looked up, “having fun!” he said

Here you could write your exercise

 #4. Examples
N = Narrator S= Speaker
Structure Example
S “I like the summer.”

S-N “I like the summer,” said Maria.

N-S Maria said, “I like the summer.”

S-N-S I really like summer,” Maria said and

then added, “because it’s time to
swim!”
 This is a graph
30% - Venus
Venus has a
beautiful name
20% -
Mercury
It’s the closest
planet to the Sun

50% - Mars
Despite being To modify this graph, click on it, follow the link, change the data
red, Mars is a and paste the resulting graph here, replacing this one
cold place
 These are percentages
60 75 25
% % %

Mercury Saturn Jupiter

Mercury is the smallest Saturn is composed of Jupiter is the biggest
planet of them all hydrogen and helium planet of them all
 This is an infographic

60 15
%
Mars %
Venus
Despite being red, Venus has a
Mars is a cold place beautiful name, but
it’s hot

15
%
Mercury
Mercury is the closest
planet to the Sun
 This is a map
Venus
Venus has a
beautiful name

Mercury
It’s the closest
planet to the Sun

Mars
Despite being
red, Mars is a
cold place
 A timeline always works well

Venus is terribly hot and Jupiter is the biggest

has high temperatures planet of them all
day 2 day 4

day 1 day 3
Mercury is the smallest Saturn is composed of
planet of them all hydrogen and helium
4,498,300
Big numbers catch your audience’s attention
 333,000.00
earths is the Sun’s mass

24h 37m 23s

is Jupiter’s rotation period

386,000 km
is the distance between Earth and the Moon
 Our team

John
Jenna Doe Helena White
Patterson
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