Relative Clauses - Exercises

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1 Defining or non-defining? Read the news article and then say what each relative clause does. Does it tell us which one, or does it add extra information? Put commas if needed.

The play that the students put on last week was Oscar Wilde's 'The Importance of Being Earnest' which

was written in 1895. The college theatre which holds over 400 people was unfortunately only half full for

the Friday evening performance. However, the people who bothered to attend must have been glad they

did. Lucy Kellett who played Lady Bracknell was magnificent. Unfortunately the young man who played

John Worthing forgot his lines twice, but that did not spoil the evening which was a great success.

2) Defining clauses and non-defining clauses

Put in the relative clauses. Sometimes there is more than one possible answer. Put commas when they are needed.

Someone knows all about it - the secretary. The person who knows all about it is the secretary.

1. Zedco has 10,000 employees. It's an international company.

Zedco ______________________ is an international company.

2. Vicky's name was missed off the list, so she wasn't very pleased. Vicky____________________ wasn't very pleased.

3. Laura painted a picture, and it's being shown in an exhibition. The picture __________________ is being shown in an exhibition.

4. We are looking forward to a concert. It's next Saturday. The concert ____________________ is next Saturday.

5. One week Mike and Harriet went camping. It was the wettest of the year. The week __________ _________________ was the wettest of the year.

6. Aunt Joan is a bit deaf, so she didn't hear the phone. Aunt Joan _________________________ didn't hear the phone.

7. You'll meet Henry tomorrow. He's also a member of the board. Henry_____________________ is also a member of the board.

8. I’ll see you near the post office. We met there the other day. I’ll see you near the post office ______________________________.

Relative Clauses - Exercises

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3) Each of these sentences has mistakes in it. Write the correct sentence. that I’ve found the magazine who was missing. 1. The letter, that I opened it, wasn’t for me.

2. I didn’t know the name of the man helped me.

3. Rupert knows the family, who’s house is on sale.

4. Einstein who failed his university entrance1 test discovered relativity.

5. The person, which we talked to, was very friendly.

6. It is the President makes important decisions.

7. I can’t find my money what is bad.

8. Lake Superior, that lies on the US-Canadian border, is the largest lake in North America.

4) A special use of which

Join the sentence pairs with which. My phone is out of order. It's a real nuisance. My phone is out of order, which is a real nuisance.

1. Rachel's mother paid for the meal. That was very kind of her.

2. My brother is disabled. It means he can't get about very easily.

3. You left the keys in the car. That was rather careless of you.

4. Vicky didn't get the job. It's made her very depressed.

5. The police blocked off the road. That caused a traffic jam.

5 Combine the two sentences into one. That man was Anna's brother. He just walked past. That man who just walked past was Anna’s brother. 1. The plane was twenty-five years old. It crashed.

The plane _____________________________________________________________ 2. One day Tessa was ill in bed. Martin rang.

The day ______________________________________________________________ 3. Our offices are in Queen Street. They are new.

Our _________________________________________________________________ 4. Some documents have been found. They were stolen from a car.

The documents _________________________________________________________________ 5. That map is out of date. You were looking at it.

The map _________________________________________________________________

1 Eingangs-

Relative Clauses - Exercises

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6) Who, whose, which, where and why Complete this advertisement. Put in who, whom, whose, which, where or why. Put commas when necessary.

1. The town of Keswick ___which___ lies at the heart of the Lake District is the perfect place for a

holiday, and the Derwent Hotel 1 _____________ overlooks the town is the perfect place to stay.

2. Robin and Wendy Jackson 2__________ bought this small hotel three years ago have already won

an excellent reputation.

3. Robin 3_____________ cooking is one of the reasons 4_______________ the Derwent is so

popular was once Young Chef2 of the Year.

4. The comfort of the guests 5______________ the owners treat almost as members of the family

always comes first.

5. Peter Ustinov 6_________________ once stayed at the hotel described it as 'marvellous'.

6. And the Lake District 7_______________ has so much wonderful scenery and 8___________ the

poet Wordsworth lived will not disappoint you.

7) Relative clauses

Decide which word or phrase is correct. Put commas if necessary. 1. At last I've found the information that I was looking ________.

a) for b) for it c) for that d) it 2. The plane ___________ has just taken off is an hour late.

a) it b) what c) which . d) who 3. My friend Nigel _________ works in the City earns more money than I do.

a) that b) which c) who d) whose 4. I'd like to see the photo ___________________________________________.

a) took b) you took it c) that you took d) that you took it 5. Atlanta is the city __________________ the Olympic Games were held in 1996.

a) that b) when c) where d) which 6. It rained all the time _____________ was a pity.

a) that b) what c) which d) who 7. We passed shops ____________ windows were decorated for Christmas.

a) the b) their c) which d) whose

2 Chef = Chefkoch

Relative Clauses - Exercises

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8) Complete the story about a thief's punishment.

Write the missing words. Use one word only in each space. Put commas if needed. This is a true story which is supposed to have happened somewhere in the US. A man 1_____________

was accused of housebreaking appeared in court. He had put his arm through the window of a house

and stolen some money 2______________ was lying on a table inside. The argument 3_____________

the man's lawyer put forward wasn't very impressive. He said that it was the man's arm 4____________

had committed the crime and not the man himself. 'You cannot punish a man for something 5_________

his arm has done,' said the lawyer. Now the judge in 7_____________ court the man was appearing

wanted to show how stupid the lawyer's argument was. Instead of finding the man guilty, he found the

man's arm guilty and sent it to prison. 'He can go with his arm or not, as he chooses,' the judge added

8________________ made everyone laugh. But what the judge didn't know was that the man had an

artificial3 arm. He took the arm off, gave it to the judge ______________ could hardly believe his eyes -

and walked out of the courtroom.

9) Connect the sentences.

Put commas if needed. 6. The King's Theatre is in the centre of town. It dates from 1896.

The King's _________________________________________________ in the centre of town. 7. A woman was terribly upset. Her dog was run over.

The woman _________________________________________________________________ 8. Janet solved the puzzle. She did it before everyone else.

Janet was _________________________________________________________________ 9. A man was standing outside the building. He was selling newspapers.

_______________________________________________________________________ 10. The talk was very interesting. Judy gave it.

The talk _________________________________________________________________ 11. The house is empty now. I used to live there.

The house _________________________________________________________________

3 künstlich

Relative Clauses - Exercises

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10 Non-defining relative clauses

Match the parts and write sentences with an adding clause. Use who or which. Bezugswort: Relative Clause Main Clause 1. The Grand Canyon He was in prison for 27 years. He was one of the Beatles.

2. Nelson Mandela He was killed in 1980. He became President of South Africa.

3. John Lennon It is 140 million miles away. It is one of the wonders of the world. 4. The Titanic It is over 200 miles long. It is known as the red planet.

5. Queen Victoria It sank in 1912. It stood for 28 years.

6. Mars It was built in 1961. It was supposed to be unsinkable.

7. The Berlin Wall She came to the throne in 1837. She ruled over the British Empire. The Grand Canyon, which is over 200 miles long, is one of the wonders of the world. 2. __________________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________________

4. __________________________________________________________________________

5. __________________________________________________________________________

6. __________________________________________________________________________

7. __________________________________________________________________________ 11 Commas in relative clauses

Put in the relative clauses. You may also need to put in one or two commas.

(that Claire drives): This car that Claire drives is a lot cheaper than my car. (who has twins): Olivia, who has twins, often needs a babysitter. 1. (who took Rita to the party)

The person ___________________________ was Tom. 2. (who has a bad temper)

Henry __________________________ shouted at the waiter. 3. (which Tom supports)

The team _________________________ is United. 4. (who is afraid of heights)

We all climbed up except Vicky____________________. 5. (which is on the tenth floor)

My new flat _______________________ has a terrific view. 6. (she bought the sofa from)

Sarah can't remember the name of the shop _______________________________.