Relative clauses: participle and to-infinitive

A Relative clauses with a participle

Read this news report about an accident.

Several people were injured this morning when a lorry carrying concrete pipes overturned in the centre of town and hit two cars. Ambulances called to the scene took a long time to get through the rush hour traffic. The accident happened in Alfred Road, where road repairs are under way. People who saw the accident say that the lorry hit the cars after it swerved to avoid a pile of stones left in the road. The traffic chaos caused by the accident has meant long delays for people travelling to work.

Carrying concrete pipes, called to the scene, etc are relative clauses: they relate to a noun. Carrying concrete pipes tells us something about a lorry.

We can form these clauses with an active participle, e.g. carrying, or a passive participle, e.g. called. The participles can refer to the present or the past.

B

ACTIVE PASSIVE

There are delays this morning for people

travelling to work.

(= people who are travelling to work) A lorry carrying concrete pipes has overturned. (= a lorry which was carrying pipes) the path leading to the church (= the path which leads/led to the church)

The active participle means the same as a pronoun + a continuous verb, e.g. which is/was carrying, or a pronoun + a simple verb, e.g. which leads/led.

But we do not use the active participle for a single action in the past.

The police want to interview people who saw the accident.

NOT people-seeing-the-accident

Relative clauses with a to-infinitive

Look at this structure with the to-infinitive.

New Zealand was the first country to give women the vote. (= the first country which gave women the vote) Melanie was the only person to write a letter of thanks. (= the only person who wrote a letter of thanks)

Here are some more examples.

The guest on our show is the youngest golfer to win the Open.

Emma Thompson is the most famous actress to appear on stage here. We can use a to-infinitive with these words: first, second, etc; next and last; only; and superlatives, e.g. youngest, most famous.

We can leave out the noun (except after only) if the meaning is clear. The captain was the last to leave the sinking ship.

143 Exercises

1 Relative clauses with a participle (A)

Complete the definitions. Put in an active or passive participle of these verbs: add, arrive, block, own, play, take, tell, watch, wear

? A competitor is someone taking part in a competition.

? Your property is everything owned by you.

1 Baseball is a game..................................... mainly in the US.

2 A wrist-watch is a watch .................................... on your wrist.

3 A latecomer is a person.................................... late.

4 An instruction is a statement…………………… ... you what to do.

5 A spectator is someone ……………………… a game or an event.

6 An extension is a new part …………………….. on to a building.

7 An obstacle is something .……………………..your way.

2 Relative clauses with a participle (A)

Write each news item as one sentence. Change the part in brackets into a clause with an active participle (e.g. costing) or a passive participle {e.g. found).

? A new motorway is planned. (It will cost £500 million.)
A new motorway costing £500 million is planned.

? Some weapons belong to the IRA. (They were found at a flat in Bristol.)
Some weapons found at a flat in Bristol belong to the IRA.

1 Families have been evicted. (They were living in an empty office building.)
Families ...................................................................................................................................

2 A chemical company has gone bankrupt. (It employed 4,000 people.)
A chemical company....................................................................................

3 A bridge has been declared unsafe. (It was built only two years ago.)
A bridge........................................................................................................

4 People have marched to London. (They are protesting against pollution.)

5 Tennis fans have been queuing all night at Wimbledon. (They hope to buy tickets.)

6 A new drug may give us eternal youth. (It was developed at a British university.)

3 Relative clauses with a to-infinitive (B)

Comment on each situation. Use the to-infinitive structure.

► David offered his help. No one else did.
David was the only person to offer his help.

1 Olivia's daughter swam a length of the pool. No other girl as young as her did that.
Olivia's daughter was ............................ ………………………………

2 The secretaries got a pay rise. No one else did.
The secretaries were ....... ……………………………………………..

3 The pilot left the aircraft. Everyone else had left before him.

4 Mrs Harper became Managing Director. No other woman had done that before.

5 Daniel applied for the job. No other candidate as suitable as him applied.

TEST 24 Relative clauses (Units 137-143)

Test 24A

Decide which word or phrase is correct.

► What I really need is a long holiday.
a) that b) what c) which d) who

1 At last I've found the information that I was looking
a) for b) for it c) for that d) it

2 Everyone………………………. the building was searched by the police.
a) enter b) entered c) entering d) enters

3 The plane……………………… has just taken off is an hour late.
a) it b) what c) which d) who

4 I had just one reply. Abco was the………………………. company to reply to my letter.
a) last b) most c) only d) second

5 My friend Nigel,………………………. works in the City, earns much more than I do.
a) that b) which c) who d) whose

6 Martin is someone with ................................. I usually agree.

a) him b) that c) who d) whom

7 I'd like to see the photo………………..

a) took b) you took it c) that you took d) that you took it

8 Atlanta is the city……………………… the Olympic Games were held in 1996.
a) that b) when c) where d) which

9 It rained all the time,...................................... was a great pity.

a) that b) what c) which d) who

10 We passed shops …………………… ... windows were decorated for Christmas.
a) the b) their c) which d) whose

Test 24 B

Each of these sentences has a mistake in it. Write the correct sentence.

► I've found the magazine who was missing.
I've found the magazine that was missing.

1 This isn't the train on that I normally travel.

2 The letter that I opened it wasn't for-me.

3 The reason because I didn't know was that no one-had told me.

4 That we should do is ring the police.

5 I-didn't know the name of the man helped me.

6 Rupert knows the family who's house is for sale.

7 Einstein who failed his university entrance exam discovered-relativity.

8 The person we talked to were very friendly.

9 It's the President makes the important decisions.

10 I can't find my diary, what is real nuisnace.

11 Outside the door was a pair of boots covering in mud,

12 Lake-Suiperior-, that lies-on-the US Canadian-border is the largest-lake in-North-America.

Test 24C

Complete the story about a thief's punishment. Write the missing words. Use one word only in each space.

This is a true story (►) which is supposed to have happened somewhere in the US. A man (1)………….

was accused of housebreaking appeared in court. He had put his arm through the window of a house and

stolen some money (2)……………. was lying on a table inside. The argument (3)……………. the man's

lawyer put forward wasn't very impressive. He said that (4).................. …….. was the man's arm (5)…………….

had committed the crime and not the man himself. 'You cannot punish a man for (6)…………….. his arm

has done,' said the lawyer. Now the judge in (7)……………. court the man was appearing wanted to show

how stupid the lawyer's argument was. Instead of finding the man guilty, he found the man's arm guilty and
sent it to prison. 'He can go with his arm or not, as he chooses,' the judge added, (8)……………... made

everyone laugh. But (9)……………. the judge didn't know was that the man had an artificial arm. He took

the arm off, gave it to the judge - (10)…………….. could hardly believe his eyes - and walked out of the

court.

Test 24D

Combine the two sentences into one. ► That man was Anna's brother. He just walked past. The man who just walked past was Anna's brother.

1 The plane was twenty-five years old. It crashed.

The plane .…………………………………………..... twenty-five years old.

2 One day Tessa was ill in bed. Martin rang.

The day ........................................................................................................ ill in bed.

3 Our offices are in Queen Street. They are new.

Our ……………………………………………………………………………..in Queen Street.

4 Some documents have been found. They were stolen from a car.

The documents.............................................................................................. found.

5 That map is out of date. You were looking at it.

The map .………………………………………………………………………out of date.

6 The King's Theatre is in the centre of town. It dates from 1896.

The King's......... ……………………………………………………………………...in the centre of town.

I A woman was terribly upset. Her dog was run over.

The woman ......................................................................................................................... terribly upset.

8 Janet solved the puzzle. She did it before everyone else.

Janet was................................................................................................... the puzzle.

9 A man was standing outside the building. He was selling newspapers.

A man ……………………………………………………………………………………..outside the building.

10 The talk was very interesting. Judy gave it.

The talk.……………………………………………………………………………………………very interesting.

II The house is empty now. I used to live there.

The house .……………………………………………………………………………………..is empty now.

Date: 2014-12-22; view: 3453