Transcript relative251111 - TheFridaySessions

Language Awareness
Relative clauses etc…
Dr Fischer is the world’s most _______ heart surgeon.
Unfortunately, he was ___ ____ to perform the operation
as he had __ _____ to work on.
What’s the difference between an
adverb and a preposition?
Can you think of the 5 different
classes of adverbs, e.g. time, and
an example of each of them?
Look at the four examples of
multi-word verbs below. What
type is each? What are the key
differences between them?
a)
b)
c)
d)
He’s a good speaker, but it takes him ages to get to the
point.
Did you know that Tom and Jane had broken up?
The new law comes down heavily on drink drivers.
I tried on loads of shirts, but none of them fitted.
What do the following words all have
in common?
slow, straight, hard, fast, well
Say what these two sentences mean
a) with commas; b) without
commas
1) The test paper which everyone
failed was far too difficult.
2) My brother who is in canada is an
architect.
Look at the two sentences below. Underline the relative clauses in a
and b and circle the relative pronouns.
a) A philatelist is a person who collects stamps.
b) Mr Bradshaw, who lives next door to me, is a philatelist.
Complete the definitions:
-
-
Sentence a is an example of a DEFINING/ NON-DEFINING relative clause–
it tells us what a philatelist is. The relative clause cannot be left out
because without it the sentence makes no sense. There are no commas
before or after this type of relative clause and no pauses when spoken.
Sentence b is an example of a DEFINING/ NON-DEFINING relative clause–
it adds extra information of secondary importance and could be ommitted.
The extra information is indicated within commas (or comma and then full
stop). When spoken, we pause at the commas and “background” this less
important information by dropping key.
- DEFINING/ NON-DEFINING relative clauses are
generally much more common.
- DEFINING/ NON-DEFINING relative clauses are
commonly found in written English, where
sentences are carefully constructed. In spoken
English thay can sound overly formal and can
easily be expressed by simpler sentences e.g. I
spoke to our next door neighbour, Mr Bradshaw.
Did you know he collects stamps?
DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES
Look at the following examples. They are all
defining relative clauses.
a.
The woman who lives downstairs is my cousin.
Fleming was the man who discovered penicillin.
The group that wins will represent the school
b.
The man that you met yesterday was my father.
Have you eaten the chocolate that I bought you?
The road that we wanted to take was blocked.
In which group, a or b, is it possible to omit the relative
pronoun? Why? (think about the difference between
groups a and b)
Thinking of the previous examples, complete the box and the
rule for defining relative clauses
DEFINING
Subject
Person
who/that
Thing
Object
RULE:
With defining relative clauses, no relative pronoun is necessary when the
relative clause defines the SUBJECT/OBJECT of the clause. Otherwise, it can’t
be omitted.
Non-defining relative clauses
Look at the following sentences, which all include non-defining
relative clauses. Decide whether the relative clause in each
refers to the subject (s) or the object (o) of the sentence.
a) Mr Jenkins, who has written several books, spoke at the
meeting last night. S/O
b) My favourite drink is whisky, which is Britain’s biggest
export. S/O
c) Peter Redland, who the PM sacked last year, is hosting a
TV quiz show. S/O
d) I gave him a sandwich, which he ate greedily. S/O
e) Mr Jones, for whom I worked for 10 years, has just
retired. S/O
Thinking of the examples from the previous page, complete
the box and the rules for non-defining relative clause:
NON-DEFINING
Person
SUBJECT
,who….,
Thing
OBJECT
Rules:
The relative pronoun can sometimes/never be left out of non-defining clauses.
“that” IS/IS NOT used in non-defining relative clauses.
“which” can be used to refer to the whole sentence before: e.g. He arrived
on time, which surprised everybody.
WHOSE
Look at the examples and complete
the rule:
a) That’s the woman whose son got married recently.
b)My parents, whose greatest ambition is to retire to the
coast, have just sold their house
c) Is that the company whose accountant has disappeared
with thousands of pounds of their money?
RULE: “whose” can be used for only defining / only nondefining/ both defining and non-defining relative clauses.
Why, when, where and what
Look at the examples below and answer the questions
a) Do you remember the reason (why) we were arguing?
b) I need to know the exact time (when) you expect to arrive.
c) We go swimming after 8, when the kids’ classes have finished.
d) Do you know the hotel where we’re staying?
e) Do you know the hotel we’re staying at?
f) He shops in Oxford, where his sister lives.
g) What I need to know is where we’re meeting.
h) Has she told you what’s worrying her?
i) I have to do what I believe is right.
Questions:
When can why and when be omitted?
What about where?
When can when and where never be omitted?
What does what mean in the above example?
Reduced relative clauses
Look at the examples below and answer the questions:
a) The company produced various plans drafted by different
consultants.
b) The police are interviewing a man seen just after the robbery.
c) All those going on tomorrow’s trip should sign up at the main
desk.
d) An ammater is an instrument used for measuring the strength of
an electric current.
e) The woman sitting next to him is his ex-wife.
Questions:
What do these examples all have in common?
What is omitted in each case?
Does this omission make them more or less formal?
Could this be considered as “ellipsis”?
ALSO:
Relative clauses can be reduced with the adjectives available and possible
(omitting the relative pronoun and verb “to be”):
Please send me all the tickets available. (=that are available)
Today’s the only date possible. (=that is possible)
Examples of defining relative clauses with omission of the relative pronoun
when referring to the object coud also be seen as “reduced”. In contrast to
a-e on the previous page, though, no verb is omitted.
Future passives are not reduced as there would clearly be confusion:
…the new airport which will be built in Leeds.
…the new airport built in Leeds.
Comment on the following incorrect
sentences.
a) The book, that you lent me last week, is over there on the
shelf.
b) Last week we went to see the Good Shepherd which is a
very good film but we couldn’t stay till the end.
c) The man lives opposite is a good friend of mine.
d) When I was down in town I bumped into my cousin who
told me the news.
e) The student who you spoke to him yesterday is absent
today.
Batman Begins, that I saw last week, is a very boring film.
g) She’s not the little girl whom I used to know.