Relative clauses ‘Aims To review and practise non-defining and defining relative clauses Time 10 minutes ‘Materials | handout for each student '* Give each student a copy of the handout and ask them to ook at number one in task A. Elicit how the two sentences ‘may be joined and write the example on the board, drawing attention to the use and positioning of the commas ‘+ Askstudents to do the rest of the task and check answers 1 My girftiend, whose job is already very stressful, has just got ‘a promotion. / My girfriend, who has just gota promotion, already has avery stressful Job. 2 Our dentist, who has just bought a yacht, earns £150,000 a year. / Our dentist, who earns £150,000 a year, has just bought ‘yacht 3. My father, who retired last yea, plays a lot of gol. / My fat who plays.a lot of golf retired ast year. 4 Lwent fora job interview in Southampton, where my flancé lives. 5 My sister has just got a place at Oxford University, which isthe ‘oldest university in the UK. 6 The call centre, where two hundred people work, is closing down, + In task 8 students write five simple sentences following the given prompts. When students have finished, divide the class into pairs. Tell them to take it in tuns to read their sentences and expand their partner's sentences by adding additional information, Alternatively, fyou feel your students would benefit from the written practice, tell them to swap handouts with their partner and write down the addtional detail Circulate and monitor, ensuring that students are using the correct relative pronouns and punctuation. Get some feedback from a few students. *+ Before students do task C, review the diferences between defining and non- defining relative clauses and elicit the fist answer as an example, Students then complete the rest of the task. Check answers taking the opportunity to review the possible use ofthat to replace which and who (informal) in defining relative clauses 1 The waiter who /that served us last time we ate here was ‘more polite, 2. Wiliam Shakespeare, whose plays are still very popular today, died on his birthday. 3. My presentation to the Japanese clients, which | thought went very well lasted two hours. 4 visited the farm where my grandmother grew up. 5 My friend lan, whose opinion I respect, told me to resign from, my /ob. {6 Have you seen the unemployment figures which /that the ‘government released this morning? 7. My brother Terry, who isa reporter forthe BBC, has just come back from Libya, 8 Astudent who / that doesnt study hard won't get into universityCombine the two sentences, using a non-defining relative clause. 1 Mygitlftiend has just got a promotion. Her jobis already very stressful, 2 Our dentist has just bought a yacht. He earns £150,000 a year. 3. My father plays a lot of golf. He retired last year. 4 I went for a job interview in Southampton. My fiancé lives in Southampton. 5 My sister has just got a place at Oxford University. Oxford, University is the oldest university in the UK. 6 The call centre is closing down. Two hundred people work there. Write a simple sentence about each of the following. 1 Your English teacher 2 Your school 3 One of your classmates 4 The principal of your schoo! 5 Your capital city Work in pairs and take it in turns to read your sentences to each other. You must expand your partner's sentences by adding extra information. Complete the relative clauses with a relative pronoun. Then add commas ifthe clause is non-defining. 1 The waiter__served us last time we ate here was more polite. William Shakespeare plays are still very popular today died on his birthday. ‘My presentation to the Japanese clients —_____1 thought went very well lasted two hours. I visited the farm___my grandmother grew up. ‘My friend lan ___ opinion I respect told me to resign from my job. Have you seen the unemployment figures ____ the government released this morning? ‘My brother Terry __is a reporter for the BBC has just come back from Libya, Astudent___ doesnt study hard won't get into university.Your secret is out! ACTIVITY ‘Whole class: writing, speaking AIM ‘To write imaginary information about people by completing unfinished sentences, GRAMMAR AND FUNCTIONS Non defining relative clauses with who for giving additional information about people VOCABULARY General PREPARATION Make one copy of the worksheet foreach student in the cls. TIME 20 minutes PROCEDURE 1 If dere are more than 14 students in the clas, divide them into groups 2 Give one copy of the worksheet to each student in the cas. 3 Ask cach student to write down the names of everybody in the class or group, in random order, in column 1 of their worksheet. If there are fewer than 14 scudents in the cas, they should write some names twice 4 When they have done that, ask ther to fold their piece of paper as indicated so that columns 1 and 3 are hidden and ‘only column 2 visible. They should give cto the student ‘on their left. 5 Ask the students to complete the first relative clause in ‘column 2 in any way they like For example: who likes sleeping = Who likes chocolate Encourage the students to be as imaginative or as amusing asthey lke, 6 When they have done that, ask them to give the paper to the student on their eft, You may need to give the students | 1 30-second time limit for completing each clause in order {0 avoid some students finishing before others. 7 Now ask the students to complete the next clause in column 2 on the piece of paper they have received and then give it to the student on their left 8 Repeat the activity until all the clauses in column 2 have been completed. 9 Now ask the students to tum their piece of paper aver so that only column 3 is visible. They should complete the fist verb phrase in column 3 in aay way they like, For example: didn’t use to speak English didn't use to have a moustache dido’t use co be frightened of fying 10 When they have done that, ask them: to give the paper 10 the student on their left and continue as before until all the phrases have been completed, 11 Tell the students to open out the completed worksheet they have received and to read the sentences on their piece of paper, 12 If there are any words or phrases tha the students do not ‘understand or think are incorrect, tell them to find the student who wrote them and ask them to explain or correct the word or phrase. 13 Ask each student to read out any sentences which are true or particularly amusing. 14 Display the sentences on the wall around the classroom so ‘thatthe students can read them,z = | | | | 3 D 5 8 eames ° 3 8 | 2 | | | | | 3 2 2 e | | 2 3 £3 2 5 5 3 S =a | D 2 B 2 = | z 3 2 8 5 2 2 = ¢ 3 38 gs g 8 s oe 8 8 ¢ & oe 3 8 $ 2 $ § «28 8 8B 2 § fold ween cence cccn tence ecceenon j T j i | | | | a al | | | | A f | g | | 8 § 2 | 2 _—- Ff . 5 Oy = = ete eee ee ee ee 3 = 2 a 2 5 a a 2 = 2 o 2 ° 3 ° Q °o ° 2° ° °° 2 ° ° °o ° ‘o ° epee $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ 3 S : = $ fold wanannnennannnnn-acennn-vorn--cnne=- {ete nnannennsnnncnnnneencennnnnnmnnn manne | | | | |Dear customer [Aim | Procedure | To give students practice at using | 1 Ask students if they ever get mail from companies informing them of non-defining relative clauses, in new products or services (for example, their bank, their language ‘the context of a letter to persuade school). Ask them what kind of information they are sent. customers to use a new product 2 Hand out the worksheet and ask students to read the letter. or service 3 Put students into pairs. Draw their attention to the sentences beneath the letter. They have to decide where these sentences could Materials fitinto the body of the letter They should then transform them into non-defining relative clauses and insert them in the most appropriate ‘One worksheet per student place. Do the first one together as an example (see suggested answer key) Ti 4 Give them five to seven minutes to expand the letter in pairs. ime ‘When they have finished, check the answers with the whole class by 25-30 minutes asking students to read out the completed letter a sentence at a time. 5 Tell students they are responsible for marketing in one of the : companies in the list at the bottom of the worksheet. In pairs, they Preparation should choose a company and brainstorm ideas about the new Copy the worksheet product or service on offer, and any special features that would be attractive to customers. Allow about five minutes. 6 Students write a letter fo be sent to customers or potential customers, telling them about the new product or service and persuading them to buy it. This should take about ten minutes. 7 When they have finished, they read another pairs letter and say i they would buy the product or not, and why. SUGGESTED ANSWER KEY ‘We are writing to you as one of our most valued customers, to inform you of our.latest model of telephone. Yes, UTS, which has been one of the leading telecom companies in the country for the last five years, is pleased to announce the launch ofits new UTS 3000. You probably thought the UTS 2650, which is the model you currently use, could not be Improved, but our new model will revolutionise your life. Let us tell you about some of the features of the UTS 3000, which is available now. * A display screen, where you can see the number or name of ‘the person calling, has been incorporated into this new mode! ‘* Anew memory system, which records and lets you view the calls you receive while you are out, enables you to keep track of all the poople who have tried to contact you, even if you have been away from home for days. '* A recall button, which automatically calls the last person who called you, without you having to dial, is another new feature, For just 20 euros rental a month, which is a small price to pay, ‘the most cutting-edge telephone on the market can be yours.United Telecom Services Dear customer, We are writing to you as one of our most valued customers, to Inform you of our latest model of telephone. ‘Yes, UTS is pleased to announce the launch of its new UTS 3000. You probably thought the UTS 2650 could not be improved, but our new model will revolutionise your life. Let us tell you about some of the features of the UTS 3000. | A display screen has been incorporated into this new model. | Anew memory system enables you to keep track of all the people who have tried to contact you, even if you have been away from home for days @ Arrecall button is another new feature. For just 20 euros rental a month the most cutting- edge telephone on the market can be yours. For more information, phone 1004 now. 1. UTS has been one of the leading telecom companies in the country for the last five years. 2 Itis a small price to pay. 3. It records and lets you view the calls you receive while you are out. 4 Itis available now. 5 Itis the model you currently use. 6 On the screen you can see the number or name of the person calling. 7 It automatically calls the last person who called you, without you having to dial, + a restaurant chain which is opening a new restaurant + a language school which is launching an Internet course + an airline which is starting to operate a new route + a toothpaste company which is launching a new brand of toothpaste * a food company which is launching a new product + an idea of your own‘MD In 1997, when ... [Activity Par or groupwork Stodents complete non defining eatve causes and then work together to create story. ime [25 minutes [Preparation |Copy and cut up one worksheet foreach par or group of tree students. Procedure ~ Divide the students into pairs or groups of three. Give out a set of prompts to each pair / group, keeping the prompts with the examples from the top of the worksheet at the top of the pile. Students read the four example prompt. Elicit possible changes to the wording, eg. a key, which was made- ‘of gold and very heavy small and made of iver ora key knife, which was made of gold and very heavy. ~ Give the students about five minutes to look at the rest of the prompts and to complete the non-defining relative clauses on at least nine of them. They can also change the names places, and other detail if they want to, Monitor closely to check the accuracy of the students’ sentences and help where needed. ~ When al the pairs / groups have finished, they pass their ‘completed prompts to another pair or group. Each pair / {group must now choose at least seven ofthe new prompts to-use in a short story. Give the pairs / groups ten minutes to plan their story and practise telling it to each other. ~ Reorganize the students into new pairs or groups to tell their stories to each other. — At the feedback stage, ask the students what kind of stories they told and heard, eg. adventure stories, love stories, etcIn 1997, when... in 1997, when 7 was working on a farne im Turkeyrelative clauses Fiecadry socio wh 2 [ie pena wo which, that ending, speckiog/storyteling, ancy othe works ut) Mae copy ofthe pases o-¢ Giitnoit or copted onto the board : i ONE FALSE MOV E... Procedure (20 minutes) 1 Weite che word FEAR in crcl on che board Divide the clas neo pairs “The scudents write down as many words / phrases as they can associated wih fear. These should inchide siuations (eg, fire, earthguahs), adjecives (ea afraid. ered, verbs (© shiver, hake, phobias (epider, eight), ec. 2. Feedback 2s a class and build up a spidergram on the board, Include and check the meanings ofthe following words in che text: shake, thumping (20). to rece, to cower, ttrenble 3. Give each pair acopy ofthe Sse part ofthe story. Ask the students co read the cext and underline any words thas create che atmosphere of fear Feedback 253 class Suggested answers ‘suddenly whispered being burgled heart thumping flew open masked men shouted froze cowered die whimpered trembling 4 In their pairs, che scudents decide why they think masked men were in the Kellys’ bedroom at three o'clock in ehe morning. Feedback as a class. 5. Write che following phrases on the board or show them on an OHT. Ask the seudencs to find appropriate places to slor chem into che rext. 2, which 1:25 on the bedside table, B 5 who was sleping soundly beside ber who war carrying the axe dswho was in Bor cot in the next room, fe, which was ride open (Check the answers wich the whole class. You could copy the text onto an OHT to do this. Answers. The phrases should be added ofter the following words in the text: the alarm clock. her husband. Theman— Emma, the front door... 7. Blicie what job these phrases do (chey give more information about nouns / pronouns: they help to add derail and aemosphere to a narrative). Elie ‘whether ther are defining or non-defining relative clauses. Answers defining rron-detning Sefning on-defning on-detning 8 In cheir pairs, che students try to write an ending for the story. They should ery to include a few examples of relative clauses. Feedback as 2 class and vore on the best ending, 9. Give each pair copy of the real ending co the story. Alternatively, read ou the ending ro the class: the erudents compare i with cheir own versions. Option + The students discuss frightening or unexpected experiences that they oF someone ther know, have had. They write a paragraph about one of the experiences they discussed.ONE TRACEY KELLY woke up suddenly, She had heard glass breaking. The alarm clock said 3.00 arm. ‘Derick, wake up,’ she whispered, shaking her husband. ‘There's someone downstairs. 5 We're being burgled.’ Tracey's heart was thumping, Derick reached for the phone, but before he could pick up the receiver the bedroom door flew open. Two masked men stood in the doorway. One was carrying a huge 10 axe. The man shouted, ‘Don't move! Stay where you are. Don't tur the light on, and don't pick up the phone!’ Tracy and Derick froze. They cowered under their quilt. ‘We're going to die,’ Tracy whimpered. Then more masked figures 15 appeared. ‘Get out of the house!” they ordered. Trembling, Tracey and Derick got quickly out of bed. Derick collected their 19-month-old baby daughter, Emma, and they went downstairs and out of the front door. At each end of the road stood a fire engine, a police car, and ambulance. ‘Will someone please tell me what's going on?’ Tracey shouted to a fireman who was coming towards them. ‘The people who live next door to you reported a gas leak,’ he explained. ‘Your cooker is the problem. We had to get you out of the house quickly, but we couldn't risk you turning on the light ~ it would have sparked an explosion. Sorry about the SAS-style entrance.’ ‘I thought the end had come,’ laughs Tracey, who has now recovered from the shock. ‘ifit hadn't been for our neighbours we might not be here to tell this story. We got the biggest fright of our lives and a lot of broken glass but it's a small price to pay.’EG Relative clauses with extra information Type of activity ‘Small group; ordering (dominoes); production Grammar point Relative clauses ~ there are two types of relative clauses: defining clauses and non-defining clauses ~ in defining clauses, the relative clause identifies coho or shat is referred to in the main clause: That's the man who bougiet my car. ~ with defining clauses, the main clause cannot stand alone without the relative clause in non-defining clauses, the relative clause gives extra information’ My cousin, who is a geologist, lives in Argentina if the non-defining relative clause is left out, the sentence will still make sense another difference between the two types of relative clause is that we can use shar instead of who o which in a defining clause but not in a non-defining clause: Is she the woman that you were talking about? ~ Wwe can leave out the relative pronoun in the defining clause where itis the object of the verb in the first clause: Is that the man (toho) you sazo yesterday? We cannot leave out the relative pronoun in non- defining clauses non-defining clauses are separated from the main clause by a comma or commas Other structures None Topic areas Everyday (and not so everyday) life Challenging vocabulary lighthouse, givaffes pianist, lion-tamer Materials and preparation + Copy and eut up one set ofthe DoMnvors foreach group of 3-4 students, The DOMINOES comprise RiLATIVE PRONOUN CARDS and PICTUKw CARDS. You can leave the words on the bottom of each picture cand, or for a freer game, cut them off How to use the game + Check that your students are familigr with the grammar in the Grammar point and with the words listed in Challenging vocabulary. Pre-teach any other words from the game you think will be unfamiliar to your class. + Divide the class into groups of 3-4 students + Give each group a set of CURE CARDS and a set of RELATIVE PRONOUN CARDS. + Ask students to deal out four cards from each pile to each player and to place the rest face down in two piles in the centre. + Players may look at their bos OES, + The first player chooses a PICTURE CARD and places it ‘on the table where everyone can see it, + He begins the sentence either the card, e.g. ‘My uncle like ‘This isthe uncle ...” y saying the words on ", or an introductory phrase + The next player must choose another DoMINO and place it next to the first. He can choose cither a PICTURE CARD and complete the phrase, e.g. ‘orks in Australia’, or a RELATIVE PRONOUN CARD, e.g, ‘who. (If he chooses a relative pronoun card he will have to decide whether the clause is to be a defining or non-defining clause and choose an appropriate pronoun.) + The next player must choose either a PICTURE CARD) to complete the relative clause appropristely, e.g. “My uncle, cho is a lion-tamer, ...’ of relative pronoun to continue the sentence, e.g. ‘My uncle eorks in Australia where... + The next player must try to add a new DOMINO to continue the sentence. + The object of the game is to make as long a sentence as possible. + Players should write the sentence down as they make it, putting in commas where necessary, eg. ‘My uncle Philip, who isa lion-tamer, works in Australia, there he ‘mat a dentist, ns a lighthouse, where she Reeps a siraffe which she stole from the 200, cchere my sister works. + Ifa player cannot go at any time he may pick up a card from either the picture pile or the pronoun pile and the turn passes to the next player. Players also pick up a card from the pile of their choice when they have completed a turn until there are no DOMINOES left + ‘The game will end when no-one can go and there are no more DOMINOES to pick up. + Groups should read out their sentences. + The group with the longest (correct) sentence is the winner. Monitoring and feedback ‘When you go through the sentences with the whole class, make @ note of any errors and provide feedback on these after the game is finished.DOMINOES ~ RELATIVE PRONOUN CARDSDOMINOES - PICTURE CARDS AustraliaRewrite the following paragraph using non-defining relative clauses to make it sound more interesting. A man called Tom went to Warsaw to visit a friend. When he arrived at the house he knocked on the door, but an old man answered. He invited Tom inside and gave him a drink. Tom sat in an armchair and fell asleep. When he woke up he was on a boat. example: A man called Tom, who was 29, went to Warsaw, where he used to live, to visit a friend, who he went to school with.GRAMMAR relative clauses © Complete the text with who, which, where, or whose. cee mk eels ones Bro cukes as We asked students to tell us about their favourite things in life: This week Elena, a student from Brazil, tells us about hers. Thave to say that my favourite place in the world is the village '__where Iwas born. I've travelled all over the world but it’s still the plac Hove the most. A song... that’s an easy one! It’s Lady in Red by Chris de Burgh, for two reasons. Firstly, it was the colour of the dress *___ Iwas wearing the night | met my husband. Secondly, it was the song *___ the DJ played as we danced. The number *___________I've chosen is the number ine. My grandmother, ° —____ used to live with us when Iwas | a child, always asked me to get her a lottery ticket with this number. I | think that’s why I like it so much. For a photo, I've chosen a black and white photo of my parents ”___T've had for about 20 years. Every time [look at it, I can see two happy people in their early twenties D lives were about to change forever. Why? Well because ‘my mum was pregnant with me in the photo! My English teacher at school was the woman °___ inspired me to love languages. So, I've chosen her to be my favourite person, Animals? No question about it! The animals ""____ I like most are dogs. The shop 4_________T could spend all day would be one selling perfumes and cosmetics. Finally, an object '=__is very special to me is my engagement ring, because it used to belong to my husband's grandmother. It's beautiful. © Inwhich sentences could you also use that? © Inwhich sentences could you leave out who or which? © Combine the two sentences using a non-defining relative clause, 1 Our neighbours are both teachers. They work at the same school Our neighbours, who are both teachers __, work at the same school. Pablo Picasso's best known painting is Guernica. He was born in Malaga in 1881 Pablo Picasso, — ____, was born in Malaga in 1881 3. Canberra is the capital of Australia. It’s smaller than Sydney and Melbourne. Canberra, ____, is smaller than Sydney and Melbourne. 4 Our local post office has closed down. I used to work there Our local post office, __, has closed down. 5 Lionel Messi is possibly the most talented footballer of his generation. He was born in Rosario in Argentina. Lionel Messi, __ is possibly the most talented footballer of his generation. Iwas the worst for over 75 years. 6 The hurricane caused millions of dollars’ worth of damag The hurricane, —___ . caused millions of dollars’ worth of damage. © Read a again. Write a paragraph about your favourite things in life.© Complete the text with who, which, where, or whose. A eS EE a Lee eC ee aT Le Ears) Pare We Oey We ask readers to tell us about things which have a special meaning for them. This week, the TV actor Gavin Jones. “Well, I've chosen Paris because it’s the place '__where_ I lived for the first ten years of my life. A song? Well, that has to be Eurythmics singing Sweet dreams are made of this because it was the song ? was playing in the background in the pub at the exact moment when I met my girlfriend. My number is 13. It’s a number? _ some people think is unlucky, but it’s my date of birth and it’s lucky for me. For the object in my house I have chosen an antique camera *_ was a present from my parents. The person is Kenneth Branagh. He's the actor inspired me when I was a student. My animal is a cat, because they are the animals 6 1 ike most in the world. A shop? That was easy ~ one called Blackwell's, in Oxford Street in London, because it’s the place7__I worked for a year after finishing university. And the last thing is a photo, a photo of someone *® is very important in my life but? name I'm not going to tell you © In which sentences could you also use that? @ In which sentences could you leave out who, which, etc.? © Combine the two sentences using a non-defining relative clause. 1 Our neighbours are both chemis . They work for the same pharmaceutical company. Our neighbours, _who are both chemists, work for the same pharmaceutical company. 2 Pablo Picasso's best-known painting is Guernica. He was born in Mélaga in 1881. Pablo Picasso, , was born in Malaga in 1881. 3 Canberra is the capital of Australia. Its smaller than Sydney and Melbourne. Canberra, , is smaller than Sydney and Melbourne. 4 Our local post office has closed down. I used to work there. Our local post office, has closed down. 5 Mrs Bradbury is my mother’s best friend, Her daughter is the local doctor. Mrs Bradbury, is my mother’s best friend, 6 George Best was possibly the most talented British footballer of his generation. He died in 2005. George Best, , was possibly the most talented British footballer of his generation, 7 The hurricane caused millions of dollars’ worth of damage. It was the worst for over 75 years. The hurricane, , caused millions of dollars’ worth of damage, 8 My sister is a clothes designer. She's opening her own company next month, My sister, , is opening her own company next month,