Grammar Unit 1

Grammar Unit 1

1. Relative Clauses

   • Relative clauses give us information about the person or thing mentioned. Defining relative clauses give us essential information – information that tells us who or what we are talking about.
     • We usually use a relative pronoun or adverb to start a defining relative clause: who, which, that, when, where or whose.
       • who/that
         • We can use who or that to talk about people. that is more common and a bit more informal.
           • She's the woman who cuts my hair. He's the man that I met at the conference.
       • which/that
         • We can use which or that to talk about things. that is more common and a bit more informal.
           • There was a one-year guarantee which came with the TV. The laptop that I bought last week has started making a strange noise!
       • Other pronouns
         • when can refer to a time.
           • ummer is the season when I'm happiest.
             • where can refer to a place.
               • That's the stadium where Real Madrid play.
                 • whose refers to the person that something belongs to.
                   • He's a musician whose albums have sold millions.
       • Omitting the relative pronoun
         • Sometimes we can leave out the relative pronoun. For example, we can usually leave out who, which or that if it is followed by a subject.
           • The assistant [that] we met was really kind. (we = subject, can omit that)
             • We can't usually leave it out if it is followed by a verb.
               • The assistant that helped us was really kind. (helped = verb, can't omit that)