EXERCISES

1. You are reading a crime story. One of these people has murdered the industrialist Colin Howard. Look at the detective’s notes and make a sentence about each person, using a relative clause with who or whose.

e.g. George Paxton, company director – he had an argument with Colin. à George Paxton is the company director who had an argument with Colin.

e.g. Vera Stokes, politician – her sister once worked for Colin. à Vera Stokes is the politician whose her sister once worked for Colin.

1. Felix Reeves, journalist – his tape recorder was stolen. 2. Graham Wilshaw, architect – he knew Colin at school. 3. Rex Carter, farmer – Colin bought his land. 4. Norman Bridge, lawyer – he looked after Colin’s interests. 5. Sonia Goldman, house guest – her fingerprints were on the door handle. 6. Frank Miller, an ex-partner – he is the second biggest shareholder in Colin’s business. 7. Catherine Jones, secretary – she had worked for Colin for the last six years. 8. Patricia Howard, Colin’s wife – her reaction to the news of Colin’s death seemed inadequate. 9. Mathew Barrette, doctor – he played golf with Colin at weekends. 10. Phil Howard, Colin’s brother – Colin’s body was found in his house.

2. Zedco Chief Executive Barry Douglas is telling a group of managers how to run a business successfully. He emphasises the underlined words with what.

e.g. You must pat attention to the details. à What you must pay attention to are the details.

1. You have to think about your profit. 2. You should carefully look at your existing customer base. 3. You must know the needs of your customers. 4. You should work towards a realistic target. 5. You need to plan ahead. 6. The target sections of your business plan must clearly identify the current and prospective buyers of your company’s products and services. 7. You must pay attention to purchasing shifts likely to occur within your target market. 8. You should have a clear cut idea of your marketing budget. 9. Your marketing fundamentals must focus on benefits. 10. You should care for the needs and benefits your customers will receive.

3. Read the situations and complete the sentences using where.

e.g. You grew up in a small town. You went back there recently. à I recently went back to the small town where I grew up.

1. You want to buy some postcards. You ask a friend where you can do this. à Is there a shop near here…? 2. You work in a factory. The factory is going to close down next month. à The factory… 3. Sue is staying at a hotel. You want to know the name of the hotel. à Do you know the name of the hotel…? 4. You play football in a park on Sundays. You show a friend the park. à This is the park… 5. That rock festival is held in this place every year. à It’s (the place)… 6. I Once had lunch with Henry at the Riverside Restaurant. à We went to the Riverside Restaurant… 7. The poet Wordsworth lived in the Lake District. à The Lake District is… 8. I’ll see you near the post office. We meet there every day. à I’ll see you near the post office, …

REVISION

4. Complete each sentence using who, whom, whose, why, when or where.

1. What’s the name of the man ___ car you borrowed? 2. A cemetery is a place ___ people are buried. 3. A pacifist is a person ___ believes that all wars are wrong. 4. An orphan is a child ___ parents are dead. 5. What was the name of the person to ___ you spoke on the phone? 6. The place ___ we spent out holidays was really beautiful. 7. This school is only for children ___ first language is not English. 8. The woman with ___ he fell in love left him after a month. 9. I’ve got a friend ___ brother is an actor. 10. I met a woman ___ who I know. 11. That is the church ___ Ken and Kate were married. 12. They’re the people ___ house caught fire. 13. Did they tell the reason ___ they wanted you to do that? 14. What’s the name of the restaurant ___ you had lunch? 15. I can’t remember the time ___ there was no television.

5. Fill in the blanks with who, which, whose or where.

Last night I met George – you know, the boy __ I was at school with years ago. Well, he lives in the country now, in a village __ is not far from Nottingham. And he’s married Liz – you remember? – the girl __ father had that small shop in Lexington Avenue… Anyway, George has bought a cottage, __ cost him a fortune and __ he is going to open a guesthouse. He’s found a partner __ will lend him the $ 2,000 __ he needs to start him off. He says his guesthouse will be a place __ tourists can find a clean room at a reasonable price, and __will also serve good English food. I don’t know. I am always sceptical of people __ ambition is to make money quickly.

6. Peter is going to the United States next year. Complete what he says about his visit using whose, who/whom, where and when.

I’m going to the United States at the beginning of January ___, hopefully, it won’t be too cold. I’m flying to New York, ___ my friend Brian has been living for the past two years. I’m really looking forward to meeting his American girlfriend Cyndy, ___ I met when they both came over to London last year. Cyndy, brother is quite a famous jazz musician, has promised to take me to Greenwich Village, ___ there are a lot of jazz clubs. After two weeks in New York, I’ll take the Greyhound bus to Cleveland, Ohio. I’m going to stay there with my Aunt Jackie, ___ son – my cousin Abe – I met last summer in England. Then, if I have enough money, I’ll travel south to New Orleans. I hope to get there by the first two weeks of February, ___ the Mardi Grass Festival takes place.

7. Complete the sentences with the correct or most appropriate relative pronoun; use Ø to indicate contact clause:

1. The thought of going home to his family was all __ kept him happy while he was working abroad. 2. She was probably the hardest working student __ I’ve ever taught. 3. Lewis, the man __ Johnson beat in the last World Championships, has broken the world’s record. 4. Lighting bonfires at this time of the year is a tradition __ goes back to the 17^th century. 5. Dorothy said something __ I couldn’t hear clearly. 6. There was little __ we could do to help her. 7. The Royal Floridian is an express train __ runs between New York and Miami. 8. The machine __ I have to use in my job cost over a million pounds. 9. The diary __ Ron kept when he was in prison was sold for $ 50, 000. 10. I have a friend __ ran in the New York marathon last year. 11. We were told that we would be held responsible for anything __ went wrong. 12. He’s probably the best golfer __ I’ve played against.