Grammar of Grade 11 (Unit 11-Relative Clauses)

 Relative Clauses

              Unit-11: Arts and Creation (Page 105)

Relative clauses

A. Study these examples

The woman who lives next door works in a bank. (The woman lives next door. She works in a bank.)

That grey thing, which you can see on the roof there, isn’t very traditional. (That grey thing isn't very traditional. You can see it on the roof there.)

The parts of the sentences in bold above are relative clauses. We use relative clauses to describe or give extra information about something we have already

mentioned. We often use relative pronouns (e.g. who, where, that, which, whose)to introduce relative clauses.

In the first example 'who lives next door' is defining relative clause. Defining relative clauses give us essential information – information that tells us who or what we are talking about.

In the second example 'which you can see on the roof there'. Non-defining relative clauses give us extra information which isn't absolutely necessary. We use commas to separate them from the rest of the sentence, unless they come at the end of the sentence, when we use a comma and a full stop.

B. Complete the following sentences with correct relative pronouns and write whether the clauses are defining or non-defining.

a.     That's the house …… I was born.

Ans: where

b.     My aunt Nita, …… a journalist, is coming to visit next week.

Ans: who

c.      People …… like outdoor activities will love our holidays.

Ans: who

d.     The early 1960s, …… the Beatles first started, was a very exciting time in pop culture.

Ans: when

e.     My essay on Shakespeare, …… I found quite difficult, got a really good mark in the end.

Ans: which

f.       The Mayans, …… lived in Central America, built many stunning temples.

Ans:  who

g.     That's the girl …… brother is in your class.

Ans: whose

h.     The snake …… was in the garden last week belongs to our next-door neighbor.

Ans: that

C. Join the following pairs of sentences with appropriate relative clause.

a. He is a musician. His albums have sold millions.

Ans: He is a musician whose albums have sold millions.

b. Amelia speaks English and Chines fluently. She is from Shanghai.

Ans: Amelia who speaks English and Chinese fluently is from Shanghai.

c. That's the stadium. Real Madrid plays there.

Ans: That's the stadium where Real Madrid plays.

d. Dublin is my favourite city. It is the capital of Ireland.

Ans: Dublin is my favourite city which is the capital of Ireland.

e. The person was really helpful. They spoke to him.

Ans: The person whom they spoke was really helpful.

f. This smartphone takes great photos. I bought it last week.

Ans: This smartphone which I bought last week takes great photos.