Learn about Relative Clauses and Relative Pronouns in this interactive lesson.
You can now read the conversation below to see how the Relative Clauses and Relative Pronouns have been used in context. The worksheets that are related to this lesson can be downloaded at the bottom of the page.
Background: Takondwa and Rachel are secondary school students in Malawi, a small land-locked country that is found in the south-east of Africa. It is the first term of the year and they are getting to know each other. In the last episode, they got into trouble with the strict Maths teacher, Mr. Phiri who punished them for being late for his first class.
Takondwa: That was really unfair. I don’t understand why he did that.
Rachel: How could he punish us like that? If I tell my brother that we had to sweep the whole school yard, he will be shocked.
Takondwa: I won’t tell anyone at home. I can imagine my mother asking me with a frown on her face: “Who is this Mr Phiri? Where is he from? What did he eat this morning so as to give you such a silly punishment?”
Rachel: Ha, ha, ha. I’ll say that he is the no-nonsense teacher who punished us on our first day of school!
Takondwa: Ha, ha, ha. No, I will say that he is the teacher whose cruel heart didn’t feel sorry for us on our first day of school.
Rachel: Takondwa! This one is good: he is the teacher whose class you were glad to miss on your first day of school!
Takondwa: No, I don’t feel that way. I don’t like missing classes that will give me the necessary knowledge to succeed in life. I want to be selected to the Polytechnic. I will be the engineer who will build roads for you in the future. The Polytechnic is really the place where I want to study in the future.
Rachel: Do you really want to become an engineer?
Takondwa: Yes! I’ll do everything I can to make my dreams come true. I’ll study hard, even if it means waking up at night everyday to go through my lessons. I’ll soak in all the knowledge that I need for the selection. I know we still have a long way to go until that day, but I need to be ready for that day.
Rachel: I want to become a top model.
Takondwa: Ha, ha, ha. This must be a joke Rachel. You can’t do that. My father would kill me if I told him that. He only wants me to be an engineer or a doctor. All other jobs are not jobs for him. They are mere ‘occupations’ of one’s time.
Rachel: No, I’m serious Takondwa. I want to do fashion shows and become a famous top model like Naomi Campbell.
(Takondwa shakes her head in pity and then hugs her new friend.)
Takondwa: You still have time to change your mind.
Rachel: I won’t; don’t even dream about that! I’ll be the happiest girl the day when I become a top model. Paris, New York and London will no longer have any secrets for me. These are the places where I want to spend the rest of my life.
(Takondwa can’t believe what she is hearing. She really feels sorry for her friend.)
Rachel: I’m telling you the truth. Naomi is the girl whom I admire the most in this world. She is my role model.
Takondwa: What I really want is to be happy. I want to be able to provide for my family. I don’t want my kids to lack school fees and medical attention. I want them to have a roof above their heads and clothes on their skins. I want them to have enough food to eat and even have some extra portions for the dogs. That’s what I really want in life.
Rachel: I want all that and much more! It’s not wrong to have dreams. Don’t worry though. I’ll be the most hardworking girl you have ever seen in your life. I’ll not be an uneducated top model. I’ll be a top model who has a Masters’ degree.
Takondwa: Rachel, kkkk. Did you wake up on the wrong side of your bed? What are you going to do with a Masters’ degree on a catwalk?
Rachel: Display it.
Takondwa and Rachel: Ha, ha, ha!
Relative Clauses and Relative Pronouns Worksheet
Worksheets to download:
- Relative Clauses and Relative Pronouns_A conversation between two secondary school students, Learn English With Africa.
- Relative Clauses and Relative Pronouns, English Grammar, Learn English With Africa
Further exploration
Read
- Learn more about Relatives Clauses in this lesson by the British Council
- Another lesson on Relative Clauses by Oxford Dictionaries
Watch
- A video clip about Relative Pronouns by English Grammar Spot
Do exercises
- A short interactive exercise on Relative Pronouns by Englisch Hilfen
- A lot of interactive exercises on Relative Clauses and Relative Pronouns at Agenda Web