Noun phrases containing relative clauses

See the video about noun phrases

Relative Clauses

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What are relative clauses?

A relative clause is a subordinate clause that modifies a noun or a noun phrase.
Example:

The man who is smoking is the murderer

The noun the man is modified by the relative clause who is smoking.
Relative clauses give essential information to define or identify the person or thing we are talking about.

How to use relative clauses

They are used to provide extra information. This information can either:

• define something (defining clause),
  Example:
  The girl who is standing there is a world champion in karate.
• or provide unnecessary, but interesting information (non-defining clause).
  Example:
  Michael Jackson, who was a famous singer, died of an overdose.

 Relative clauses can be introduced by:

1. A relative pronoun: who, whom, which, that, whose.
   
   Example: "The man who is standing there is a famous writer."
   
2. A relative adverb: where, why and when.
   
   Example: " The restaurant where I have dinner is nice."
   
3. None of them.
   
   Example: "The man I met is extremely wealthy"

Relative Pronouns

who - subject or object pronoun for people

They caught the lady who killed her baby.

which - subject or object pronoun

I read the book which is on the table.I visited the town which you told me about.

which - referring to a whole sentence

They were unsuccessful which is disappointing.

whom - used for object pronoun for people, especially in non-restrictive relative clauses (in restrictive relative clauses use who)

The boy whom you told me about got the best grades in mathematics.

 that - subject or object pronoun for people, animals and things in restrictive relative clauses (who or which are also possible)

I like the vase that is over there.

Exercise 1:  sentence using 'that' or 'who' and a relative clause
Exercise 2: use 'that' or no pronoun

Expectations

                               See the video  How to use "supposed to"

        BE SUPPOSED TO

It has three different meanings:

• It is  supposed to =  it is said to...

I'm going to buy his book. It's suposed to be very good ( it is said to be very good)
Why hasn't the teacher come to school today? She is supposed to be ill (She is said to be ill)

• Something that is supposed to happen= it is planned , arranged or expected. Often this is different from what really happens

The exam was supposed to start at 10.00 sharp but the teacher was late
I'm supposed to give a conference in Berlin tomorrow but I think I'm going down with flu.

• You are not supposed to do something= it is not allowed or advisable for you to do that

She is not supposed to speak Spanish in an English class.

Exercise 1: be supposed to

Exercise 2: for eachsentence, write the letter of the person who would say this

 .

                      

Past participles as adjetives

See the video about past participle  as adjetives

Participle Adjectives

ome participles (like 'bored' or 'boring') can be used as adjectives. These are used in a slightly different way from normal adjectives. We usually use the past participle (ending in -ed) to talk about how someone feels:

• I was really bored during the flight (NOT: I was really boring during the flight).
• She's interested in history (NOT: She's really interesting in history).
• John's frightened of spiders (NOT: John's frightening of spiders).

We usually use the present participle (ending in -ing) to talk about the person, thing, or situation which has caused the feeling:

• It was such a long, boring flight (so I was bored).
• I read a really interesting book about history (so I was interested).
• Many people find spiders frightening (so they're frightened when they see spiders).

Be careful! 'I'm boring' is very different from 'I'm bored'! 'I'm boring' means I cause other people to be bored. This is not good! Here are some examples of when one person causes a feeling in another person:

• I was talking to such a boring guy at the party. He talked about himself for an hour!
• She's a really interesting woman. She's lived all over the world and speaks five languages.
• My maths teacher at school was really frightening! He was always shouting at the students.

These participle adjectives make their comparative by using 'more' (not -er) and their superlative by using 'most' (not -est):

• I was more frightened of dogs than spiders when I was a child.
• That book is more boring than this one.
• I think Dr Smith's lesson was more interesting than Dr Brown's.

• For 24 hours on the flight to Australia, I was the most bored I've ever been.
• I think this is the most interesting talk we've heard today.
• It was the most frightening film that he'd ever seen.

Exercise 1: past participle adjectives exercise
Exercise 2: participles used as adjectives 2
Exercise 3: participle adjectives

Need + gerund , need + passive infinitive , keep + gerund

See the video about need + gerund

TO-infinitive or gerund: NEED

Need  can be followed by the active or passive to-infinitives to express active or passive meanings, respectively:


I need to make a phone call.
Sometimes, people need to be told the truth.

But active gerunds after these verbs express passive meaning.

Your hair needs cutting. (It should be cut.)

Exercise 1: need +inf / need +ing

Past continuous versus simple past

Video about past continuous versus simple past

Guide to Past Simple and Past Continuous

THE BASICS - PAST SIMPLE

There are two principal past tenses used to make general statements about the past: The past simple and the past continuous. The two tenses are quite different. Use the past simple to talk about an event which happened at some point in time in the past.

• Tom flew to Chicago last week.
• Peter visited his friends in Florida two months ago.

THE BASICS - PAST CONTINUOUS

The past continuous is usually used to refer to events happening at the same time that something important happened in the past.

• They were doing their homework when she arrived.
• Jack was studying while Dave was cooking dinner..

The past continuous is also used to express what was happening at a precise moment in the past.

• I was attending a lecture at 2.30 yesterday afternoon.
• Alice was reading a book at six yesterday evening.

Exercise 1: make the past simple or past continuous

Exercise 2: make thepast simple or past continuous tense

Exercise 3: simple Past or Past Progressive

Past perfect

Video about past perfect

The Past Perfect Tense

The past perfect tense is most often used for the following:

- For actions that happened before a past event
- In reported speech
- In if (conditional) sentences

How to form the past perfect  |  Past perfect continuous

For actions that happened before a past event

When we want to talk about an action that happened before a past event, we often use the past perfect. Look at these examples:

• When I got home yesterday, my father had already cooked dinner.
• I didn't want to go to the movies with my friends because I had seenthe film already.
• My friend offered me an apple in class yesterday, but I wasn't hungry because I had just eaten lunch.
• I arrived very late at the party. All my friends had already gonehome.
• As soon as she had done her homework, she went to bed.
• I was very tired as I hadn't slept well for several days.
• Had you seen the film before?

Notice how often words like already, just, never etc. are used with the past perfect.

In reported speech

The past perfect is common when we report people's words or thoughts .., as in the following examples:

• John said that he had never eaten sushi before.
• She told me that she had finished, but I knew she had not.
• She wondered why he had been so unkind to her.
• He told me he hadn't done his homework, but he was hoping to finish it on the bus.
• I thought I had sent her a birthday card, but I was wrong.

In if (conditional) sentences

The past perfect tense is used in unreal or hypothetical stituations, as in the following sentences:

If I had known you were in Frankfurt, I would have called you. (but I didn't know you were here so I didn't call you!)

If I had had enough money, I would have bought you a better present. (but I didn't have enough money.)

I would have been very angy if you had laughed when I got the answer wrong. (but you didn't laugh, so I wasn't angry.)

She wouldn't have been able to finish, if you hadn't helped her. (but you did help her and she did finish.)

I wish I had studied for my exams. (but I didn't study - and I got bad grades!)

I would have been in big trouble if you hadn't helped me. (but you did help me so I stayed out of trouble..

Exercise 1: make the positive or negative past perfect simple

Exercise 2: past Perfect Simple

Exercise 3: write the verb in the Past Perfect, affirmative or negative.

Requests with modals, if clauses, and gerunds

The Usage Of Would You Mind

1st Usage: If + somebody + did + something 

Note: When we talk about the Present or the Past, we use Past tense following the subject.

Would you mind If I used your phone now?

Would you mind If I borrowed your car tonight?

2nd Usage: When we don't mention the subject we may just use Verb + ing

Would you mind taking this book back for me?
Would you mind sending that mail for me?

3rd Usage: Somebody's + Verb + ing 

Would you mind John's staying here with us?
Would you mind My sister's coming with us to the picnic?





Exercise 1: requests
Exercise 2: modals of polite request
Exercise 3: choice that best completes each sentence

Unit 3 part II

INDIRECT REQUESTS

Indirect requests happen when a person asks another person to tell, order or ask something to a third person.

Indirect requests are used when you want to:

• Tell someone to do something

• Tell someone some information

• Ask someone to do something

• Ask someone for some information (Yes or No)

• Ask someone for some information (Open ended)

1. Can/Could you (please) tell/ask + Tom + (that) + original statement

Example: " Can you please tell Tom I'll be waiting for him at the movies?"

( You can also use "would" in indirect requests)

2. Indirect requests and imperatives:

Can/Could you tell/ask + Tom + (not) + infinitive

Example: "Can you tell Tom not to use my laptop?"

"Could you ask Tom to bring me my laptop?"

3. Indirect requests and yes/no questions:

Can/Could you ask + Tom + if/whether + SVO statement?

Example "Could you ask Tom if /whether ir not he's coming to the party?"

4. Indirect requests and Wh-questions:

Can/Could you ask + Tom + wh-word + SVO statement?

Example:"Can you ask Tom what is his new password?"

Exercise 1: indirect questions (Present Simple Tense)

Exercise 2: indirect questions (Modal Verbs)

Gerund phrases

See the video about gerund phrases

What Is a Gerund Phrase?

A gerund is a verb form that ends in -ing. A gerund phrase includes the gerund, plus any modifiers and complements. Gerunds and gerund phrases always function as nouns. They can act as subjects, direct objects, indirect objects, predicate nominatives, or objects of a preposition in a sentence.

To determine whether a word or phrase is functioning as a gerund versus a present participle, try replacing it with the word something. If something works in the sentence, then the word or phrase is a gerund.

Subject Examples:

Climbing is not as easy as it looks.

(Climbing is the gerund. It acts as a subject in the sentence.)

Riding a roller coaster scares my little brother.

(Riding is the gerund. Riding a roller coaster is the gerund phrase. It acts as a subject in the sentence.)

Object of a Preposition Examples:

Her interest in gardening developed over time.

(Gardening is the gerund. It acts as an object of the preposition in in the sentence.)

Scott’s attitude about studying for tests improved.

(Studying is the gerund, and studying for tests is the gerund phrase. The gerund phrase acts as an object of the preposition about in the sentence.)

Exercise 1: gerund as subject or object

Exercise 2:  gerunds as subjects

Relative pronouns

Defining relative clauses:

1: The relative pronoun is the subject:

First, let's consider when the relative pronoun is the subject of a defining relative clause.

We can use 'who', 'which' or 'that'. We use 'who' for people and 'which' for things. We can use 'that' for people or things.

The relative clause can come after the subject or the object of the sentence. We can't drop the relative pronoun.

For example (clause after the object of the sentence):

• I'm looking for a secretary who / that can use a computer well.
• She has a son who / that is a doctor.
• We bought a house which / that is 200 years old.
• I sent a letter which / that arrived three weeks later.

More examples (clause after the subject of the sentence):

• The people who / that live on the island are very friendly.
• The man who / that phoned is my brother.
• The camera which / that costs £100 is over there.
• The house which / that belongs to Julie is in London.

The relative pronoun is the object:

Next, let's talk about when the relative pronoun is the object of the clause. In this case we can drop the relative pronoun if we want to. Again, the clause can come after the subject or the object of the sentence. Here are some examples:

(Clause after the object)

• She loves the chocolate (which / that) I bought.
• We went to the village (which / that) Lucy recommended.
• John met a woman (who / that) I had been to school with.
• The police arrested a man (who / that) Jill worked with.

(Clause after the subject)

• The bike (which / that) I loved was stolen.
• The university (which / that) she likes is famous.
• The woman (who / that) my brother loves is from Mexico.
• The doctor (who / that) my grandmother liked lives in New York.

Exercise 1: subject Pronouns or Object Pronouns?
Exercise 2: the relative pronoun is the subject
Exercise 3: the relative pronoun is the object

Comparisons

See a video about comparisons 

Comparison: adjectives

Comparative adjectives

Comparative adjectives compare one person or thing with another and enable us to say whether a person or thing has more or less of a particular quality:

Josh is taller than his sister.

I’m more interested in music than sport.

Big cars that use a lot of petrol are less popular now than twenty years ago.

Grammatical constructions used for comparing adjectives

There are three forms of comparison:

• positive
• comparative
• superlative

1. Comparison with -er/-est

clean → cleaner → (the) cleanest

We use -er/-est with the following adjectives:

1.1. Adjectives with one syllable

positive	comparative	superlative
clean	cleaner	cleanest
new	newer	newest
cheap	cheaper	cheapest

Comparison: nouns

More, less and fewer

We can use more, less and fewer with noun phrases to create comparisons which are similar to the comparative forms of adjectives and adverbs:

There was more snow this year than last year.

She has more problems than most people.

You should eat less junk food and start to take better care of your health.

There are fewer birds in the countryside now than there were 30 years ago.

Traditionally, we use less with uncountable nouns and fewer with plural countable nouns. Nowadays, many people use less with plural countable nouns. Some people consider this to be incorrect, and prefer to use fewer:

I think the room would look better with less furniture. (less + singular uncountable noun)

There were fewer cars on the roads twenty years ago. (fewer + plural countable noun; traditional correct form)

Less kids take music lessons now than before. (less + plural countable noun; considered incorrect by some people)

Exercise 1:  comparison of adjectives in sentences
Exercise 2:  comparison of adjectives with as ... as
Exercise 3: comparative Adjectives

It clauses + Adverbial clauses with when

See the video about adverbial clauses with when