Podcast 44 - B1, relative clauses in stories

Relative clauses for Preliminary B1 exam story

Non-identifying clauses

Story starts at 10:30

Hello, and welcome back to another session of Practising English. And today I'm going to be talking to you about Cambridge Preliminary exam. And especially about part two of the writing exam where you have to write a story. Now there are quite a lot of things to say about writing the story, at this B1 level, but I'm just going to look at one aspect of that, which is a way of making your stories sound more interesting, and also more attractive for the examiner who is marking your exam. Why? Because what we can do is to use relative clauses in the story. And that will make it sound a little more attractive and a little better to read and listen to. Today, I'm going to tell you a story. Later on, I'm going to use some of these relative clauses. But before I do, I will just revise a little the basics of the use of relative pronouns and relative clauses. And I'm going to look at which, who, that, and where.

Now, really what we're talking about is adding information to our sentences or joining two sentences together. Let us consider, for example, these two sentences,

I arrived at the house, it looked very old and empty.

We would probably get more points and make our story sound or read in a more attractive way if we add a relative clause and use a relative pronoun. And as we're talking about 'the house', so we need a pronoun for objects, for example, which. And I can join those two phrases together by saying,

I arrived at the house, which looked very old and empty.

Now one thing we have to remember is that when we're writing this, we must use a comma to separate those two phrases. I arrived at the house (comma) which looked very old and empty. We can't use that in this type of relative clause, because these are non-identifying or non-defining relative clauses - just joining two pieces of information together into one sentence. Here's another example.

I picked up my bag. I had bought it only a few days before.

So I'm talking about 'my bag'. So I'm going to use which.

I picked up my bag, which I had bought only a few days before.

Now if we're talking about people, well then we use the relative pronoun who. And consider these two sentences.

I met this interesting girl. She sold tickets at the cinema.

And I can join those two sentences then, by saying,

I met this interesting girl, who sold tickets at the cinema.

And I can't use that. This is a non-identifying relative clause.

Okay, another example.

There was a strange man standing on the corner. He looked very suspicious.

And I joined those sentences with who,

There was a strange man standing on the corner, who looked very suspicious.

And we can also use where as a relative pronoun, and to join two sentences together when we're talking about places.

So here's an example.

I went back to my old school. My English teacher still taught there.

And I joined those two sentences then with where.

I went back to my old school, where my English teacher still taught.

Identifying relative clauses

Okay, so I just mentioned then, when we are using clauses, which are defining or identifying relative clauses, in which case, then we have the option of using that. So let's look at a phrase we saw before,

I arrived at the house that I'd seen from the bus the day before.

Now, this time, we're doing something different. I arrived at the house - which house? Which house did I arrive at? Well, it was that one I'd seen from the bus the day before. So I'm identifying the house here. And so we use that we don't use commas in the sentence. I arrived at the house that I'd seen from the bus the day before. Can we use which? Yes, we can use which, but we often prefer [that], in colloquial style, and it's okay for your B1 exam, because it's a fairly informal style that you're writing in. So you can use which if you want to, but that is probably preferable. I arrived at the house, which I'd seen from the bus the day before - no commas again. But we're using which here instead.

When we're talking about people... let's consider this phrase then.

Where's the girl that sells the tickets?

This time I am identifying the girl. Where is she? The girl that sells the tickets? I'm using that - I could use who.

Where's the girl who sells the tickets.

But in conversational style, often, that is a good option to use.

Vocabulary for the story

Okay, that is my little bit of revision. I'm now going to tell you a story. And I would like you to listen for the use of which and who and that as well, which I brought in there as relative clauses joining two sentences together. And there's also a case of identifying something with that.

Some vocabulary before we start - a rope is a piece of string, something very long, that we use to tie things together - with a rope. For example, a rope around a horse's neck or donkey's neck to be able to lead it along - lead the horse or the donkey with the rope.

Another word path is like a little way, a little road, usually in the countryside.

A thief and in the plural thieves - people who steal things from other people - who take things from other people without their permission.

And witch - mystical, magical person usually a woman. Typically you see or hear about them at Halloween, for example, a witch with a black hat.

And what do witches do? Well, they cast a spell. [This] is to pronounce some magical words to do something. For example, change somebody into something - to change a princess into a frog. [frog croaking].

Okay, so here we go with the story. It's about Nasreddin. He was a character from medieval Middle Eastern countries such as Iraq, Iran and Turkey. And he was like an Aesop person, somebody who told stories, which had a moral to them. And the name of the story is 'The Donkey and the Thief'.

The Donkey and the Thief (story)

scene from an arab market

One day, Nasreddin decided that he needed a new donkey. Nasreddin had to work in the fields where he grew vegetables to sell in the market. So one bright morning he got up early and walked to the market, which was a very busy place with people buying and selling products. And there he saw a donkey, which looked very beautiful and very strong. This is the donkey [that*] I need to help me in the fields, said Nasreddin to himself, and he bought the donkey and put a rope around its neck and began to lead it home.

He walked along the path, which was very lonely and led down to the bottom of the valley, where Nasreddin lived. But he didn't notice two thieves, who were waiting behind a rock. And as Nasreddin walked past, they came out and one of the thieves very carefully took off the rope from around the donkey's neck and put the rope around the other thief's neck. And the first thief then ran away. Nasreddin didn't notice all this, and when he got back to his house, he turned round. And there instead of the donkey, he saw a man.

"What are you doing there?" said Nasreddin. "Where is my donkey?"

The man looked at Nasreddin and said sadly, "I'm very sorry. You have, in fact, saved me. You know, some time ago, I said bad things to my mother - my mother, who is a witch, and she cast a spell on me. And she turned me into a donkey. And she said I would only become a man again, when a kind person bought me. And this morning you bought me in the market. And I have become a man once more. Thank you so much."

Nasreddin could not believe how unlucky he had been. He took the rope off the man's neck, and he said to him,

"Young man, go back to your mother. And don't be rude to her again."

Nasreddin now had no donkey and he had to go back to the fields and work for a few days more, to be able to get enough vegetables to take back to the market and buy another.

So one fine morning he got up, with his vegetables, and went back to the market. And there he couldn't believe his eyes. There was the donkey, the same donkey that he had bought only a few days before.

There was a man standing next to it. And it had a rope around his neck. What Nasreddin did know [was] that the man was the other thief. Nasreddin nodded to himself and smiled. And he went up to the donkey and leaned over and whispered in its ear,

"Young man, some people will never learn!"

Until next time, goodbye!

Answers

The following sentences from the story use relative clauses and pronouns.

So one bright morning he got up early and walked to the market, which was a very busy place with people buying and selling products.

And there he saw a donkey, which looked very beautiful and very strong.

This is the donkey [that*] I need to help me in the fields.

He walked along the path, which was very lonely and led down to the bottom of the valley, where Nasreddin lived.

But he didn't notice two thieves, who were waiting behind a rock.

...my mother, who is a witch...

...the same donkey that he had bought only a few days before.

*Here, the pronoun that has been omitted. This is possible when it refers to the object of the sentence. (Later, I will give you some more help on this point.)