Use of English

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Unit 11:
Bad weather
Unit 11:
Bad weather

1. relative clauses: subject

clauses
object clauses
with or without relative pronouns

2. vocabulary: words
associated with the
weather
We call relative clauses to the part of a
sentence that gives more information
about the subject.

Example:

• A weatherman is a person who reports

the weather conditions on TV.

This is a sentence that has two clauses.

clause 1: A weatherman is a person

clause 2: who reports the weather

conditions on TV.

Clause 2 is the relative clause because it

gives more information about the subject
the weatherman.
Observe:

A weatherman is a person who reports the weather conditions on TV.

sentence

clause 1-main clause clause 2-relative clause

In this clause the subject is a In this clause we have more

weatherman. information about the subject.

relative pronoun
A. Relative clauses: Subject relative clauses
When the subject in clause 1 is the same subject as in clause 2.
Relative pronouns
1. He’s the reporter who works in channel 4.
We use who for people.
relative pronoun who is the subject of works
We use which for animals or
who = he
things.

We use that for people,

2. A tsunami is a natural disaster which happens in the sea. animals or things. (more
informal).
the relative pronoun which is the subject of happens
which = a tsunami We use where for places.

Remember
Relative clauses always
3. A beaver is an animal that lives in North America. contain a verb.

the relative pronoun that is the subject of lives

that = a beaver
B. Relative clauses: Object relative clauses
When the subject in the clause 2 is NOT the same subject we are talking about in clause 1.

1. He’s the reporter (who) I saw in the street yesterday. Relative pronouns

• We use who or whom for

The relative pronoun who is not the subject of the verb “saw”. people. (whom is very
the subject of the verb “saw” is “I”. The relative pronoun who can be omitted.
formal)

• We use which for

2. This is the newspaper (which) my dad reads every morning. animals or things

• We use that for people,

The relative pronoun which is not the subject of the verb “reads”.
the subject of the verb “reads” is “my dad”. The relative pronoun which can be
animals or things. (more
omitted. informal)

• We use where for places.

3. A platypus is an animal (that) my son really likes.

The relative pronoun that is not the subject of the verb “likes”. Remember
the subject of the verb “likes” is “my son”. The relative pronoun that can be We can omit the relative
omitted. clauses if it is not the subject
of the relative clause.
C. Relative clauses: with or without relative clauses
We can choose to omit the relative pronoun if it is not the subject of the verb in the relative clause except when:
the relative clause begins with a preposition (very formal style)
the relative clause begins with a comma (,).

same subject
1. Robert is a cameraman. He works for channel 2.

Robert is a cameraman who works for channel 2. (We cannot omit the relative clause.)

different subject
2. Robert is the cameraman. Sarah works with him.

Robert is the cameraman (who) Sarah works with. or Robert is the cameraman Sarah works with.

Robert is the cameraman with whom Sarah works.(very formal style)

Exercise I. Complete these sentences with the correct relative pronoun: who, which, where or (-), if it
can be omitted.

1. That’s the town ____ the dangerous floods happened.

2. Sue Dawson is the anchorwoman ____ tells the news in the mornings.
3. A hurricane is a natural disaster ____ starts in the sea.
4. Do you know the weatherwoman _____ works in channel 5?
5. Beavers are beautiful animals _____ build natural dams in the rivers.
6. She´s the interviewer _____ I told you about last week.
7. “El Comercio” is the only newspaper _____ we read at home.
8. BBC news is the website ____ is forecasting the breaking news now.
9. Did you see the reporter _____ interviewed the president yesterday?
10. A landslide is a natural disaster _____ happens a lot in Peru.
Exercise II. Combine the two sentences using relative clauses so that you can have only one sentence.

Example:
0. Lucia is a teacher. She works part-time. Lucia is a teacher who works part-time.

1. He’s the reporter. He interviewed the people in the market.

2. A microphone is the main device. Reporters use it in interviews.
3. A green screen is the part of a channel studio. It is used in the weather forecast.
4. A channel studio is the place. People tell the news and film TV programs there.
5. Francis Schuman is a journalist. I really admire him.
6. Earthquakes are natural disasters. They are very common in my country.
7. This is the TV series. I finished watching it in one week.
8. That’s the place. The tornado destroyed many houses there.
9. Susan Green is the new anchorwoman. She appears in the morning show.
10. These are the birds. They make their nests in spring.
• bright sunshine
• cloudy skies
• flooding
• fog
• freezing winds
• frosty
• heavy rains
• lightning
• storm
• strong winds
• thunder
• weather report
Exercise III. Complete the conversations with the correct word.

1. A: Oh no! There’s a storm! I hate the ________ and ___________.

B: Yeah! Me too! They are really scary.

2. A: I think we will not travel this weekend. There are _____________. • bright sunshine
B: I agree. The roads are wet and full of water.
• cloudy skies
3. A: Don’t you love this day? Look at that _______________. • flooding
B: Yes. Completely! I love this weather. We can go for a picnic.
• fog
4. A: I think another ______ is coming. Look at the sky. There are black clouds. • freezing winds
B: Yeah! We’ve had __________ __________ every day.
• frosty
5. A: Oh! It’s full of snow outside. The lakes must be _________. • heavy rains
B: That’s right! There are __________ _________ too. It feels like 2 degrees.
• lightning
6. A: I have to stop driving. I can’t see anything through the ______. • storm
B: You’re right. It’s very thick.
• strong winds
7. A: Did you hear the news? Cusco suffered terrible _________________ last week. • thunder
B: Yes, I saw it in the news. Houses are under water.
A: And the ________ __________ forecasts more rains. • weather report
 Sources & Credits

● https://thenounproject.com/
● https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/diccionario/ingles-espanol/credit
● https://edutainesl.wordpress.com/
● English Discoveries Student platform
● Exercises: Guisella Villavicencio Vargas

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