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B1grammar57 preguntas

Relative clauses

Una relative clause añade información sobre un sustantivo; el inglés se fija en qué sustantivo, qué pronombre y si la oración es imprescindible. Aquí trabajas who/which/that y la diferencia que marcan las comas.

Aprendizaje rápido

Una relative clause añade información sobre un sustantivo, y el inglés se fija en qué sustantivo es, con qué pronombre y si la oración es imprescindible.

Recuerda

  • who para personas, which para cosas, that para ambas en las oraciones especificativas.
  • Una oración especificativa dice de cuál se trata y no lleva comas.
  • Una oración explicativa solo añade, lleva comas y no puede usar that.

Ejemplos

  1. 1The architect who designed our modern municipal library won an international prize.
  2. 2The documentary film that we watched on Sunday evening was deeply informative.

Error común que evitar

Las comas cambian el significado, no solo la puntuación: my brother who lives in Berlin da a entender varios hermanos; my brother, who lives in Berlin, da a entender uno solo.

Profundiza

La regla

  1. Clauses that identify

    Relative clauses are subordinate clauses that modify and provide detailed information about a head noun, functioning essentially like descriptive adjective clauses. At Level B1, the primary focus is on Defining (Restrictive) Relative Clauses: clauses that provide essential identification without which the sentence would be incomplete or ambiguous.

    • The woman who lives next door is an architect

  2. Who, which, whose, where, when

    Relative Pronouns and Adverbs:

    (1) Who or That: Refers to people.

    • The doctor who treated my sprained ankle was very kind

    (2) Which or That: Refers to inanimate objects, animals, and abstract ideas.

    • The book which won the literary prize is displayed in the window

    (3) Whose: Expresses possession for people or animals.

    • The author whose novel was published yesterday is speaking tonight

    (4) Where: Refers to locations and places.

    • That is the library where we studied together

    (5) When: Refers to temporal points and dates.

    • I remember the day when we first arrived

  3. When you can leave the pronoun out

    The Crucial Omission Rule (Contact Clauses): When the relative pronoun functions as the OBJECT of the relative clause, it can be freely and naturally omitted in standard conversational English:

    • The film (that) we watched last night was fascinating
    • The colleague (who) you met yesterday works in finance

    However, when the pronoun functions as the SUBJECT of the relative clause, it can NEVER be omitted: "The man who spoke to us was the manager" (never "The man spoke to us was the manager").

Anatomía de la frase

Frases de esta lección, separadas en sus partes en el orden que exige el inglés.

  1. SujetoThe architectOraciónwho designed our modern municipal libraryVerbowonObjetoan international prize.

  2. SujetoThe documentary filmOraciónthat we watched on Sunday eveningVerbowasComplementodeeply informative.

  3. SujetoThisVerboisComplementothe quiet coffee shopOraciónwhere I wrote my entire university dissertation.

  4. SujetoThe studentOraciónwhose research project earned the top gradeVerbo auxiliarwillVerbospeakLugarat the assembly.

Guía visual

How to read this B1 topic

At B1, grammar links ideas: condition, result, reported meaning, experience, and narrative order.

1. Name the relationship

Ask whether the sentence gives a condition, contrast, cause, report, or result.

If it rains, we will stay home.

2. Separate time from aspect

Finished event, visible result, duration, and background action use different forms.

I had left before she arrived.

3. Test both clauses

In complex sentences, the second half often proves the first half.

I wish I knew.

Decision path before answering

Use these checks before choosing between close options.

  1. 1Mark the subject, main verb, object, and any connector.
  2. 2Underline the time expression or discourse clue.
  3. 3Reject any option with the wrong agreement, tense, article, pronoun case, or word order.
  4. 4Read the whole sentence once more for naturalness and register.

Contrasts that often decide the answer

Event or background

Simple forms move events forward; continuous forms show an action in progress.

I left while she was talking.

Fact or stance

Modals, hedges, and reporting structures show how certain or responsible the speaker sounds.

This may indicate a problem.

Clause or compressed phrase

Advanced writing often compresses full clauses into participle, noun, or prepositional phrases.

Having reviewed the data, we revised the plan.

Ejemplos

  1. 1The architect who designed our modern municipal library won an international prize.
  2. 2The documentary film that we watched on Sunday evening was deeply informative.
  3. 3This is the quiet coffee shop where I wrote my entire university dissertation.
  4. 4The student whose research project earned the top grade will speak at the assembly.
  5. 5The train which departs from platform three travels directly to Manchester.
  6. 6I recently met a friendly local woman who guided us through the historic town.
  7. 7The apartment that they rented during their coastal vacation had sea views.
  8. 8Is that the musician whose acoustic guitar performance everyone was praising?
  9. 9The laptop computer which I purchased last week operates exceptionally quickly.
  10. 10We will always remember the sunny summer day when our graduation took place.

Excepciones

Preposition Stranding in Defining Clauses: In standard modern English, prepositions that accompany relative pronouns are placed naturally at the very end of the relative clause: say "The woman that I work with", not "The woman with whom I work" (the latter is archaic and overly formal). Never Repeat the Object Pronoun: When a relative pronoun is used as an object, do not repeat the redundant personal pronoun: say "The delicious meal that she cooked", never "The delicious meal that she cooked it".

Errores frecuentes

  • Omission of subject relative pronoun

    Error

    The woman lives next door is a doctor.

    Correcto

    The woman who lives next door is a doctor.

    Subject pronouns cannot be omitted.

  • Redundant object pronouns

    Error

    The jacket that I bought it yesterday is warm.

    Correcto

    The jacket that I bought yesterday is warm.

    Drop the duplicate object it.

  • Confusing who and which

    Error

    The teacher which taught us.

    Correcto

    The teacher who taught us.

    People require who.

Repaso

Lo esencial de la lección en una tarjeta, antes de ponerte a prueba.

Recuerda

  1. who para personas, which para cosas, that para ambas en las oraciones especificativas.
  2. Una oración especificativa dice de cuál se trata y no lleva comas.
  3. Una oración explicativa solo añade, lleva comas y no puede usar that.

Errores frecuentes

  • Error: The woman lives next door is a doctor.

    Correcto: The woman who lives next door is a doctor.

  • Error: The jacket that I bought it yesterday is warm.

    Correcto: The jacket that I bought yesterday is warm.

  • Error: The teacher which taught us.

    Correcto: The teacher who taught us.

Ponte a prueba

Une cinco pares de frases cortas en una sola y luego practica este tema.

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