SESSION 1
RELATIVE CLAUSES
A. Meaning and use
Relative clauses are used to give additional information about a noun, such as a person, place or thing. Relative pronouns introduce a relative clause. They include who for people, that and which for things, when for time, and whose to show possession.
Relative clauses belong to one of two categories: defining relative clauses and non-defining relative clauses.
1. Defining relative clauses add essential information to a sentence.
The woman who found my wallet handed it in to reception.
The student whose dog has run away has gone to look for it.
I remember the day when we first met.
These are the earrings that my mother gave me.
These clauses give essential information about the subject of the sentence. They define the person, time or thing that we are talking about. If we remove the clause, the sentence does not make sense.
2. Non-defining relative clauses add extra information to a noun or noun phrase.
My friend’s birthday, which was last weekend, was great fun.
My current girlfriend, who I love very much, calls me every night.
This extra information is not essential. If we remove the clause, the sentence still makes sense. This type of clause is more common in written English.
You can remove a non-defining relative clause and the sentence will still make sense.
Their dog, which spent its first year living on the streets, didn't like sleeping in the house.
Their dog didn't like sleeping in the house.
You can always identify a non-defining relative clause because there is a comma after the noun it's describing. There will always be a comma at the end of the non-defining clause as well unless it finishes the sentence.
Her hair, which was naturally brown, was dyed blonde.
She had blonde hair, which was dyed.
3. Non-defining relative clauses always need the correct relative pronoun (which, who, whom). In defining relative clauses, these pronouns are often replaced with 'that'. It's also not possible to leave the pronoun out of a non-defining relative clause.
Correct: Their car, which was 20 years old, had begun to fall apart.
Wrong: Their car, that was 20 years old, had begun to fall apart.
Wrong: Their car, was 20 years old, had begun to fall apart.
4. Non-defining relative clauses can add extra information about the quantity of objects described. We do this by using expressions such as many, some, all, a few, half followed by the correct relative pronoun.
· The people, half of whom had never voted before, elected a new leader.
· The patients, many of whom smoked, were suffering from lung conditions.
5. You can comment on a whole sentence using non-defining relative clauses.
· The pigeons, which were all over the town square, left a terrible mess, which was disgusting.
· The children, who were having a wonderful time, didn't want to go home, which didn't surprise me.
B. Form
Defining relative clauses are made with noun + relative pronoun + rest of clause.
A kangaroo is an animal which lives in Australia.
The man who came for lunch was my uncle.
Winter is a time when it sometimes snows.
Non-defining relative clauses are made in the same way. An important difference, however, between both types of clause, is the use of punctuation. With non-defining relative clauses, we separate the clause with commas. We cannot use that in this type of clause.
My favourite food, which used to be Italian, is now Japanese.
Rachel, who we met yesterday, lives in this neighbourhood.
My car, which I bought seven years ago, needs replacing.
This shirt, which I bought last weekend, cost £50.
My best friend, who I met at university, is coming for dinner.
Take note: replacing the relative pronoun
In informal communication, relative pronouns, such as who and when, are commonly replaced with that in defining relative clauses.
The woman that called last night was very polite.
Do you remember the time that you first met?
Take note: leaving out the relative pronoun
When using defining relative clauses in informal speech and writing, the relative pronoun can be left out completely if it refers to the object of the relative clause.
This is the shirt that I bought.
This is the shirt I bought.
The girl who I like isn’t here yet.
The girl I like isn’t here yet.
In non-defining relative clauses, the relative pronoun cannot be left out.
Take note: spoken English
The relative pronoun who is used when referring to people. However, in formal written and spoken English, if the pronoun refers to the object of the clause, we use whom instead.
My German teacher, whom I really admired, retired last year.
The woman whom I called this morning was my secretary.
1. Read the explanation and do the exercises in pages 64 and 65 from the book. Then try this one:
SESSION 2
AFFIXATION
Hello! Let's work on affixation today! Whaaaaattttt?
Don't panick! Affixation is the process of adding a morpheme—or affix—to a word to create either a different form of that word or a new word with a different meaning; affixation is the most common way of making new words in English.
Prefixes and suffixes are "super" useful (you got it?) for customizing the meanings of words, but what are they?
A prefix is a group of letters (or an affix) that’s added to the beginning of a word, and a suffix is an affix that’s added to the end of a word.
Prefixes modify the meaning of a word. They can make a word negative, show repetition, or indicate opinion.
Some suffixes add to or change a word’s meaning.
Others can signal the word’s part of speech or indicate verb tense.
1. Time to sing!! Don't be shy...In fact, you will send me a video of yourself while singing this song...
...NOPE, thank you. I have enough with your homework...
Really? Come on, that can raise your mark and nobody would care, everybody is concerned about not getting infected haha.
Common Prefixes
Some of the most common prefixes in the English language are dis-, in-, and un-, which make words negative.
UN-KIND (not kind) It is still an adjective after adding the prefix.
Another common prefix, re-, indicates repetition.
RE-BUILD (to build again) It is still a verb after adding the prefix.
Other prefixes can indicate position:
Sub(meaning under or below)
subway and submarine
Supra- (which means above) often appears in medical terminology:
supraclavicular nerves (on top of veins and bones)
Rules for Adding Prefixes
1. Don't change the spelling of the original word or the prefix. Follow this rule even if the spelling results in double consonants, such as in the words misspell, irredeemable and cooperation.
2. Use a hyphen when joining a prefix to a proper noun, as in pro-American.
3. There should always be a hyphen after the prefix self- (as in self-esteem), and after the prefix ex- when it means former (as in ex-husband). Hyphens can also prevent misreading, mispronunciation, or confusion with other words.
For example, you should hyphenate re-cover (to cover again) to avoid confusing it with recover (to regain or repair).
Common Suffixes
Some common suffixes are -ed, -ing, and -ly. The suffix -ed changes verbs to the past tense. In the sentence “Sandy shoveled the snow,” The -ing suffix makes the verb take place in the present, as in the following sentence: “Sandy is shoveling the snow.”
The suffix -ly is commonly added onto adjectives to form adverbs (words that describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs). Examples of adverbs with the -ly suffix include joyfully, quickly, and loudly. The suffixes -s and -es make words plural, as in foxes, lamps, and chairs.
Rules for Adding Suffixes
1. When you add a suffix to a word, the original word usually keeps its original spelling.
2. Exceptions to this rule: If the original word is one syllable and ends with a single consonant, double the last letter. For example, tip becomes tipping or tipped, and run becomes running. If the word ends in multiple consonants, as in the word bank, last letter doesn’t get doubled. A common mistake:
write + ING: writing not writting
SESSION 3
LETTER OF APPLICATION
Peek-a-boo!
... a very informal way to say hello! by the way, never used in the type of writing we are going to introduce today.
Today you will have time to catch up and prepare your writing for next Friday:
Please, read Diego's explanation about the structure of a letter of application
Example:
Check up all the parts highlighted in different colours.
Follow these practical steps to write your letter:
SESSION 4
SOUTHERN AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIAN ACCENTS
Hey! I hope you are still there. There is little feedback from you!
Today we are going to practise our listening skills.
You will listen to our assistant Katie and Diego, both from California (USA), talking about their regions and the different accents you may encounter as well as expressions typical from each part.
1. While you listen draw a T-chart and fill it in with the main points.
2. Listen to the recordings twice, one for the gist and one for details. The gist or the main points must be written on the left and the details on the right. Once you've done it, please, send it to me. So let's listen to them!
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