1. Relative clauses
It is also called
“Adjective clauses”.

2. A relative/ adjective clause
e.g. I thanked the woman who helped me (main clause) (relative clause)
A relative/ adjective clause
must be joined to the main clause
describes the noun
begins with a relative pronoun (which, who, whom, whose, that)
placed in a sentence right after the noun we describe

3. The park is beautiful which is next to our school.
Is it correct?
No!
which = the park
The park which is next to our school is beautiful.

4. Relative pronouns Which = things/ animals
Who = people in subject position
Whom = people in object position
Whose = possession of somebody
= my, his, her, your, their, our
That = people & things
(not used in non-defining relative clauses)

5. Two types of relative clauses
1. Defining relative clauses
e.g. The boy who is talking with John is the head prefect in my school.
 a general noun (not clear which one we are talking about
 an important piece of information to identify the noun we describe
 No comma(s) to separate it from the main clause

6. Two types of relative clauses
2. Non-defining relative clauses
e.g. My second son, who is very lovely, is only
10 months old.
Cheuk Him, who is very lovely, is only
 a specific noun (very clear which one we are talking about
 give extra information about the noun
 must be separated from the rest of the sentence
by comma(s).

7. Is it a defining/ non-defining relative clause?
(a) I thanked the woman who/ that helped me.
(b) I thanked my mother, who helped me clean
my bedroom. (x that)
(c)The girl who/that has three brothers is her
parents’ favourite.
(d) May, who has three brothers, is her
parents’ favourite. (x that) 

8. Is it a defining/ non-defining relative clause?
(e) My BMW, which I bought last year,
needs a tune-up. (x that)
(f) Hawaii, which consists of eight islands,
is a favorite vacation spot. (x that)
(g) The box which/that I gave to Maria
contains an expensive gift.

9. Relative pronoun: which
The book "Alien" is mine. It is on the table.
Underline the common words in both sentences

10. Relative pronoun: which
The movie wasn’t very good. We saw it last night.
 The movie which/ that we saw last night wasn’t very good.

11. Exercise:
The dictionary is useful. I bought it from English. 

12. Exercise: The dictionary is useful. I bought it from England.
 The dictionary which I bought from England is useful.

13. Relative pronoun: who (subject)
I thanked my mother. She helped me clean my bedroom.
I thanked my mother. She helped me clean my bedroom.
I thanked my mother,
who helped me clean my bedroom.

14. Exercise:
My brother is often punished by the teacher. He is lazy and naughty. 

15. Exercise:
My brother is often punished by the teacher. He is lazy and naughty.
 My brother is often punished by the teacher. He is lazy and naughty.
 My brother, who is lazy and naughty, is often punished by the teacher.

16. Relative pronoun: whom (object)
The man was friendly. I met him yesterday.
 The man whom I met yesterday was friendly.
(x) The man whom I met him yesterday was friendly.

17. Exercise:
The boy is my brother. You beat him yesterday. 

18. Exercise: The boy is my brother. You beat him yesterday.
 The boy whom you beat yesterday is my brother.

19. Relative pronoun: whose
I know the man. His bicycle was stolen.

20. Exercise:
Fiona is a flight attendant. Her spoken English is excellent. 

21. Exercise:
Fiona is a flight attendant. Her spoken English is excellent.
Fiona is a flight attendant. Her spoken English is excellent.
 Fiona, whose spoken English is excellent, is a flight attendant.

22. More exercises:
1. The taxi driver was friendly. He took me to the airport.
2. I liked the composition. You wrote it.
3. The Lee family is very nice. We visited them last summer.
4. The man is standing over there. I mentioned him to you.
5. My father called the police. His wallet was stolen.
6. The problem is difficult to solve. We are facing it.

23. More exercises:
1. The taxi driver was friendly. He took me to the airport.
2. I liked the composition. You wrote it.
3. The Lee family is very nice. We visited them last summer.
4. The man is standing over there. I mentioned him to you.
5. My father called the police. His wallet was stolen.
6. The problem is difficult to solve. We are facing it.

24. More exercises (Answers)
1. The taxi driver who took me to the airport was friendly.
2. I liked the composition which you wrote.
3. The Lee family, whom we visited last summer, is very nice.
4. The man whom I mentioned to you is standing over there.
5. My father, whose wallet was stolen, called the police.
6. The problem which we are facing is difficult to solve.

25. Choose a suitable relative pronoun
A man whose job is to read the news on TV is called a news presenter.
Irene Tang, whom I have known for ten years, is going to get married soon.
Tom, who has a handsome look, is my elder brother.
whose + noun
whom + subj
who + verb

26. Writing classroom rules for F.3B
Who will get awards?
Group A1, B1, C1
Who will be punished?
Group A2, B2, C2

27. Writing classroom rules for F.3B
Who will get awards?
If you hand in your homework on time, you will get a small gift.
 The students who hand in their homework on time will get a small gift.
Who will be punished?
If you forget to bring your textbooks, you will be deducted 5 marks.
 The students who forget to bring their textbooks will be deducted 5 marks.

28. Writing classroom rules for F.3B
Who will get awards?
The students who hand
in their homework on
time will get a small gift.
Who will be punished?
The students who forget
to bring their textbooks
will be deducted 5 marks.