Unit 08: Relative Clauses – Chapter 1: Grammar Practice – Starter TOEIC – Third Edition – Building TOEIC Test-taking Skills – Anne Taylor – Casey Malarcher

🎯Target:

✔ Choosing WHO, WHICH, or THAT
✔ Using WHOSE to show possession
✔ Using WHAT as a relative pronoun
✔ Relative adverbs and their antecedents

1. Relative Pronouns

Relative Pronouns are words used to connect a dependent clause to a main clause.

A. Who, Which, That
↪️ Who: Used to refer to people.
Example: The woman is a singer. + She lives next door. → The woman who lives next door is a singer.
↪️ Which: Used to refer to things or events.
Example: I saw a movie. + It was amazing. → I saw a movie which was amazing.
↪️ That: Can replace both who (for people) and which (for things). It is often preferred after:
➡️ Words like all, everything, nothing, the only…
➡️ Superlatives.
Example:
⏺️ She is the only person that can help you.
⏺️ Everything that he said was true.

B. Which Refers to the Entire Preceding Clause
Which can refer to the entire preceding clause, not just a noun. In such cases, that or what cannot be used.
Example: John didn’t pass the test, which disappointed his father. (→ “Which” refers to the entire idea John didn’t pass the test.)

C. Possessive of Relative Pronouns
↪️ Whose: Used to show possession, whether the antecedent is a person or a thing.
Example: The man is my uncle. + His car broke down. → The man whose car broke down is my uncle.
↪️ Of which: Used when the antecedent is not a person, to express possession.
Example: I have a book. + Its cover is torn. → I have a book the cover of which is torn.

D. What (= The Thing Which)
What is a special relative pronoun because it does not require a noun before it. It means “the thing that/which.”
Example: He believes what he hears. (→ “What” = The thing that/which he hears.)

2. Relative Adverbs

Relative Adverbs are words used to connect a dependent clause to a main clause, often indicating time, place, manner, or reason.

1. When
When is used to refer to time expressions such as day, month, year, time….
When can often be omitted without changing the meaning of the sentence.
Example: I remember the day (when) we met. → The sentence means the same with or without when.

2. Where
Where is used to refer to place expressions such as hotel, park, place….
You can use in which as a formal alternative to where.
Example: Is this the park in which you met?
Is this the park where you met?
→ Both sentences mean the same: “Is this the park where you met?”

3. How
How expresses manner or the way something is done.
It is commonly used after the way. However, the way and how cannot be used together.
Example: This is the way he did it.
This is how he did it.
(Incorrect: This is the way how he did it.)
→ Both correct sentences describe how he did something.

4. Why
Why is used to refer to reason expressions such as the reason.
Why can often be omitted without changing the meaning of the sentence.
Example: This is the reason (why) he got upset. → The sentence means the same with or without why.