Unit 95. Relative clauses 4: extra information clauses (1)

Unit 95; Part A

There are two types of relative clause. In these examples, the relative clauses are underlined. Compare:

Type 1 *• The woman who lives next door is a doctor.*	Type 2 *• My brother Rob, who lives in Australia, is a doctor.*
*• Barbara works for a company that makes furniture.*	*• Colin told me about his new job, which he's enjoying very much.*
*• We stayed at the hotel (that) you recommended.*	*• We stayed at the Park Hotel, which a friend of ours recommended.*
In these examples, the relative clause tells you which person or thing (or what kind of person or thing) the speaker means: *'The woman who lives next door'* tells us which woman. *'A company that makes furniture'* tells us what kind of company. 'The hotel (that) Ann recommended' tells us which hotel.	In these examples, the relative clauses do not tell you which person or thing the speaker means. We already know which thing or person is meant: 'My brother Rob', 'Colin's new job' and 'the Park Hotel'. The relative clauses in these sentences give us extra information about the person or thing.
We do not use commas (,) with these clauses: • We know a lot of people who live in London.	We use commas (,) with these clauses: *• My brother Rob, who lives in London, is a doctor.*

Unit 95; Part B

In both types of relative clause we use who for people and which for things. But:

Type 1 You can use that: • Do you know anyone who/that speaks French and Italian? • Barbara works for a company which/that makes furniture.	Type 2 You cannot use that: *• John, who* (not that) *speaks French and Italian, works as a tourist guide.* *• Colin told me about his new job,* *which* (not that) he's enjoying very much.
You can leave out who/which/that when it is the object (see Unit 93): • We stayed at the hotel (that/which) you recommended. • This morning I met somebody (who/that) I hadn't seen for ages.	You cannot leave out who or which: • We stayed at the Park Hotel, which a friend of ours recommended. • This morning I met Chris, who I hadn't seen for ages.
We do not often use whom in this type of clause (see Unit 94B).	You can use whom for people (when it is the object): *• This morning I met Chris, whom I hadn't seen for ages.*

In both types of relative clause you can use whose and where:
*• We met some people whose car had broken down.*	*• Liz, whose car had broken down, was in a very bad mood.*
*• What's the name of the place where you went on holiday?*	*• Jill has just been to Sweden, where her daughter lives.*

Exercises

1 Make one sentence from two.

Make one sentence from two. Use the sentence in brackets to make a relative clause (Type 2). You will need to use who(m)/whose/which/where.

1    Catherine is very friendly. (She lives next door.)
      Catherine, who lives next door, is very friendly.
2    We stayed at the Park Hotel. (A friend of ours had recommended it.)
     We satyed at the Park Hotel, whish a friend of ours had recommended.
3    We often go to visit our friends in Bristol. (It is not very far away.)
      ____________________________________________________________________
4    I went to see the doctor. (He told me to rest for a few days.)
      ____________________________________________________________________
5    John is one of my closest friends. (I have known him for a very long time.)
      John      ____________________________________________________________
6    Sheila is away from home a lot. (Her job involves a lot of travelling.)
      ____________________________________________________________________
7    The new stadium will be opened next month. (It can hold 90,000 people.)
      ____________________________________________________________________
8    Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland. (My brother lives there.)
      ____________________________________________________________________
9    A friend of mine helped me to get a job. (His father is the manager of a company.)
      ____________________________________________________________________

2 Read the information and complete each sentence.

Read the information and complete each sentence. Use a relative clause of Type 1 or Type 2. Use commas where necessary.

1    There's a woman living next door to me. She's a doctor.
      The woman    who lives next door to me is a doctor.
2    I've got a brother called Rob. He lives in Australia. He's a doctor.
     My brother Rob , who lives in Australia, is a doctor.
3    There was a strike at the car factory. It began ten days ago. It is now over.
     The strike at the car factory ________________________________
4    I was looking for a book this morning. I've found it now.
     I've found ________________________________
5    London was once the largest city in the world, bur the population is now falling.
     The population of London ________________________________
6    A job was advertised. A lot of people applied for it. Few of them had the necessary qualifications.
     Few of ________________________________
7    Amy has a son. She showed me a photograph of him. He's a policeman.
     Amy showed me ________________________________

3 Correct the sentences that are wrong and put in commas where necessary.

Correct the sentences that are wrong and put in commas where necessary. If the sentence is correct, write 'OK'.

1    Colin told me about his new job that, he's enjoying very much.
     Colin told me about his new job, which he's enjoying very much.
2    My office that is on the second floor is very small.
      _______________________________________________________________
3    The office I'm using at the moment is very small.
      _______________________________________________________________
4    Ben's father that used to be a teacher now works for a TV company.
      _______________________________________________________________
5    The doctor that examined me couldn't find anything wrong.
      _______________________________________________________________
6    The sun that is one of millions of stars in the universe provides us with heat and light.
      _______________________________________________________________

Unit 94 Unit 95 Unit 96