Let's see what's already there — have a go, don't worry about mistakes.
You already know this pattern. Complete the sentence:
"My aunt runs a small café called me with good news yesterday."
Have a go out loud: say one sentence about a person you know using who, and one about a place using where.
Priya: How's your brother? Wasn't he thinking about moving abroad?
Sam: He actually did it. My brother, who never even owned a passport before last year, is living in Osaka now.
Priya: Wow. And the friend who was going with him — did she go too?
Sam: No, that fell through. But the flat where they were going to live is still empty, apparently.
Look again at "my brother, who never even owned a passport..." Now try saying it without the commas, in your head: "My brother who never even owned a passport is living in Osaka." Does it still mean exactly the same thing? Say your idea out loud before you check.
The same words — who, which — can do two different jobs, depending on a tiny pause.
Three everyday sentences:
In which sentences does the relative clause tell us which person we mean? In which does it just add a bonus fact about someone already clear? Say your answer before you check.
Read the situation, then complete the sentence so it matches.
1. You have three brothers. One of them lives much closer than the other two.
"The brother lives closest to me visits every Sunday."
2. You have exactly one grandmother, and she's about to have a big birthday.
"My grandmother, taught me to bake, is turning 90 this year."
3. You have exactly one car, and you're proud it's still reliable.
"My car, I bought secondhand, has never given me any trouble."
Say one sentence with a small pause — extra detail about someone you already know well — and one sentence with no pause, where the clause is the only thing telling your listener who you mean.
Three more words for the same job: adding detail without starting a new sentence.
What job does each bold word do? Say it before you check.
1. A friend of yours has a dog. That dog keeps digging holes in your garden.
"My friend dog keeps digging holes in my garden owes me a new lawn."
2. You got an important phone call once, and you remember that exact moment clearly.
"I'll never forget the moment I got that phone call."
3. There's a corner shop near you. You buy the newspaper there every morning.
"This is the corner shop I buy the paper every morning."
Say three sentences out loud: someone whose home or car or garden you admire, a day when something important happened to you, and a place where you love spending time.
Sometimes English lets you leave the connecting word out completely — but not always.
Three sentences you could say with or without the bracketed word:
Try reading each one without the bracketed word. Does it still work? What comes right after the gap in every one of these — is it a verb, or a completely different subject (we, I, she)?
1. Rewrite this the way you'd actually say it out loud, leaving out the word you don't need: "The jacket that I left on the train has probably gone forever."
2. This one can't lose its word — complete it: "The barista makes the best coffee in town just quit."
3. Rewrite this one too, dropping the word that isn't needed: "The plumber (who) my neighbour recommended never called back."
Say two sentences out loud, dropping the word where you can: a present (that) someone once gave you, and a story (that) someone once told you.
Time to mix everything from today into one real description — over to you.
Think of your family, your friends, or your neighbourhood. (If nothing comes to mind straight away, invent it.)
Describe it out loud for one minute. Try to include:
Write a short message (3–5 sentences) describing the same people or place to a friend who's never met them. Use a clause about a person, one about a thing or place, and one with whose — the checker will tell you which ones it finds.
Real conversation doesn't sort itself into neat categories. Here everything is mixed — you decide.
Each sentence has one mistake. Rewrite the whole sentence correctly.
1. "My grandad, that taught me to fish, passed away last year."
2. "The car that I bought it last month broke down already."
3. "That's the man who's bike got stolen."
4. "She's the colleague which trained me."
5. You have exactly one car, and you're fond of it. Which sentence is correct?
6. "I'll never forget the hospital ___ my daughter was born."
7. Which sentence can naturally lose the word "that" and still make sense?
One-minute challenge: describe your family tree out loud, using at least one clause with a pause (extra detail) and one without (essential detail) — like "my aunt, who taught me to cook, lives in Spain" next to "the cousin who never calls me back". Use the timer above if you like the pressure.
1. The basic form you knew before today — complete it: "This is the app I use every day to learn English."
2. Say it out loud: describe a person using "who" and describe a place using "where" — one example sentence with each.
3. Your sister's husband works abroad, so she only sees him once a month. Complete: "My sister husband works abroad only sees him once a month."
4. You once backpacked through Europe one summer, and you still think about it. Complete: "I still think about the summer we backpacked through Europe."
5. Rewrite this, dropping the unnecessary word: "The recipe that my grandmother gave me makes the best soup."
Which was harder for you today — knowing when a comma changes the meaning, or knowing when you can drop the word completely? Say why you think that one was harder.
At the start we said: the comma difference, whose/when/where, and dropping the pronoun — so you can describe people, things and places accurately. Tick what's true: