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B1grammar57 questions

Relative clauses

La relative clause ajoute de l'information sur un nom ; ce qui compte en anglais, c'est quel nom, quel pronom relatif, et si la proposition est indispensable. Ici tu revois who/which/that et la question des virgules.

Apprentissage rapide

La relative clause ajoute de l'information sur un nom ; ce qui compte en anglais, c'est quel nom, quel pronom, et si la proposition est indispensable.

À retenir

  • Dans les defining clauses : who pour les personnes, which pour les choses, that pour les deux.
  • La defining clause dit de laquelle il s'agit et ne prend pas de virgule.
  • La non-defining clause ne fait qu'ajouter, prend des virgules et ne peut pas utiliser that.

Exemples

  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.

Piège courant à éviter

Les virgules ne changent pas que la ponctuation, elles changent le sens : my brother who lives in Berlin suppose plusieurs frères ; my brother, who lives in Berlin, un seul.

Approfondir

La règle

  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").

Anatomie de la phrase

Des phrases de cette leçon, découpées dans l'ordre qu'exige l'anglais.

  1. SujetThe architectPropositionwho designed our modern municipal libraryVerbewonObjetan international prize.

  2. SujetThe documentary filmPropositionthat we watched on Sunday eveningVerbewasAttributdeeply informative.

  3. SujetThisVerbeisAttributthe quiet coffee shopPropositionwhere I wrote my entire university dissertation.

  4. SujetThe studentPropositionwhose research project earned the top gradeAuxiliairewillVerbespeakLieuat the assembly.

Guide visuel

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.

Exemples

  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.

Exceptions

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".

Erreurs fréquentes

  • Omission of subject relative pronoun

    Erreur

    The woman lives next door is a doctor.

    Correct

    The woman who lives next door is a doctor.

    Subject pronouns cannot be omitted.

  • Redundant object pronouns

    Erreur

    The jacket that I bought it yesterday is warm.

    Correct

    The jacket that I bought yesterday is warm.

    Drop the duplicate object it.

  • Confusing who and which

    Erreur

    The teacher which taught us.

    Correct

    The teacher who taught us.

    People require who.

Récap

L'essentiel de la leçon sur une carte, avant de te tester.

À retenir

  1. Dans les defining clauses : who pour les personnes, which pour les choses, that pour les deux.
  2. La defining clause dit de laquelle il s'agit et ne prend pas de virgule.
  3. La non-defining clause ne fait qu'ajouter, prend des virgules et ne peut pas utiliser that.

Erreurs fréquentes

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

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

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

    Correct: The jacket that I bought yesterday is warm.

  • Erreur: The teacher which taught us.

    Correct: The teacher who taught us.

Teste-toi

Fusionne cinq paires de courtes phrases en une seule, puis entraîne-toi sur ce point.

Points de grammaire associés

Poursuivez votre apprentissage avec d'autres notions de ce niveau.

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