Ryerson ESL Foundation Program

[File Name with Date and v identified]

Relative Clauses
Fall 2017

Module 2 Culture & Identity

Relative Clauses

1 Read the sentences and underline the clauses describing the noun.

a. Anyone who has lived abroad has probably experienced culture shock to a certain extent.
b. People who travel frequently state that the frustration stage may be the most difficult stage of
culture shock.
c. The tools that have protected and nurtured Canadas culture are still unknown.
d. Despite the many different cultures, the country still unites to celebrate Canada Day, which
commemorates the formation of the country in 1867.
e. Canada is now bleeding $700 million in cultural spending every year dollars that used to support,
whether directly or, more often, indirectly, the creation of Canadian films, TV shows, recordings,
books, newspapers and magazines.
f. Parents whose children were born in Canada still try to maintain their cultural identity.

Which word is used to introduce the clause describing the noun?

2 Complete these sentences with the relative pronouns who, which, that, or whose. Give as
many alternatives for each answer as you can.

a. Living abroad can be an exhilarating experience _________ encourage new world views, increases
cultural curiosity and supports willingness to explore new terrains.
b. There are practical steps ______ can be taken to avoid experiencing cultural shock.
c. Many people maintain Canadas support for multiculturalism means the country has no culture,
but there are some people ______ beg to differ.
d. Many immigrants do not come to Canada to civilize Canadians, but some newcomers, _____
cultural influences are strong, believe that is their role.

3 Look at these two sentences extracted from the article Bloodlines . In which sentence does
the speaker have one sister? In which sentence does the speaker have more than one sister?

a. My sister who works as a doctor at Mount Sinai hospital is married.

b. My sister, who works as a doctor at Mount Sinai hospital, is married.

In which sentence is the information in the relative clause essential?

4 Read the following sentences and decide if they are defining (containing essential
information) or non-defining (containing non-essential information). If the clause is non-
defining, add comas.

a. People who study linguistics are known as linguists.

b. Linguists who study language acquisition are often able to describe general properties common to
all languages.
c. Linguistics which is still largely unfamiliar to the educated public is a growing and exciting field.

350 Victoria Street Toronto, ON M5B 2K3 416.979.5000, ext. 7588

 Ryerson ESL Foundation Program
[File Name with Date and v identified]
Relative Clauses
Fall 2017

d. A student with an interest in linguistics can choose among several different career paths which can
have an impact on his or her future job.
e. Not all countries whose languages are at risk of extinction are able to make significant changes to
preserve their culture.

Which of the relative pronouns in exercise 3 can be replaced by other relative pronouns?

5 Combine the sentences to form adjective clauses

a. The company is looking for people. They need to be bilingual in English and Chinese.

b. There are certain language rules. You are expected to follow the rules in order to master any foreign
language.

c. Some students waste most of their time learning idioms. They are not important when it comes to
language fluency.

d. The job was given to another teacher. She had been teaching for only two years.

Which sentences can be rewritten using that?

6 Relative clauses can also be introduced by why, where, and when. Complete these sentences
with one of these words, adding commas where necessary.

a. The reason ______ bilingual children are better and faster at learning languages is because they
have learned to recognize different voices.
b. She expressed her desire to live in a country _____ the culture is somewhat similar to her own.
c. It is in an area of Belfast ________ people can notice the phenomenon of code switching
switching between two languages.
Can the relative pronoun be left out in any of these sentences?

Which pronouns are used to express reason? Time? Place?

7 Write your own definitions for these words. Use relative clauses.
university campus Teacher student loan
IELTS home a good teacher seminar

350 Victoria Street Toronto, ON M5B 2K3 416.979.5000, ext. 7588

 Ryerson ESL Foundation Program
[File Name with Date and v identified]
Relative Clauses
Fall 2017

8 Look at the following pairs of sentences. What are the differences between the two sentences
in each pair? What rules can you work out?

a Thats the teacher to whom I spoke.

Thats the teacher I spoke to.

b The lecturer, about whom Id heard so much, gave an extremely interesting talk.
The lecturer, who Id heard so much about, gave an extremely interesting talk.

c The song, to which we had listened, was composed by a friend.

The song, which we listened to, was composed by a friend.

9 Complete the sentences below with relative pronouns. Indicate where there is more than
one possibility and add commas if necessary.

a. The meeting, ______ was attended by all the students in the programme, came to a final decision
about the language policy.
b. She doesnt like people _______are stubborn and selfish.
c. She wanted to know the reason ______ some people live without an identity.
d. Theyve decided to go back to their country to take a final look at the house ______ they used to live.
e. She prefers to travel back to her hometown in the winter _______ there are fewer tourists around.
f. I think that all of the people ______love art, those ______teach art, and all of you should burn with the
obligation to save the world.
g. Men of action, above all those _________actions are guided by love, live forever.
h. The way a book is read, _________is to say, the qualities a reader brings to a book can have as much
to do with its worth as anything the author puts into it.
i. Nobody wants a girl _______beauty is imperceptible to all but him
j. The true civilization is _________every man gives to every other every right that he claims for himself.

10 Write a short description of the institution where you worked or studied in your home
country. Use as many relative clauses as possible. Write 100-150 words.

350 Victoria Street Toronto, ON M5B 2K3 416.979.5000, ext. 7588