Relative Clauses

LESSON
Lesson Reference
Grammar rules and examples for self-study
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REVIEW
Review Exercises
Fill-in and gap-fill practice tasks
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ANSWER KEY
Answer Key
Correct answers for all exercises
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Relative Clauses

Grammar Reference

Form Example
Definingno commas · tells us which oneThe film [that] I watched was great.
Non-definingcommas · adds extra info · no "that"The woman [who] I met was friendly.
Omit pronounonly when pronoun = object of clauseThe man who called me.
whose/where/whenpossession · place · timeThe dog that bit him.

Relative Clauses — Exercises

Choose the correct relative pronoun

  1. The student who / which got the scholarship is studying environmental science.
    (who / which) 
  2. The app who / that went viral was downloaded ten million times in a week.
    (that / who) 
  3. The wildlife reserve where / which rare species live is protected by law.
    (where / which) 
  4. The athlete whose / who personal best was broken won gold.
    (whose / who) 
  5. The device that / who I bought last year has already broken down.
    (that / who) 
  6. The tutor that / where explained the curriculum was very clear.
    (that / where) 
  7. The school where / that I attended had an excellent sports programme.
    (where / that) 
  8. The journalist whose / which article went viral received thousands of comments.
    (whose / which) 

Combine the sentences

Join the two sentences using an appropriate relative pronoun.

  1. The platform allows users to upload videos. It went viral last year.
  2. The researcher discovered a new species. Her work won an award.
  3. The city has excellent public transport. I did my work placement there.
  4. The tutor gave really clear feedback. She teaches the curriculum module.
  5. The device connects to the internet automatically. I bought it last month.
  6. The wildlife documentary was filmed over three years. It won an award.

Correct the mistakes

  1. The student which won the scholarship is from our school.
  2. The city where I visited had a beautiful wildlife reserve.
  3. He is the athlete who his personal best was broken last season.
  4. The app which I use it every day has a carbon footprint tracker.

Exercise 4 — Error Correction

  1. Find and correct the ONE error: "The man which called yesterday left a message."
  2. Find and correct the ONE error: "The book what I bought is very interesting."
  3. Find and correct the ONE error: "This is the city where I was born there."
  4. Find and correct the ONE error: "The woman whose bag was stolen called the police."

Relative Clauses — Answer Key

Choose the correct relative pronoun

  1. who
  2. that
  3. where
  4. whose
  5. that
  6. that
  7. where
  8. whose

Combine the sentences

  1. Sample answer: The platform that went viral last year allows users to upload videos.
  2. Sample answer: The researcher whose work won an award discovered a new species.
  3. Sample answer: The city where I did my work placement has excellent public transport.
  4. Sample answer: The tutor who teaches the curriculum module gave really clear feedback.
  5. Sample answer: The device that I bought last month connects to the internet automatically.
  6. Sample answer: The wildlife documentary that won an award was filmed over three years.

Correct the mistakes

  1. who
  2. that I visited
  3. whose personal best
  4. The app that I use every day

Exercise 4 — Error Correction