Warm-up

Before anything else — out loud, no writing yet.

SPEAK

Think of someone at work or in your family. Describe them in one sentence starting with "That's the person who..." Say it out loud.

Listen in on this conversation

Sam: Did you meet the new manager yet — the one whose office is next to reception?

Priya: Briefly. She's actually the person I sent that report to last week.

Sam: The one you spent three days on?

Priya: That's the one — ten pages, most of which I ended up rewriting anyway.

Sam: Rough. Anyway, we're in the meeting room with the chair fixed on Monday. Still wobbles.

Priya: Of course it does.

Look at what Sam and Priya do without even noticing. Three different ways of packing extra, precise detail about a person or thing into a sentence. Can you spot all three? Say them before you check.

Check your answer CLICK

1. "whose office is next to reception" — whose, for showing something belongs to someone.
2. "most of which I ended up rewriting" — a quantity + of which, for saying more about part of a group already mentioned.
3. "the chair fixed on Monday" — a shortened clause (it really means "which was fixed"), dropping the extra words when they're not needed.

This is why these matter: they let you add one sharp extra fact about a person or thing without stopping your sentence to start a new one.

Today: three ways to add precise extra detail to what you say — whose, a quantity + of which/of whom, and shortened clauses like "the people living..." or "the report written..." — plus knowing when to keep it natural and when to make it more careful and formal.

Whose Office Is It?

Showing that something belongs to someone, and being precise about a preposition that belongs to the clause.

Spot the pattern

"That's the woman whose car got towed last week."
"He's the client I've been dealing with." → more carefully: "He's the client with whom I've been dealing."
"This is the drawer I keep my passport in." → more carefully: "This is the drawer in which I keep my passport."

What's each one doing, and what changes between the natural and the careful version? Say it, then check.

Check the pattern CLICK

whose + noun shows possession — "her car", "his office" — and works for people and things alike.

When a preposition belongs to the clause ("dealing WITH the client", "keep it IN the drawer"), natural spoken English leaves it at the end. Careful or formal English moves it to the front — and once it's at the front, you must use whom for a person, or which for a thing. "Who" never follows a preposition directly.

whose + noun (possession — people or things)
preposition + whom (people, careful/formal)
preposition + which (things, careful/formal)
natural spoken: ...(who / that / — ) ... + preposition (at the end)

    One trap: after a preposition it's always whom, never "to who". But at the end of a natural spoken sentence, "Who did you give it to?" is completely standard.
  

Quick check

1. Your new neighbour's car has an alarm that goes off constantly. Combine that into one sentence about the neighbour:

"My new neighbour has a car alarm goes off every night."

2. Natural version: "She's the colleague I always turn to for advice." Rewrite the gap in the more careful, formal way — move the preposition to the front:

"She's the colleague I always turn for advice."

3. Natural version: "This is the shelf I put my keys on every day." Rewrite the gap the careful, formal way:

"This is the shelf I put my keys every day."

Now say it

SPEAK

Describe someone in your family or friend group using whose. Then describe an everyday object using the natural spoken order (preposition at the end). Now say that same object sentence again, the more careful way.

Three of Which Were Late

Adding one more fact about part of a group you've just mentioned.

Spot the pattern

"We interviewed twelve candidates, three of whom had no relevant experience."
"My uncle owns four cafés, one of which is right next to the station."
"I sent out twenty invitations, twelve of which got no reply."

What comes before each one, and what job is "of which/of whom" doing? Say it, then check.

Check the pattern CLICK

Each sentence first mentions a whole group (candidates, cafés, invitations), then adds a comma and a quantity + of which/of whom to say something extra about PART of that group — of whom for people, of which for things. The verb that follows agrees with the quantity, not the original number: "three of whom had", not "has".

[group mentioned], quantity + of which/of whom + verb... (some, several, many, most, none, a number)

    This only works once a plural group has already been named — you can't start a sentence with "of which".
  

Quick check

1. Your sister has six kids. Four of them are still at school. Combine that into one sentence:

"My sister has six kids, are still at school."

2. The library has thirty computers. Ten of them are already broken. Combine that into one sentence:

"The library has thirty computers, are already broken."

3. You texted five old friends. Not one of them replied. Combine that into one sentence:

"I texted five old friends, replied."

Now say it

SPEAK

Tell me about a group you belong to — your team, your class, your family — and describe part of it using of whom or of which. ("...ten of whom...", "...three of which...")

The People Living Upstairs

Dropping the pronoun and the verb "to be" when the meaning stays completely clear.

Spot the pattern

"The people living upstairs just moved in." (= who are living)
"The report written last week is already out of date." (= which was written)
"Anyone wanting a refund should speak to the manager." (= who wants)

What's dropped in each one, and how do you choose which participle to use? Say it, then check.

Check the pattern CLICK

The relative pronoun and "to be" both disappear, leaving just a participle stuck onto the noun. If the noun is doing the action, use the -ing form (living, wanting). If the action is done to the noun, use the past participle (written, sent, taken) — a passive meaning without spelling out the full passive.

noun + verb-ing (active — the noun does it)
noun + past participle (passive — it's done TO the noun)

    A report doesn't write itself — so "the report writing last week" is wrong. It's written: something was done to it.
  

Quick check

1. A man is right outside your building this moment, waiting for someone. Describe him:

"The man outside is waiting for my flatmate."

2. Yesterday, someone put an important message about the meeting straight into your inbox — you still haven't opened it. Describe it:

"The email yesterday about the meeting is still unread."

3. Full clause: "Anyone who needs extra help can email the office." Shorten it:

"Anyone extra help can email the office."

Now say it

SPEAK

Look around you right now. Describe three things or people using a shortened clause — noun + -ing, or noun + past participle. ("The chair standing in the corner...", "The letter left on the table...")

Your Turn to Talk

Everything together, out loud. This is the whole point of the lesson.

Round 1 — you talk

Someone new has just joined your team, your class, or your building, and asks you to describe the people and the place.

Talk for a full minute. Use all three of today's structures somewhere in what you say:

someone or something described with whose
a fact about part of the group with of which / of whom
at least one shortened description (the person doing X / the thing done to Y)

01:00

Round 2 — you ask

SPEAK

Now ask me about my life, using today's grammar to build your questions:

A "whose...?" question about someone I know.
A question using "how many/most/several of whom/which...?" about a group I belong to.
A question describing something with a shortened clause — for example, "Is there anything sitting in your bag you haven't used in a year?"

Round 3 — pin it down in writing

Write 3–5 sentences describing a group of people or things you know well — colleagues, family, books on a shelf, whatever comes to mind. Use as many of today's structures as you can; the checker will tell you which ones it finds.

Mix It Up

Real conversation never labels the structure for you. Here everything's shuffled.

Which form fits?

1. "That's the woman ___ flight got delayed by six hours."

2. You're writing a formal letter of complaint about a faulty product. Which fits best?

3. "The photos ___ last summer are still on my phone."

Fix the mistakes

Each one has a single grammar slip. Say the correct version out loud first, then type the whole sentence.

4. "The man who I spoke to him yesterday is my new neighbour."

5. "She's the woman to who I gave my number."

6. "My grandmother left me thirty boxes of old letters, which took weeks to go through."

7. "The email writing last week still hasn't arrived."

Say it better

SPEAK

Each pair below is correct but clumsy. Say a tighter version out loud using today's grammar, then compare:

8. "There's a family. Their house burned down last year."

Compare with a tighter version CLICK

"There's a family whose house burned down last year." — two short sentences become one precise one with whose.

9. "The people who are waiting outside have been there for an hour."

Compare with a tighter version CLICK

"The people waiting outside have been there for an hour." — "who are" drops out; the -ing form alone is completely natural here.

What Do You Remember?

A quick reminder first

1. Basic relative pronoun for a thing: "That's the shop just opened on the corner."

2. In your own words: what's the difference between "the man who called is my brother" and "my dad, who called earlier, is coming for dinner"? Say it out loud, then check.

Check your answer CLICK

The first one identifies which man you mean — no commas, essential information. The second one already knows who "my dad" is; the clause just adds extra information, marked off with commas.

Say first, then check — fresh situations

1. A shop near you has a sign that's falling apart. Describe it:

"There's a shop near me sign is falling apart."

2. Your team has ten members. Six of them are new this year. Combine that into one sentence:

"Our team has ten members, are new this year."

3. A path was built last year and it's already cracking. Describe it:

"The path last year is already cracking."

One last minute of talk

SPEAK

Close the loop: which of today's three structures — whose, of which/of whom, or the shortened clauses — do you think will actually turn up in your own speaking or writing? Why that one?

Can you now...?

We said: three ways to add precise extra detail, and knowing when to keep it natural and when to make it more formal. Tick what's true:

I can use whose to show something belongs to someone, for people and things.
I can use a preposition + which/whom in careful or formal English, and switch it to the natural spoken order when I'm chatting.
I can use of which/of whom after a quantity, and shorten a relative clause to a single participle (living, written, waiting) when it's natural to do so.

    Anything unticked — go back to that tab and run its speaking round again. The checkers will still be there.
  