Unit 23: Relative clauses / participles
Ngữ pháp Relative clauses / participles
📘 Giải thích tiếng Việt
Relative clauses - mệnh đề quan hệ
Bổ sung thông tin cho danh từ. Đại từ quan hệ: which (vật), who (người), whom (người - làm tân ngữ, trang trọng), whose (sở hữu), where (nơi chốn), when (thời gian), why (lí do). Khi đại từ làm chủ ngữ của mệnh đề thì không thêm chủ ngữ khác.
Defining vs Non-defining
Defining (xác định): cho biết cụ thể ta nói tới cái/người nào, không có dấu phẩy, có thể dùng that và có thể lược bỏ đại từ khi nó là tân ngữ. Non-defining (không xác định): chỉ thêm thông tin phụ, tách bằng dấu phẩy, không dùng that và không được lược bỏ đại từ. Which có thể thay cho cả mệnh đề trước đó.
Participles - mệnh đề phân từ
Present participle (-ing) mang nghĩa chủ động/đồng thời; past participle (-ed/bất quy tắc) mang nghĩa bị động; perfect participle (having + PII) diễn tả hành động xảy ra trước. Dùng để rút gọn mệnh đề quan hệ, nêu lí do hoặc hành động nối tiếp. Ví dụ: Having finished my homework, I went out.
Lưu ý (nuance): phân từ và mệnh đề chính phải cùng một chủ ngữ, nếu không sẽ sai (dangling participle). ✗ Watching TV, a report came on.
Theory
Relative clauses
Relative clauses give us extra information about something/someone or identify which particular thing/person we are talking about. They are often introduced by the following words:
| Word | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| which | for things and animals | Did you see the film which was on TV last night? |
| who | for people, and animals with a personality | Tom Davies, who is appearing in concert in Reading this week, is with me in the studio. |
| when | for times | Do you remember the day when we met? |
| where | for places | This is the place where they filmed Citizen Kane. |
| why | for reasons | That's the reason why he's so popular. |
| whom | for people as the object of the relative clause | Is that the man whom we saw at the cinema yesterday? |
| whose | for possession | My next guest is John Travolta, whose career goes back to the early seventies. |
Watch out!
- When the relative pronoun is the subject of the relative clause, you do not need another subject.
- Whom is quite formal. Informally, we use who instead, even when it is the object. After a preposition, we always use whom. Informally, we put the preposition at the end and use who.
- Where can be replaced by a preposition + which. Less formally, we can put the preposition at the end.
- We can do the same with when (in which).
Non-defining relative clauses
Non-defining relative clauses simply give us more information about something/someone. The sentence makes complete sense without the relative clause.
- Separated from the rest of the sentence by commas.
- We cannot leave out the relative pronoun and we cannot use that.
- Which can refer back to the whole of the sentence.
Defining relative clauses
Defining relative clauses tell us which one of a group of things/people we are talking about. The sentence doesn't usually make complete sense without the relative clause.
- Not separated from the rest of the sentence by commas.
- We can also use that to introduce the relative clause.
- We can often leave out the word which introduces the relative clause when it is the object of the clause.
- We do not need a preposition when we use where or when.
Participles
Present participles end in -ing. Past participles usually end in -ed (though many are irregular). Perfect participles are formed using having + past participle.
| Use | Example |
|---|---|
| After prepositions and conjunctions (present & perfect) | By appearing in that advert, he damaged his career. After playing / having played video games all morning, I was tired. |
| To explain the reason for something (present & perfect) | Being quite good looking, Ralph decided to become a model. Having seen the film before, I knew what was going to happen. |
| Actions happening at the same time (present) | Waiting for the show to begin, I felt really nervous. |
| To replace some relative clauses (present & past) | Imagine being the person directing a big budget film! (= who is directing) The person chosen for the part will be contacted by phone. (= who is chosen) |
| Past actions in sequence (perfect) | Having finished my homework, I decided to go to the cinema. |
| Alternative passive form (past) | Made to wait, the actor began to get very annoyed. |
Watch out! The participle and the rest of the sentence must both refer to the same subject.
✓ Watching TV, I saw a news report about Hollywood.
✗ Watching TV, a news report came on about Hollywood.
Exercise A
Circle the correct word.
Exercise B
If a word in bold is correct, put a tick (✓). If it is incorrect, rewrite it correctly.
Exercise C
Rewrite as one sentence using a relative clause. (The example is done for you.)
Example: My friend, Simon, plays the guitar. He has just released a CD.
→ My friend, Simon, who has just released a CD, plays the guitar.
Exercise D
Write one word in each gap. Do not write that and do not leave any gaps blank.
Find me a show that works
by our TV reviewer, Jeremy Platt
I'm sure there was a reason (1) I became a TV reviewer. Maybe it was my love of classic shows (2) kept me entertained as a child. Or maybe it was the presenters (3) seemed to promise an exciting world of glamour and showbiz. To be honest, I've watched so many shows lately (4) have bored me to tears that I've forgotten.
Take Kid Swap, for example, the new show (5) Channel 7 hopes will revive their viewing figures. The show takes kids (6) parents have had enough and swaps them with kids from other families for two weeks. The problem with this show is that I'm just not sure at (7) it's aimed – parents or teenagers. Parents (8) watch this show will find it childish, particularly at the moment (9) one of the teenagers does nothing but complain. Teenage viewers (10) watch more than the first five minutes will soon get bored of the parents, (11) blame anybody but themselves for the situation. This is definitely one idea (12) should be put exactly where it belongs – in the bin!
Exercise E
Tick (✓) the gaps in Exercise D which could be completed using that. Put a cross (✗) where that could not be used.
Exercise F
Choose the correct answer.
Exercise G
Circle the words in bold which are not necessary.
The number of options (1) that are available to us with (2) which to fill our leisure time is increasing all the time. While previous generations, (3) who lived before the electronic age, had musical instruments and card games (4) that they played to pass the time, we have PlayStations, computers, televisions and stereos. Although parents (5) whose teenagers spend a lot of time on these activities might worry about the effect (6) which it is having on them, for most of us they provide harmless fun, (7) which is becoming more important as life becomes more stressful. The television programmes (8) which we watch and the computer games (9) that we play all entertain us and, although there will always be people to (10) whom they seem a complete waste of time, the effect (11) that they have on society cannot be ignored. Entertainment is something (12) which we all need and, as long as we're willing to pay, there will always be someone (13) who is willing to provide it.
Exercise H
Circle the correct word or phrase.
Exercise I
Complete the sentences so that the meaning remains the same.
Waiting
Trying
Seeing
Knowing
Being
Not
Having
Realising
Exercise J
Tick (✓) the correct sentences. If a sentence is incorrect, rewrite it correctly.
Exercise K
If a line is correct, put a tick (✓) next to the number. If there is an extra word in a line, write it next to the number.
'Hello, viewers, and welcome to Easy Money, the game show who you
voted the best on TV! Now, remember yesterday when our current champion,
Pat Barber, having been won ten thousand euros, decided to carry on? Well,
she's here tonight and she's going for the star prize, which it is a brand new
sports car! That's right. Having got her this far, if Pat can answer three more
questions correctly, then she could be driving home in this car, ladies and
gentlemen. Having not seen the programme before, you will know just how
difficult which it can be. I know Pat's a little nervous, but I'm sure she'll be
fine and there's one person for whom tonight is very special and that's Pat's
husband, Frank, who he is sitting in the audience. So, let's play Easy Money!
