English Grammar Exercises – Relative clauses

1. Can you answer the questions about the people in Box A? Use the information from Boxes B and C.

A

B

C

He made the famous print The Great Wave off Kanagawa.

He made wonderful violins.

He produced the first permanent photograph.

He travelled through Africa and Asia.

She opened a waxworks museum in London.

She was the first female astronaut.

She worked as a nurse and saved many lives.

1   Mary Seacole was a Jamaican who worked as a nurse and saved many lives.

2   ………………………………………………………………….

3   ………………………………………………………………….

4   ………………………………………………………………….

5   ………………………………………………………………….

6   ………………………………………………………………….

7   ………………………………………………………………….

2. Complete the conversation with who, that, whose or where. If no word is necessary, leave the space empty (–).

Zoe and Pat are planning a party next Thursday.

ZOE:   Well, who shall we ask to this party?

PAT:   Oh, not too many. Just a few people (1) …–…… we can be relaxed with.

ZOE:   Yes, I agree. So, who, for example?

PAT:   John and Jason, of course, and Carlo.

ZOE:   Carlo? Who’s he?

PAT:   He’s the Italian guy (2) …who…… is staying with John.

ZOE:   Oh, yeah. Is he the one (3) ………………… wallet got stolen when they were in London?

PAT:   That’s right. They caught the guy (4) ………………… took it, but he’d already spent all the money (5) ………………… Carlo had brought with him.

ZOE:   Poor Carlo. Perhaps the party will cheer him up.

PAT:   It might, if we ask the girl (6) ………………… he’s been going out with.

ZOE:   Who’s that?

PAT:   Celia’s her name. She works in that cinema (7) ………………… they show all the new films.

ZOE:   But will she be free on Thursday evening?

PAT:   Yes, it’s her evening off. That’s the reason (8) ………………… I suggested Thursday.

ZOE:   OK. Who else? What about Nicky and Cheryl?

PAT:   Are they the people (9) ………………… you went to France with?

ZOE:   Yes. If they bring their boyfriends, that’ll be ten of us. But have you got a room (10) ………………… is big enough? My landlady says we can’t use her sitting room because we made too much mess the last time (11) ………………… she let us have a party.

PAT:   It’s all right. Our house has got a basement (12) ………………… we store old furniture. If we clean it up, it’ll be fine.

ZOE:   Great. Let’s go and have a look at it.

3. Complete the sentences with your own ideas. Use a relative pronoun.

1   I like meeting people …who have travelled widely. ……

2   I enjoy parties …which go on till dawn. ……

3   I avoid going to restaurants …………………………………………………. .

4   Most of my friends are people …………………………………………………. .

5   I never watch films …………………………………………………. .

6   My favourite films are those …………………………………………………. .

7   I feel sorry for students …………………………………………………. .

8   My best friend is someone …………………………………………………. .

9   I’m going to buy a phone …………………………………………………. .

10   I wish I had a job …………………………………………………. .

4. Tick (✓) the sentence which matches the situation.

1   I have three umbrellas. I bought one of them in Paris. That one needs repairing.

      a   The umbrella which I bought in Paris needs repairing. ✓

      b   The umbrella, which I bought in Paris, needs repairing.

2   I have one colleague. He works extremely hard. He has few friends.

      a   My colleague who works extremely hard is not very popular.

      b   My colleague, who works extremely hard, is not very popular. ✓

3   I have several aunts. One works in New York. She’s getting married.

      a   My aunt who works in New York is getting married.

      b   My aunt, who works in New York, is getting married.

4   Peter made some sandwiches. They have all been eaten. You made some too. Your sandwiches have not been eaten.

      a   The sandwiches which Peter made have all been eaten.

      b   The sandwiches, which Peter made, have all been eaten.

5   There was only one park in this town. Someone has built over it. We used to play in the park when we were children.

      a   The local park where we played as children has been built over.

      b   The local park, where we played as children, has been built over.

6   One of my French teachers helps me with my homework. The other one lives too far away.

      a   The French teacher whose house is near mine helps me with my homework.

      b   The French teacher, whose house is near mine, helps me with my homework.

7   You met one of my cousins last summer, the one from the U.S. He’s coming to stay again.

      a   My American cousin who you met last summer is coming to stay again.

      b   My American cousin, who you met last summer, is coming to stay again.

8   There were a lot of candidates in the presidential election. Three of them were women. The winner was one of them. She had campaigned for better housing conditions.

      a   The woman who had campaigned for better housing conditions has been elected president.

      b   The woman, who had campaigned for better housing conditions, has been elected president.

9   I received lots of flowers when I was ill, but only my boyfriend sent me roses. I put the roses in my favourite vase.

      a   The roses which my boyfriend sent look beautiful in my favourite vase.

      b   The roses, which my boyfriend sent, look beautiful in my favourite vase.

10   I took two cameras away with me. You lent me one of them. That’s the one that got broken.

        a   The camera which you lent me has been broken.

        b   The camera, which you lent me, has been broken.