Unit
95 Relative clauses 4: extra information clauses (1)
A There are two types of relative clause. In these examples, the relative clauses are underlined.
Compare:
Type 1 Type 2
The woman who lives next door to me My brother Ben, who lives in Hong
is a doctor. Kong, is an architect.
Grace works for a company that makes Anna told me about her new job, which
furniture. she’s enjoying a lot.
We stayed at the hotel (that) you We stayed at the Park Hotel, which a
recommended. friend of ours recommended.
In these examples, the relative clauses tell you In these examples, the relative clauses do not
which person or thing (or what kind of person tell you which person or thing the speaker
or thing) the speaker means: means. We already know which thing or
‘The woman who lives next door to me’ person is meant: ‘My brother Ben’, ‘Anna’s new
tells us which woman. job’ and ‘the Park Hotel’.
‘A company that makes furniture’ tells us
The relative clauses in these sentences give us
what kind of company.
extra information about the person or thing.
‘The hotel (that) you recommended’ tells
us which hotel.
We do not use commas (,) with these clauses: We use commas (,) with these clauses:
We know a lot of people who live in My brother Ben, who lives in Hong
London. Kong, is an architect.
B In both types of relative clause we use who for people and which for things. But:
Type 1 Type 2
You can use that: You cannot use that:
Do you know anyone who/that speaks John, who speaks French and Italian,
French and Italian? works as a tour guide. (not that speaks)
Grace works for a company which/that Anna told me about her new job, which
makes furniture. she’s enjoying a lot.
You can leave out who/which/that when it is
the object (see Unit 93): You cannot leave out who or which:
We stayed at the hotel (that/which) We stayed at the Park Hotel, which
you recommended. a friend of ours recommended.
This morning I met somebody (who/that) This morning I met Chris, who I hadn’t
I hadn’t seen for ages. seen for ages.
We do not often use whom in this type of You can use whom for people (when it is the
clause (see Unit 94B). object):
This morning I met Chris, whom I hadn’t
seen for ages.
C In both types of relative clause you can use whose and where:
We helped some people whose car had Lisa, whose car had broken down, was
broken down. in a very bad mood.
What’s the name of the place where Kate has just been to Sweden, where
you went on holiday? her daughter lives.
190 Relative clauses (Type 1) ➜ Units 92–94 Relative clauses (Type 2) ➜ Unit 96
Unit
Exercises 95
95.1 Make one sentence from two. Use the information in brackets to make a relative clause (Type 2).
You will need to use who/whom/whose/which/where.
1 Catherine is very friendly. (She lives next door to us.)
Catherine, who lives next door to us, is very friendly.
2 We stayed at the Park Hotel. (A friend of ours recommended this hotel.)
We stayed at the Park Hotel, which a friend of ours recommended.
3 We drove to the airport. (The airport was not far from the city.)
We drove to the airport,
4 Kate’s husband is an airline pilot. (I have never met Kate’s husband.)
Kate’s pilot.
5 Lisa is away from home a lot. (Lisa’s job involves a lot of travelling.)
Lisa
6 Paul and Emily have a daughter, Alice. (Alice has just started school.)
Paul and Emily have
7 The new stadium will hold 90,000 spectators. (The stadium will be finished next month.)
8 My brother lives in Alaska. (Alaska is the largest state in the US.)
9 Our teacher was very kind. (I have forgotten her name.)
10 We enjoyed our visit to the museum. (We saw a lot of interesting things in the museum.)
95.2 Read the information and complete the sentences. Use a relative clause of Type 1 or Type 2.
Use commas where necessary.
1 My brother is an architect. (He lives in Hong Kong.)
My brother, who lives in Hong Kong, is an architect.
2 The strike at the factory has now ended. (The strike began ten days ago.)
The strike at the factory
3 I was looking for a book this morning. (I’ve found it now.)
I’ve found
4 I’ve had my car for 15 years. (This car has never broken down.)
My car
5 A lot of people applied for the job. (Few of them had the necessary qualifications.)
Few of
6 Amy showed me a picture of her son. (Her son is a police officer.)
Amy showed me
95.3 Are these sentences OK? Correct them (and put in commas) where necessary. If the sentence is
correct, write ‘OK’.
1 Anna told me about her new job that she’s enjoying very much.
Anna told me about her new job, which she’s enjoying very much.
2 My office that is on the second floor is very small.
3 The office that I’m using at the moment is very small.
4 Sarah’s father that used to be in the army 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.
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Unit
96 Relative clauses 5: extra information clauses (2)
A preposition + whom/which
You can use a preposition + whom (for people) and which (for things).
So you can say:
to whom with whom about whom etc.
of which without which from which etc.
Mr Lee, to whom I spoke at the meeting, is interested in our proposal.
Fortunately we had a good map, without which we would have got lost.
In spoken English we often keep the preposition after the verb in the relative clause:
Katherine told me she works for a company called ‘Latoma’, which I’d never
heard of before.
We do not use whom when the preposition is in this position:
Mr Lee, who I spoke to at the meeting, is interested in our proposal.
(not Mr Lee, whom I spoke to …)
For prepositions in relative clauses, see also Unit 93C.
B all of / most of etc. + whom/which
You can say:
Helen has three brothers, all of whom are married.
They asked me a lot of questions, most of which I couldn’t answer.
In the same way you can say:
many of whom some of whom neither of whom etc. (for people)
none of which both of which one of which etc. (for things)
Martin tried on three jackets, none of which fitted him.
Two men, neither of whom I had seen before, came into the office.
They have three cars, two of which they rarely use.
Sue has a lot of friends, many of whom she was at school with.
You can also say:
the cause of which the name of which etc.
The house was damaged in a fire, the cause of which was never established.
We stayed at a beautiful hotel, the name of which I don’t remember now.
C which (not what)
Study this example:
Joe got the job . This surprised everybody. (2 sentences)
Joe got the job , which surprised everybody. (1 sentence)
relative clause
In this example, which = ‘the fact that Joe got the job’. We use which (not what) in sentences
like these:
Sarah couldn’t meet us, which was a shame. (not what was a shame)
The weather was good, which we hadn’t expected. (not what we hadn’t expected)
For what and that, see Units 92D and 93D.
192 all of / most of etc. ➜ Unit 88 both of etc. ➜ Unit 89 Relative clauses 1–4 ➜ Units 92–95
Unit
Exercises 96
96.1 Complete the sentences. Use a preposition + whom or which. Choose a preposition from:
after for in of of to with without
1 Fortunately we had a good map, without which we would have got lost.
2 The accident, two people were injured, happened late last night.
3 I share an office with my boss, I get on really well.
4 The wedding, only family members were invited, was a lovely occasion.
5 Ben showed me his new car, he’s very proud.
6 Sarah showed us a picture of her son, she’s very proud.
7 Laura bought a very nice leather bag, she paid twenty pounds.
8 We had lunch, we went for a long walk.
96.2 Use the information in the first sentence to complete the second one. Use all of / most of etc.
1 All of Helen’s brothers are married.
Helen has three brothers, all of whom are married .
2 Most of the information we were given was useless.
We were given a lot of information, .
3 None of the ten people who applied for the job was suitable.
Ten people applied for the job, .
4 My neighbours have two cars. They never use one of them.
My neighbours have two cars, .
5 James won a lot of money. He gave half of it to his parents.
James won £100,000, .
6 Both of Julia’s sisters are lawyers.
Julia has two sisters, .
7 Jane replied to neither of the emails I sent her.
I sent Jane two emails, .
8 I went to a party – I knew only a few of the people there.
There were a lot of people at the party, .
Now use the … of which … .
9 You stayed in a hotel when you were on holiday but you don’t remember the name.
We stayed at a very nice hotel, the name of which I don’t remember .
10 We drove along the road. The sides of the road were lined with trees.
We drove along the road, the .
11 The aim of the company’s new business plan is to save money.
The company has a new business plan, .
96.3 Complete the sentences. Choose from the box and use which.
This is good news. This makes it hard to contact her.
This was a shame. This means we can’t go away tomorrow.
She apologised for this This makes it difficult to sleep sometimes.
This was very kind of her. This meant I had to wait two hours at the airport.
1 Laura couldn’t come to the party, which was a shame.
2 The street I live in is noisy at night,
3 Kate let me stay at her house,
4 Jane doesn’t have a phone,
5 Alex passed his exams,
6 My flight was delayed,
7 Our car has broken down,
8 Amy was twenty minutes late,
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Unit -ing and -ed clauses (the woman talking to Tom,
97 the boy injured in the accident)
A A clause is a part of a sentence. Some clauses begin with -ing. For example:
Who is the woman talking to Tom? TOM
-ing clause
the woman
talking to Tom
We use -ing clauses to say what somebody (or something) is (or was) doing at a particular time:
Who is the woman talking to Tom? (the woman is talking to Tom)
Police investigating the crime are looking for three men. (police are investigating the crime)
Who were those people waiting outside? (they were waiting)
I was woken up by a bell ringing. (a bell was ringing)
You can also use an -ing clause to say what happens all the time, not just at a particular time:
The road connecting the two villages is very narrow. (the road connects the two villages)
I have a large room overlooking the garden. (the room overlooks the garden)
Can you think of the name of a flower beginning with T? (the name begins with T)
B Some clauses begin with -ed (injured, painted etc.). For example:
The boy injured in the accident was taken to hospital.
-ed clause
the boy injured
in the accident
-ed clauses have a passive meaning:
The boy injured in the accident was taken to hospital.
(he was injured in the accident)
George showed me some pictures painted by his father.
(they were painted by his father)
The gun used in the robbery has been found.
(the gun was used in the robbery)
Injured/painted/used are past participles. Most past participles end in -ed, but many are irregular
(stolen/made/built etc.):
The police never found the money stolen in the robbery.
Most of the goods made in this factory are exported.
C You can use there is / there was (etc.) + -ing and -ed clauses:
There were some children swimming in the river.
Is there anybody waiting?
There was a big red car parked outside the house.
We use left in this way, with the meaning ‘not used, still there’:
We’ve eaten nearly all the chocolates. There are only a few left.
see/hear somebody doing something ➜ Unit 67 -ing clauses ➜ Unit 68 there (is) ➜ Unit 84
194 Irregular past participles (made/stolen etc.) ➜ Appendix 1
Unit
Exercises 97
97.1 Make one sentence from two. Complete the sentence using an -ing clause.
1 A bell was ringing. I was woken up by it.
I was woken up by a bell ringing .
2 A taxi was taking us to the airport. It broke down.
The broke down.
3 There’s a path at the end of this street. The path leads to the river.
At the end of the street there’s .
4 A factory has just opened in the town. It employs 500 people.
has just opened in the town.
5 A man was sitting next to me on the plane. He was asleep most of the time.
The was asleep most of the time.
6 The company sent me a brochure. It contained the information I needed.
The company sent me a .
97.2 Complete the sentence with an -ed clause. Choose from:
damaged in the storm made at the meeting injured in the accident
involved in the project stolen from the museum surrounded by trees
1 The boy injured in the accident was taken to hospital.
2 The paintings haven’t been found yet.
3 We’ve repaired the gate .
4 Most of the suggestions were not practical.
5 Our friends live in a beautiful house .
6 Everybody worked very well.
97.3 Complete the sentences. Use the following verbs in the correct form:
blow call cause invite live offer paint read ring sit study work
1 I was woken up by a bell ringing .
2 George showed me some pictures painted by his father.
3 Some of the people to the party can’t come.
4 Somebody Jack phoned while you were out.
5 Life must be very unpleasant for people near busy airports.
6 A few days after the interview, I received an email me the job.
7 The building was badly damaged in a fire by an electrical fault.
8 Did you see the picture of the trees down in the storm?
9 The waiting room was empty except for an old man in the corner
a magazine.
10 Ian has a brother in a bank in London and a sister
economics at university in Manchester.
97.4 Use the words in brackets to make sentences with There is / There was etc.
1 That house is empty. (nobody / live / in it) There’s nobody living in it.
2 The accident wasn’t serious. (nobody / injure) There was nobody injured.
3 I can hear footsteps. (somebody / come) There
4 I’ve spent all the money I had. (nothing / leave) There
5 The train was full. (a lot of people / travel)
6 We were the only guests at the hotel. (nobody else / stay there)
7 The piece of paper was blank. (nothing / write / on it)
8 The college offers English courses in the evening. (a course / begin / next Monday)
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