Support material

Learning activity 2

Presentation

Adjective clauses:

 They give extra information about a noun in a sentence. By using adjective

clauses you can combine two sentences in one.

 They start with a pronoun such as who, what, whom, whose or which.

That: refers
to animals or
things.

Which:
refers to
animals or
places. Who: refers
Adjective to people.
clauses

Whom: Whose:
refers to refers to
people. possessions.
 Combine two sentences into one with an adjective clause

Fuente: SENA

By using adjective clauses you can combine two sentences into one. Observe:

Sentence one: My brother Tom is a scientist. Sentence two: He is very intelligent.

My brother Tom, who is a scientist, is very

intelligent.

Sentence one: My car broke down. Sentence two: It was very old.

My car, which was very old, broke down.

 Essential and non-essential clauses

Adjective clauses can also be classified in two types, depending on the type of
information provided by the clause.

An essential adjective clause is necessary to understand the sentence. Without

it, the meaning of the sentence changes. Observe:

The man that I love is married.

“That I love” is an essential adjective clause. It tells us which man we are

referring to.

Note: We do not use comas in essential adjective clauses:

Example:

“Students who do not wear the uniform will be grounded.”

Fuente: SENA

In essential adjective clauses, we can use that instead of who to refer to people.
Also we can use that instead of which to refer to things. Observe:

I love the pizza which my mother I love the pizza that my mother prepares.
prepares. or
The man who lost his wallet is at The man that lost his wallet is at the
the reception. reception.

A non-essential clause gives additional information to the sentence, but the

information is not essential to understand the sentence. Observe:

My sister, who lives in Canada, speaks English and French.

“Who lives in Canada” is a non-essential adjective clause. It gives additional

information about the situation, but the information is not essential to understand
the main message of the sentence.
Note: Commas are required before and after a non-defining adjective clause:

Example:

“This computer, which belongs to Ana, does not work.”

Fuente: SENA

In non-essential adjective clauses, we cannot use that instead of who to refer to

people. Also we cannot use that instead of which to refer to things. Observe:

Correct
My house, which is in the mountains,
is very big.
My friend, who suffered an accident,
will not come to class today.
Incorrect
My house, that is in the mountains, is
very big.
My friend, that suffered an accident,
will not come to class today.

Practice

A. Look at the picture and write complete sentences using adjective clauses
describing what the people are doing. One example is done for you.

Fuente: SENA
1. The girl who is wearing a helmet is my sister.
2. __________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________
4. __________________________________________________
5. __________________________________________________
6. __________________________________________________
7. __________________________________________________
B. Combine two sentences from the box to make one using adjective clauses.
Multiple combinations are possible. One example is done for you.

She is going to graduate next year / She is from Puerto Rico / This homework is
very difficult / I have to take it to school tomorrow / It is very interesting / She is
going to get married to Ken / It is always sunny / My brother lent it to me / It is
about the Japanese culture / This book is very interesting / This beach is very
popular / I bought it last year / This movie is new / My best friend is very young /
Mary has a new job

1. This book, which my brother lent to me, is very interesting.

2. __________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________
4. __________________________________________________
5. __________________________________________________
6. __________________________________________________
7. __________________________________________________

C. Organize the following sentences in the correct order using adjective clauses.
One example is done for you.

1. girlfriend / Carlos / is / who / has / a / fourteen / only

Carlos, who is only 14, has a girlfriend.
 2. culture / just/ finished / I /essay /which / the / is / Indian / about
_____________________________________________

3. I / interact / usually / speak / with / who / a / different / travel / when /

language / people / I
_____________________________________________

4. married / with / he / a / who / minded / is / open / woman

_____________________________________________

5. cake / the / that / delicious / brought / Luis / was

_____________________________________________

6. playing / the / game / that / video / I / am / is / English / in

_____________________________________________

7. religion / am / reading / about / I / book / which / is / a / a / discrimination /

and
_____________________________________________

8. produced / they / an / film / independent / great / which / was

_____________________________________________

D. Judy is talking about her experience in Mexico. Read the text and complete it
with who / whose / what / which or whom.

Fuente: Wikimedia commons (2014)

My name is Judy. Last year I had the chance to travel to Mexico for a month. I
was representing my company (1) _____ was participating in an international
conference about alternative fuels. The conference was in Acapulco, (2) _____
is located on the pacific coast. I enjoyed the food, the weather and the people.
My partners, (3) _____ love fast food, were quite happy as they could try different
fast food dishes like street tacos. Mexican food is quite spicy compared to food
at home. Tequila, (4) _____ is a liquor produced in Mexico, is very popular in
many restaurants and bars.

Carlos, (5) _____ family lives in Acapulco, invited us to visit them. They prepared
margaritas, (6) _____ is a cocktail made out of Tequila. We had such a great
time. Mexicans, (7) _____ speak Spanish, are very hospitable. They make you
feel welcome all the time.

The Mexicans who we met were also very kind to visitors. I remember that my
partner (8) _____ was drinking at a bar lost his wallet (9) _____ was full of money.
An employee from the bar found the wallet called the hotel and returned it. My
partner was going to give him 50 dollars as reward. However, the employee
refused to receive the money. He said he did it just because it was the right thing
to do.

I really enjoyed my visit to Mexico. I will probably go back this year with my family.

Production

A. Write 5 sentences about cultural facts in your region or country. In each

sentence, use different adjective clauses using the adjective pronouns who /
which / what / whom or whose.

1. _____________________________________________

2. _____________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________

4. _____________________________________________

5. _____________________________________________

B. Write a 200 word text talking about a place or city you recently visited.
Describe its culture, weather, food, people, etc. Use at least 6 adjective
clauses in the text.

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

References
 Wikimedia commons. (2014). Playa Acapulco mar. Consultado el 18 de
diciembre de 2014, en
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Playa_Acapulco_mar.jpg?uselang=es

Document control

Name Position Dependence Date

Theme expert Dirección de

Asesor English Dot formación November
Author Mauricio Aldana
Works - Programa profesional. 2014
de bilingüismo Dirección General

Centro
Rachman Copy editor – Línea October
Adaptation Agroindustrial.
Bustillo Martínez de producción 2015
Regional Quindío