Relative Clauses

We use relative clauses to give additional information about something without starting another sentence. By combining sentences with a relative clause, your text becomes more fluent and you can avoid repeating certain words.

  How to Form Relative Clauses 

Imagine, a girl is talking to Jacob. You want to know who she is and ask a friend whether he knows her. You could say:

A girl is talking to Jacob. Do you know the girl?

That sounds rather complicated, doesn't it? It would be easier with a relative clause: you put both pieces of information into one sentence. Start with the most important thing  – you want to know who the girl is.

Do you know the girl …

As your friend cannot know which girl you are talking about, you need to put in the additional information  – the girl is talking to Jacob. Use „the girl“ only in the first part of the sentence, in the second part replace it with the relative pronoun (for people, use the relative pronoun „who“). So the final sentence is:

Do you know the girl who is talking to Jacob?

 Relative Pronouns 

relative pronoun	use	example
who	subject or object pronoun for people	I told you about the woman who lives next door.
which	subject or object pronoun for animals and things	Do you see the cat which is lying on the roof?
which	referring to a whole sentence	He couldn’t read which surprised me.
whose	possession for people animals and things	Do you know the boy whose mother is a nurse?
whom	object pronoun for people, especially in non-defining relative clauses (in defining relative clauses we colloquially prefer who)	I was invited by the professor whom I met at the conference.
that	subject or object pronoun for people, animals and things in defining relative clauses (who or which are also possible)	I don’t like the table that stands in the kitchen.

  Subject Pronoun or Object Pronoun? 

Subject and object pronouns cannot be distinguished by their forms - who, which, that are used for subject and object pronouns. You can, however, distinguish them as follows:

If the relative pronoun is followed by a verb, the relative pronoun is a subject pronoun. Subject pronouns must always be used.

the apple which is lying on the table

If the relative pronoun is not followed by a verb (but by a noun or pronoun), the relative pronoun is an object pronoun. Object pronouns can be dropped in defining relative clauses, which are then called Contact Clauses.

the apple (which) George lay on the table

  Relative Adverbs 

A relative adverb can be used instead of a relative pronoun plus preposition. This often makes the sentence easier to understand.

This is the shop in which I bought my bike.
→ This is the shop where I bought my bike.

relative adverb	meaning	use	example
when	in/on which	refers to a time expression	the day when we met him
where	in/at which	refers to a place	the place where we met him
why	for which	refers to a reason	the reason why we met him

  Defining Relative Clauses 

Defining relative clauses (also called identifying relative clauses or restrictive relative clauses) give detailed information defining a general term or expression. Defining relative clauses are not put in commas.

Imagine, Jacob is in a room with five girls. One girl is talking to Jacob and you ask somebody whether he knows this girl. Here the relative clause defines which of the five girls you mean.

            Do you know the girl who is talking to Jacob?

Defining relative clauses are often used in definitions.

            A seaman is someone who works on a ship.

Object pronouns in defining relative clauses can be dropped. (Sentences with a relative clause without the relative pronoun are calledContact Clauses.)

The boy (who/whom) we met yesterday is very nice.

  Non-Defining Relative Clauses 

Non-defining relative clauses (also called non-identifying relative clauses or non-restrictive relative clauses) give additional information on something, but do not define it. Non-defining relative clauses are put in commas.

Imagine, Jacob is in a room with only one girl. The two are talking to each other and you ask somebody whether he knows this girl. Here the relative clause is non-defining because in this situation it is obvious which girl you mean.

Do you know the girl, who is talking to Jacob?

Note: In non-defining relative clauses, who/which may not be replaced with that.

Object pronouns in non-defining relative clauses must be used.

Jim, who/whom we met yesterday, is very nice.

  How to Shorten Relative Clauses?

Relative clauses with who, which, that as subject pronoun can be replaced with a participle. This makes the sentence shorter and easier to understand.

I told you about the woman who lives next door. – I told you about the woman living next door.

Do you see the cat which is lying on the roof? – Do you see the cat lying on the roof?

Intensive reading

The intensive Reading Technique is reading for a high degree of comprehension and retention over a long period of time.

Intensive Reading is basically a "study" technique for organizing readings which will have to be understood and remembered. One may have good comprehension while reading line-by-line, but remembering is what counts!

Intensive Reading is not a careful, single reading, but is a method based on a variety of techniques like scanning, the surveying techniques of planning your purpose, and others.

Principles of Intensive Reading

OVERVIEW: We have two methods to obtain and overview - surveying or skimming. Both are concerned with reading only the more important parts. With either we would start with the summary, if one existed. We would next read the title, the beginning, headings, and endings, and note illustrations. Where headings are missing or inadequate or where unfamiliar material demands a more complete overview, we would resort to skimming with its greater attention to topic and summary sentences, and other cues within the paragraphs. As you get an overview of a long section, you may only survey part and skim the sections that are hard to understand. From this you should get the general theme and main ideas from the important topics and questions discussed and the major conclusions. The principle to guide you is to spend the least amount of time and effort required to secure these elements and only these elements.

PLANNING PURPOSE: Planning your purpose means to take a few seconds before you begin your reading to formalize or clearly state to yourself what you wish to get from the reading. This will give us the most useful "mental set" for getting the information we need.

We need to know: What information we need;

How detailed the comprehension should be; and
Whether the emphasis should be placed on ideas,
Sequence, specific facts, etc.;
How long we need to retain this information - only
Until a test the next day or for the rest of our lives;
How we use the information - to think with, to write a report, to take a test.

QUESTIONS: A good time to record questions is after your overview and planning purpose. The question should be in the same sequence as they appear in the material, if possible. This does not prevent adding new questions, but it does prevent forgetting about an important question that occurs to you during the overview. Ideally, the headings can be converted into questions which will provide a suitable outline of the important information in the selection. Where this is not the case, the basic interrogatives or who, what, when, why, and how, frequently supply aid in suggesting important concepts in almost all reading selections.

READING: The most familiar technique and the heart of intensive reading is to read carefully and thoughtfully.

SUMMARIZING: An important part of summarizing is organizing the ideas and supporting points. This organizing should begin in the reading but should be finalized and expressed in notes. Generally, each paragraph will have one or two ideas or important concepts. Also in summarizing, it is important to state in your own words and aloud, the points you wish to remember. The most effective type of summarizing which lends itself to both organizing and testing is an outline of questions reflecting major ideas and concepts. The sub points are indented so as to show clearly that they are related to the main point in a supporting role.

Scanning

What Is Scanning?

Scanning is another useful tool for speeding up your reading. Unlike skimming, when scanning, you look only for a specific fact or piece of information without reading everything. You scan when you look for your favorite show listed in the cable guide, for your friend’s phone number in a telephone book, and for the sports scores in the newspaper. For scanning to be successful, you need to understand how your material is structured as well as comprehend what you read so you can locate the specific information you need. Scanning also allows you to find details and other information in a hurry.

How to scan.  Because you already scan many different types of material in your daily life, learning more details about scanning will be easy. Establishing your purpose, locating the appropriate material, and knowing how the information is structured before you start scanning is essential.

The material you scan is typically arranged in the following ways: alphabetically, chronologically, non-alphabetically, by category, or textually. Alphabetical information is arranged in order from A to Z, while chronological information is arranged in time or numerical order.

Information can be also be arranged in non- alphabetical order, such as a television listing, or by category, listings of like items such as an auto parts catalog. Sometimes information is located within the written paragraphs of text, also known as a textual sense, as in an encyclopedia entry.

Learning to use your hands while scanning is very helpful in locating specific information. Do you do anything with your hands to locate a word in a dictionary? To find a meeting time on your calendar? To read a train or bus schedule? Using your hand or finger is extremely helpful in focusing your attention and keeping your place while scanning a column of material.

    Your peripheral vision can also help you scan effectively. When your hand moves down a list of names, you see not only the name your finger is pointing to, but also the names above and below. Let your eyes work for you when searching for information.

Skimming

What Is Skimming?

Skimming is one of the tools you can use to read more in less time. Skimming refers to looking only for the general or main ideas, and works best with non-fiction (or factual) material. With skimming, your overall understanding is reduced because you don’t read everything. You read only what is important to your purpose. Skimming takes place while reading and allows you to look for details in addition to the main ideas.

How to skim. Many people think that skimming is a haphazard process placing the eyes where ever they fall. However, to skim effectively, there has to be a structure but you don’t read everything. What you read is more important than what you leave out. So what material do you read and what material do you leave out?

Let’s say you are doing research on a long chapter or a web site. By reading the first few paragraphs in detail, you will get a good idea of what information will be discussed. Once you know where the reading is headed, you can begin to read only the first sentence of each paragraph. Also called topic sentences, they give you the main idea of the paragraph. If you do not get the main idea in the topic sentence or if the paragraph greatly interests you, then you may want to skim more.

At the end of each topic sentence, your eyes should drop down through the rest of the paragraph, looking for important pieces of information, such as names, dates, or events. Continue to read only topic sentences, dropping down through the rest of the paragraphs, until you are near the end. Since the last few paragraphs may contain a conclusion or summary, you should stop skimming there and read in detail. Remember that your overall comprehension will be lower than if you read in detail. If while skimming, you feel you are grasping the main ideas, then you are skimming correctly.

Prediction

 What Is Predicting?

Predicting is a strategy in which readers think about what they are going to read based on clues from the reading. It is an ongoing process that actively engages the reader in two ways: The reader’s mind is a jump ahead, trying to figure out what is coming next (making new predictions), while at the same time the reader is revising and refining the old predictions.

Three-Column Prediction List
A simple way for students to organize and review their predictions is to have them make a three-column list. In the left column, they can write their predictions. Especially when you first use this organizer, have students focus on some of the basic questions of when, where, who, and what.

In the middle column, they can jot down what clues in the text prompted them to make their predictions. In order to do this, they will need to skim the text—including pictures, maps, tables, headings, and other text features. You might have them discuss their ideas in small groups or with a partner. Then, while they are reading, they can list the facts they find that support—or refute, if that is the case—their predictions.

Finally, in the after-reading phase, they can fill in the right-hand column, confirming or refining their predictions using the information they found in the text. As part of the after-reading strategy, you might have students share their ideas so they can learn from one another’s train of thought. 

Your prediction—What do you think this will be about?	What clues did you use?	Now that you have finished reading, how would you change your prediction?
When?
Where?
Who?
What?

Tag Questions

A tag question is a special construction in English. It is a statement followed by a mini-question. The whole sentence is a "tag question", and the mini-question at the end is called a "question tag".

We use tag questions at the end of statements to ask for confirmation. They mean something like: "Am I right?" or "Do you agree?" They are very common in English.

The basic structure is:

+ Positive statement,	- negative tag?
Snow is white,	isn't it?
- Negative statement,	+ positive tag?
You don't like me,	do you?

Look at these examples with positive statements:

You are coming, aren't you?  

We have finished, haven't we?          

You do like coffee, don't you?            

They will help, won't they?     won't = will not

I can come, can't I?    

We must go, mustn't we?       

He should try harder, shouldn't he?

Look at these examples with negative statements:

It isn't raining, is it?

We have never seen that, have we?

You don't like coffee, do you?

They will not help, will they?

They won't report us, will they?

I can never do it right, can I?

We mustn't tell her, must we?

He shouldn't drive so fast, should he?

Some special cases:

I am right, aren't I?                             aren't I (not amn't I)

You have to go, don't you?               you (do) have to go...

I have been answering, haven't I?    use first auxiliary

Nothing came in the post, did it?     treat statements with nothing, nobody etc like negative statements

Let's go, shall we?                             let's = let us

He'd better do it, hadn't he?              he had better (no auxiliary)

Here are some mixed examples:

But you don't really love her, do you?

This will work, won't it?

Well, I couldn't help it, could I?

But you'll tell me if she calls, won't you?

We'd never have known, would we?

The weather's bad, isn't it?

You won't be late, will you?

Nobody knows, do they?

                                                      

Video about tags question