Defining Non-defining

NO COMMAS BETWEEN COMMAS

The information is essential to identify which The information is not needed to identify
thing or person we are talking about. which thing or person we are talking about.

I called my sister who lives in Europe. My sister, who lives in Europe, is pretty.

*I have several sisters and called the one that *I have only one sister and I’m saying that she
lives in Europe. is pretty.

CAN USE THAT CANNOT USE THAT

Using ‘that’ instead of ‘who’ or ‘which’ is Is not permitted to use ‘that’ instead of ‘who’
permitted. or ‘which’.

I saw the man who / that lives there. This car, which costs a fortune, was made in
This is the base that / which I brought from Japan.
Paris. NOT: …that costs a fortune.

RELATIVE PRONOUNS CAN BE OMITTED RELATIVE PRONOUNS CANNOT BE

OMITTED
Who/which/that can be omitted when are
followed by Subject + Verb. You can’t omit who / which .

Do you like the cake (that) I baked?. They introduced me to Jane, who I loved
That is the singer (who) I like. immediately.
NOT: Jane, I loved immediately.

Taken from: Test English - Prepare for your English exam. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2021, from
https://test-english.com/grammar-points/b1/defining-and-non-defining-relative-clauses/

Replacing with ‘that’ in spoken English (defining relative clauses)

The pronouns who, whom, and which are often replaced by that in spoken English.
Whom is very formal and is only used in written English. You can use who or that instead
or omit the pronoun completely.
In the examples below, the common usage is given with the defining relative clause highlighted.
The pronoun that would be used in more formal written English instead of that is given in
parentheses.

45
Examples
• The dish that I ordered was delicious. (which)
• The man that came with her has already left. (who)
• The doctor that I was hoping to see wasn't on duty. (whom)

Relative pronouns used in non-defining relative clauses

In non-defining relative clauses, we can use the following relative pronouns:

who We never use the

whom relative pronoun “that” in
which non-defining relative
whose clauses.

Examples:
Mr. Smith, who works with me, has invited me to a party. correct
Mr. Smith, that works with me, has invited me to a party. wrong

We only use “that” in

Mr. Smith, whom I like, has invited me to a party. correct defining relative
clauses.
Mr. Smith, that I like, has invited me to a party. wrong

He gave me the cake, which I ate immediately. correct

He gave me the cake, that I ate immediately. wrong

46
Let’s fix some relative
clauses!
Practice

Using the clause in the brackets and the pronouns “who” and “that”,
join the two sentences into one with a relative clause.

1) He worked for a man (the man used to be an athlete)

____________________________________________________________

2) They hired a lawyer (the lawyer lived nearby)

____________________________________________________________

3) I sent an email to my teacher (my teacher is at school)

____________________________________________________________

4) The customer liked the waitress (the waitress was very nice)
____________________________________________________________

5) We broke the tablet (the tablet belonged to my father)

____________________________________________________________
6) I dropped a dish (the dish was new)
____________________________________________________________

7) She loves stories (the stories have happy endings)

____________________________________________________________

8) They live in a wood (the wood is in the north of England)

____________________________________________________________

9) The kid is in the garden (the kid is wearing a blue jumper)

____________________________________________________________

10) The man works in a bank (the man is from China)

____________________________________________________________

11) My cousin has three children (my cousin lives in Spain)

____________________________________________________________

12) The waiter was rude (the waiter was wearing a green shirt)
____________________________________________________________

13) The money is on the table (the money belongs to Pete)

____________________________________________________________

14) The chair got broken (the chair was my grandmother's)

____________________________________________________________

15) The car was stolen (the car was bought 20 years ago)
____________________________________________________________
47
 Practice DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

1. Fill in t he blanks with: who, whom, which, 2. Join t he sent ences t o make defining relative
whose, where or when. clauses. Make t he necessary changes.

1. Can you give me back t he money ………… 1. Pass me t he dict ionary. I put it on the shelf.
I lent you last month? ………………………………………………………………………
2. This is t he restaurant ……………… we used 2. Will you help me t o do t he exercises? I don’t
t o eat when we lived in Bost on. underst and t he exercises.
3. Mark has sent me an e-mail …………… I …………………………………………………………………………
haven’t replied yet . ……………………………………………………………………
4. Who’s t he person …………… is sit t ing next 3. We haven’t met Mr Smit h yet . His daught er
t o Nancy? st udies wit h Paul.
5. They complained about t he wrong goods …………………………………………………………………………
………… were sent t o t hem. ……………………………………………………………………
6. This is Susan ……………… husband works 4. We won’t forget t he day. We went t o Just in
in t he sales depart ment . Beaber’s concert that day.
7. Candy is wearing a new dress …………… …………………………………………………………………………
she bought in t he summer sales. ……………………………………………………………………
8. Monday is t he day …………… bills have t o 5. Pet er has read the book. I recommended t he
be paid. book t o him.
9. The secret ary showed me t he filing ………………………………………………………………………

Taken from: English ESL worksheets, activities for distance learning and physical classrooms (x92369). (n.d.). Retrieved April
cabinet …………… import ant documents are 6. They sent me a postcard of t he hot el. They
filed. st ayed t here on holiday.
10. Do you like t he boy …………… Mary is …………………………………………………………………………
t alking t o? ……………………………………………………………………
11. We enjoyed t he part y ……………… Pet er 7. This is my best friend. I met her at school ten
and Pam had t o celebrat e Christ mas. years ago.
12. Are you t he person …………… applied for ………………………………………………………………………
a job as a recept ionist ? 8. Is t his t he man? This man accused you of
13. Is t his the pub ……………… you meet your st ealing his wallet .
friends? …………………………………………………………………………
14. You have t o delet e t he sheet ……………… …………………………………………………………………………
is repeat ed. 9. Pet er made a lemon cake. It is his speciality.
15. April is the mont h ……………… we have ………………………………………………………………………
East er holiday in Spain. 10. I want you t o int roduce you t o Mrs Black. Her
16. The advice …………… Sam gave me was husband is an engineer.
quit e senseless. …………………………………………………………………………
17. Have you bought the food ……………… I …………………………………………………………………………
asked you? 11. Can you show me t he room? Meet ings are held
16, 2021, from https://en.islcollective.com/
18. Phone Mrs Smit h ……………… you will in t hat room.
have t o talk t o t omorrow. …………………………………………………………………………
19. Let ’s visit t he park …………… we played 12. I don’t know t he man. Sue is dancing wit h him.
aft er school. …………………………………………………………………………
20. Celebrit ies receive lot s of invitat ions 13. We last saw Mary on Christ mas Day. She came
……………… t hey don’t accept . t o our part y t hen.
21. Did you refuse t he offer …………… t he …………………………………………………………………………
company made you? …………………………………………………………………………
14. You have t o correct t he mist akes. You’ve made
mist akes in the let t er.
…………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………
15. I like Mrs Whit e. She is in charge of t he
Market ing Depart ment .
…………………………………………………………………………
48
Practice: Read the next biography. Underline the relative pronouns or adverbs that introduce a
relative clause. Change for “that” where possible, if not, explain why this step cannot be done.

Donald Trump
Donald John Trump born June 14, 1946, is an
American businessman and reality television

Imagen from Gerd Altmann at Pixabay

personality who was elected President of the
United States in November 2016. Since 1971
he has chaired The Trump Organization,
which is
the principal holding company for his real estate
ventures and other business interests.
Trump was born and raised in New York City and was
educated at the Wharton School of the University of
Pennsylvania, where he received a bachelor's degree in economics in
1968. In 1971, he took control of Elizabeth Trump & Son, the real estate and construction firm that his father
had founded before the Second World War. His business activities extend from New York, where he owns
large quantities of real estate, to Atlantic City, where he has been involved in casinos.
Trump has appeared at the Miss USA pageants, which he owned from 1996 to 2015, and has made cameo
appearances in films and television series. He hosted and co-produced The Apprentice, a reality television
series on NBC, which was filmed in Trump Tower, his corporate headquarters and residence.
As of October 2016, he was reported to have a net worth of $3.7 billion, which makes him the 324th wealthiest
person in the world, and 156th in the United States.
Trump's presidential campaign, which received unprecedented media coverage and international attention,
was controversial from the start, and many of his statements in interviews, on Twitter, and at campaign rallies
were inflammatory.

Is it possible to change “that” for any of the relative pronouns or adverbs underlined? Why or why
not? Explain.

Adapted from: Relative clauses - Donald Trump - with answers - ESL worksheet | ELTbase.com. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19,
2021, from https://www.eltbase.com/worksheet-2631-relative-clauses-donald-trump-with-answers

49
 UNIT 2
• Agreeing and disagreeing

In English, trying to keep on a conversation requires a lot of listening and speaking skills. Learning
agreeing and disagreeing expressions may help us to show interest on what our interlocutor
expresses. Even though there are a lot of general expressions to do that, phrases like:
• me neither
• neither do I
• nor can I
• she doesn’t either, and
• so does my dad
are very helpful to show that in Spanish we call “coincidencia” or “acuerdo”, in a positive way, and
“desacuerdo”, when we do not agree with what has been said.
Grammarbank.com, a specialized site dedicated to promote learning English as a Second Language,
explains that by using these expressions indicates that the same or similar situation applies to
another person, group or entity.
On that basis, this lesson intentions are to understand how this expression works and how can we
use them when speaking English.

Agreeing with positive statements

We use too and so.

We need to pay attention to the verb tense used in the statement while choosing our auxiliary form.

So Too
So + aux. / modal verb + pronoun Pronoun + aux. / modal verb + Too

So am I, So can I, so will IA I am too, I can too, I will too

50
 Speaker A’s statement Speaker B Speaker B (also)

Celine is watching TV. So am I. I am too.

Sam can speak French fluently. So can I. I can too.

Terry has completed his master’s degree. So has James. James has too.

His parents should be more responsible. So should we. We should too.

Stephanie was so worried yesterday. So was I. I was too.

You can choose both forms of agreement, since you are the one involved in the conversation.
Just consider, two things:
1. The tense from the sentence you are agreeing with needs to be used in your agreement
expression.
2. Check that when there are an auxiliary or modal verb, we use them in the agreement
expression, but when there aren’t, we use the verb “do” instead.
Examples:
• Mary and Sam will join the chess club.
Will is the auxiliary verb so that our answer could be:
• So will Jessica or Jessica will to.

• Nathan looks so confident

There isn’t auxiliary or modal verb, so that our answer could be
• So do I or I do too (do takes the place of looks)

Agreeing with negative sentences (showing also disagreement)

We use neither (nor) and either.

Those words have two pronunciation and both are OK.
You can say: /nider/ or /naider/ and also can say /ider/ or /aider/.
Neither and nor means the same.

51
 Neither/Nor Neither/Nor
Neither/ Nor + aux./ modal verb
Neither/ Nor + aux./ modal verb
+ pronoun
+ pronoun
Neither (nor) am I
Neither (nor) am I

Speaker A’s statement Speaker B Speaker B (also)

Derek isn't sleeping. Neither (nor) am I. I am not either.

Sandra cannot play the guitar. Neither (nor) can I. I can’t either.

Jennifer hasn't eaten her sandwich. Neither (nor) has James. James hasn’t either

They shouldn't complain. Neither (nor) should we. We shouldn’t either

Neither (nor) was her Her husband wasn’t

Stephanie was not worried at all.
husband. either

Mary and Sam won't attend the meeting. Neither (nor) will I. I will not either

Dogs cannot fly. Neither (nor) can cats. Cats can’t either

Just take into account that:

1. The tense from the sentence you are agreeing with needs to be used in your agreement
expression.

2. Neither is a negative word so that your auxiliary needs to be positive:

Derek isn’t sleeping à Neither (nor) am I NOT: Neither (nor) am not I

3. Either needs the auxiliary in negative:

Dogs cannot fly à Cat’s can’t either

Too and neither in informal interactions

52
When speaking or in less formal writings, regardless of tense, we can use “me too” and “me neither”
in first person.
All the following examples are acceptable
A: I have been studying a lot recently.
B: Me too.

A: He never attended the class regularly.

B: Me neither.

A: I haven't been feeling very well.

B: Me neither

The next table presents you a summary of all this information, and its meaning in Spanish, so you can
tackle down the correct use for these expressions:

Either à Ya sea
Neither à Ninguna
So à Entonces
Too à También

I like cakes and Mary My dad doesn’t eat

does too. desserts, and I don’t
(Me gustan los pasteles y a
either.
(Mi papá no come postres,
Mary tambjén)
y yo tampoco)

Peter eats a lot of I don’t like burguers.

sweets. So do I. Neither does he.
(No me gustan las
(Peter come muchos
hamburguesas. A él
dulces. Yo también)
tampoco)

53
Answer to the following statements using neither/nor or so.
1. I wouldn't like to get fired ___________________________
2. I can’t sing well. ___________________________
3. I’m writing a book. ___________________________
4. I love eating pizza. ___________________________
5. I have never tried sushi. ___________________________
6. I can play an instrument. ___________________________
7. I didn’t like her dress. ___________________________
8. I wanted to be a firefighter. ___________________________
9. I’ve been to Poland. ___________________________
10. I don’t have any children. ___________________________
11. I agree with her. ___________________________
12. I’d like to have more money. ___________________________
13. I understand everything. ___________________________
14. I could eat all the time. ___________________________
15. I should study regularly. ___________________________
16. I can’t keep a secret. ___________________________
17. I’ve tried Chinese food. ___________________________
18. I hate rain. ___________________________
19. I don’t mind vacuuming. ___________________________
20. I’m going to Australia. ___________________________
21. I’m not scared of anything. ___________________________
22. I enjoyed that movie. ___________________________
23. I’d like to travel more. ___________________________
24. I don’t like chocolate cake. ___________________________
25. I love nice people. ___________________________

54
Practice with listening

Complete the next activities in this page

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/skills/speaking/b1-speaking/agreeing-and-
disagreeing

Practice with listening

Do the next activities in this page

https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/learning-
english/activities-for-learners/b1l002-agreeing-
and-disagreeing

Practice with listening

Perform the next activities in this page

https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/learnin
g-english/activities-for-learners/b2l005-
discussing-a-band

55
 Taken
f
r
o
m
:

E
My son is a good student, my daughter is too. I’ve got a new bicycle, Mary has too. n
so is my daughter. so has Mary. g
l
i
Peter doesn’t like meat, Sally doesn’t either. I won’t go Sally won’t either. s
h
neither does Sally. neither will Sally.
nor does Sally. nor will Sally. E
S
L

w
o
Here are some sentences which a friend can say to Now you must use NEITHER or NOR in place of ‘so’. r
k
you. Answer with a short “ SO” sentence. ▪I’m not a nurse. ________________________ s
h
▪I must stay here. ________________________ ▪They didn’t say anything. _________________ e
e
▪I came to school on time. ___________________ ▪He shouldn’t stay out so late. ______________ t
▪Susan has got blonde hair. __________________ ▪Sheila doesn’t like maths. _________________ s
,
▪Scott can play tennis well. __________________ ▪I didn’t do it if I were you. _______________
a
▪The teacher was angry. ___________________ ▪His brother can’t drive a car. ______________ c
▪John has just phoned. _____________________ ▪Peter doesn’t teach History. _______________ t
i
▪They lived in Madrid. _____________________ ▪My son is going to work harder next year. _____ v
i
▪Margaret likes ‘paella’. _____________________ ▪She can’t play tennis this afternoon. __________ t
▪I help my mother at home. _________________ ▪You mustn’t use your mobile phone in class. _____ i
e
▪She words too hard. ______________________ ▪Peter hasn’t waited for a long time. __________ s
▪Peter should practice his pronunciation. ________ ▪They won’t be here on Sunday. ______________ f
▪She feels cold. __________________________ ▪Me friends didn’t go to the party. ___________ o
r
▪I will come if I have time. _________________ ▪John doesn’t remember. ___________________
d
▪I’ve finished. ___________________________ i
s
t
a
n
c
e
Use NEITHER, NOR or SO to write these sentences in a different way:
l
▪ My sister cut herself. Your sister cut herself. _________________________________________ e
a
▪My brother cleaned his shoes before going to bed. His brother cleaned his shoes before going to bed. r
_______________________________________________________________________________ n
i
_ n
g
▪Peter didn’t know about it and I didn’t know about it either. _______________________________
▪The manager wasn’t surprised. His companions weren’t surprised either. _______________________ a
n
▪You mustn’t touch the teacher’s bag. The other students mustn’t either. ______________________ d

▪We had our lunch at home. Sally had hers at home too. ___________________________________ p
▪The students can’t leave yet and the teachers can’t leave yet either. ________________________ h
y
▪Her horse won’t jump over the river and mine won’t either. ________________________________ s
i
▪We have a new car. Mr. Brown has a new car too. _______________________________________ c
a
▪The driver shouted. I shouted too. ___________________________________________________ l
▪You ought to come. Your parents ought to come either.____________________________________
c
l
a
s
s
r
o
o
m
s

(
56 x
9
2
3