Lesson video

Hi, I'm Mr. Beckingham, and I'm so pleased you decided to join me today to learn about relative complex sentences.

Now, I've got a lot of tricky knowledge to learn in this lesson, but I'm going to give you lots of chances to practise and to apply your new skills.

So I'm sure by the end of the lesson we'll have learned this really well.

Let's make a start.

Today's lesson is called a new sentence structure, the relative complex sentence, and it comes from my unit called simple compound adverbial and relative complex sentences.

By the end of today's lesson, we're going to be able to identify the structure of a relative complex sentence, and this is gonna be really useful to us going forward in our writing because it'll allow us to give really interesting details about nouns and noun phrases in sentences that we write, and we'll find out how during this lesson, here are keywords for today's lesson.

My turn, your turn, relative clause, main clause, relevant, interrupt, and relative complex sentence.

Let's look at those in a little bit more detail.

A relative clause is a type of subordinate clause that starts with a relative pronoun, and a main clause is a group of words that contains a verb and makes complete sense on its own.

Something is relevant to something else if it's closely related or linked to it.

And to interrupt something means to force it to stop or to break.

And a relative complex sentence is a sentence formed from a main clause and a relative clause.

Here's our lesson outline for today.

We're going to start by looking at the purpose of relative clauses, and then we'll move on to looking at relative complex sentences.

Let's begin by looking at the purpose of relative clauses.

A relative clause is a type of subordinate clause.

Here are some examples, who was a natural athlete, which had a long history, who isn't very well-known, which sat opposite the synagogue.

Now we know these are subordinate clauses for two reasons.

First of all, they contain a verb, was, had, isn't and sat are all verbs and they don't make complete sense on their own.

A clause is a group of words that contains a verb and a subordinate clause is a type of clause that doesn't make complete sense.

So these are all subordinate clauses.

Which of the following is a subordinate clause? Who are you, which one do you want, which was already full.

Pause the video and have a go.

Let's have a look.

All of these contain a verb, so they're all clauses.

We need to decide which ones are subordinate clauses.

They'll be the clause which wouldn't be a complete sentence on their own.

Who are you could be a sentence so it's not a subordinate clause.

Which one do you want? Could be a complete sentence so it's not a subordinate clause.

Those are both main clauses, but which was already full, couldn't be a sentence on its own.

So that one is a subordinate clause.

Well done if you spotted it.

Now, a relative clause is a type of subordinate clause that starts with a relative pronoun.

Here are examples from before.

You can see that they all start with either who or which.

And those are our two relative pronouns that we need to use.

So we can spot a relative clause because it's a type of subordinate clause that starts with one of these two words, which are relative pronouns.

So let's test that.

Which sentence here contains a relative clause? And how do you know? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done, it's C.

C contains the relative clause, who was a great artist, and we could spot that because it contained the relative pronoun, who.

The other two sentences didn't contain a relative pronoun.

So they can't have contained a relative clause.

Well done.

There's our relative pronoun who, and here's our verb was.

We need to have a verb as well, because a relative clause is a type of clause, and all clauses contain a verb.

Now, a relative clause follows a noun or a noun phrase to add extra relevant information about that noun or that noun phrase.

Here's an example, Izzy, who was a natural athlete won the race easily.

We have a noun, Izzy, at the start of our sentence, and we have the relative clause who was a natural athlete immediately after that noun because it tells us extra relevant information about it, relevant means really linked to it, really giving us some more extra detail that we'd want to know.

Here's another one, the school, which sat opposite the synagogue was over 200 years old.

Here we can see we've got the relative clause linking back to the noun phrase, the school.

It gives us extra relevant information about that noun phrase.

Let's look at this main clause.

The fly was caught in a spider's web.

We know that's a main clause because it makes complete sense on its own.

Now it starts with the noun phrase, the fly.

What more could we say about that noun phrase? Well, we could say the fly which was buzzing madly was caught in a spider's web.

We've added the relative clause, which was buzzing madly to give more relevant information about that noun phrase, the fly.

The relative clause must add extra relevant information about the noun or the noun phrase it follows.

I'm gonna show you some noun phrases and some relative clauses, and I want you to match each noun phrase to the relevant relative clause.

Here are noun phrases and our relative clauses.

Can you match them up? Pause the video and have a go.

Well done.

The singer would match to who isn't very well-known, the church which had a long history, and the teacher who was very strict.

Let's see that last one in a sentence.

The teacher who was very strict was the best in the school, the relative clause who was very strict, gives us more information, extra relevant information about that noun phrase, the teacher.

Now, which relative clause is not relevant to the main clause it's connected to? Here are three examples, in which one is the relative clause not relevant? The tumble-down house, which stood on the edge of a graveyard, was eerie and silent.

The tumble-down house, which had not been lived in for many years was eerie and silent.

And the tumble-down house, which is worth 79,000 pounds, was eerie and silent.

Which one of those relative clauses is not relevant to the main clause? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done, it's C.

It's not wrong that relative clause is grammatically correct, but it doesn't make relevant extra information about our tumble-down house, so it's not the most appropriate way to use a relative clause.

So we can add extra relevant information to a main clause using a relative clause.

Here's how.

Here's my main clause, the island was the perfect holiday destination.

I've started with the noun phrase, the island, and I've left a gap for a relative clause to add extra relevant information about the island.

So I could say the island which was covered in palm trees was the perfect holiday destination.

That relative clause gives extra relevant information about the island.

Now you try.

I've got the same sentence.

What else could we add in as relevant extra information using a relative clause? And I know it's going to start with the relative pronoun, which because we're talking about a place.

Pause the video and think what relative clause you could add.

Great effort, here are some suggestions you could say, which was very remote, which was surrounded by sandy beaches or which was in the Caribbean.

All of those would be extra relevant information about the island.

Well done if you have something similar.

Now for our first task this lesson, I want you to write each sentence with some extra relevant information by using a relative clause.

And don't forget to use the correct relative pronoun.

Remember, we use who when we're talking about people or characters and we use which when we're talking about places and things.

Here are our sentences with a gap for your relative clause.

Pause the video and try and write those sentences with some extra relevant information in a relative clause.

Have a go.

Great effort.

Let's check our sentences before we share ideas.

First of all, check does the relative clause start with who or which? Have you used the correct one? Who for a person or a character and which for a place or a thing? And does the relative clause contain a verb? It must do in order to be a clause.

And finally, does it add extra relevant information about the noun or the noun phrase at the start of the sentence? pause the video and just check your sentences, do all those things.

Let's look at some example sentences.

Now remember, yours will look different, but we should have the same main clause and then a relative clause added in after the noun and noun phrase.

I've said Lucas, who practised online every day was the quickest in year four at times tables.

I've said the school which was located in the centre of town had fantastic teachers.

Alex's mom, who is a well-paid doctor, owns an incredible car.

And the park, which was covered in litter, closed at dusk every day.

And notice I have my relative pronoun at the start of each of my relative clauses.

Really well done if you've managed to create something similar.

Brilliant work so far.

Let's move on to looking at relative complex sentences.

First of all, we're going to recap two types of subordinate clause.

We know that an adverbial clause is a type of subordinate clause that starts with a subordinating conjunction, for instance, in this sentence after he had eaten is the adverbial clause and we know that because it starts with the subordinating conjunction, after.

We know that there are many subordinating conjunctions, including as, when, while, before, because and so.

A relative clause is a subordinate clause that starts with a relative pronoun.

In this sentence, who had finished eating is the relative clause.

And we know just two relative pronouns, which and who.

So they are both types of subordinate clause.

An adverbial clause starts with a subordinating conjunction and a relative clause starts with a relative pronoun.

And they're easy to spot because we only have two relative pronouns to remember, who and which.

And we know that the relative clause adds extra information about the noun or the noun phrase it follows.

In this case, Andy.

When an adverbial clause is joined onto a main clause, it creates an adverbial complex sentence.

For example, we all felt a lot of pressure before we took the test.

We've got the main clause, we all felt a lot of pressure, followed by the adverbial clause, before we took the test and we know that's the adverbial clause because it starts with a subordinating conjunction, before.

So in this case, we've got main followed by subordinate to create an adverbial complex sentence.

Now we could flip that sentence around.

We could say, before we took the test, we all felt a lot of pressure.

This time the adverbial clauses come first, starting with the subordinating conjunction, before followed by the main clause, we all felt a lot of pressure.

So this time we've got a subordinate clause, an adverbial clause followed by a main clause.

And remember when the adverbial clause comes first, it's followed by a comma.

But both of these are adverbial complex sentences.

So which of these are found in an adverbial complex sentence? a subordinating conjunction, an adverbial clause, a main clause, or a relative pronoun? Pause the video and decide.

Well done.

An adverbial complex sentence is going to contain a subordinating conjunction because it contains an adverbial clause and adverbial clause starts with a subordinating conjunction.

The adverbial complex sentence must also contain a main clause, but it won't contain a relative pronoun.

Now, when a relative clause is added to a main clause, it creates a relative complex sentence.

So if we start with this main clause, the mountain towered above us, we could add a relative clause, which was 800 metres high after that noun phrase, the mountain to create the mountain which was 800 metres high towered above us.

That is a relative complex sentence.

It contains a main clause and a relative clause.

And in a relative complex sentence, the relative clause can often, but not always, interrupt the main clause after the noun or the noun phrase, it links to.

So we have a main clause, Alex won the competition easily.

We could add in the relative clause, who danced every day after school after that noun, Alex, to add that relevant extra information about Alex.

So we've got the main clause, Alex won the competition easily, interrupted by that relative clause, who danced every day after school.

So we have our main clause interrupted by the relative clause in the middle there to make a relative complex sentence.

Okay, let's check our knowledge.

Which of these are found in a relative complex sentence? A subordinating conjunction, a relative clause, a main clause, and a relative pronoun.

Pause the video and decide all of the options you'd find in a relative complex sentence, have a go.

Okay, let's take a look.

We wouldn't find a subordinating conjunction in a relative complex sentence.

We would find a relative clause.

We would find a main clause perhaps interrupted by that relative clause, and that relative clause would begin with a relative pronoun.

Really well done if you got those three.

Now let's try a true or false.

A relative complex sentence contains two main clauses.

Pause the video and decide.

Great job, that is false.

Now, I wonder if you can explain why.

Is it because the main clause is interrupted by the relative clause or because the main clause is split into two separate main clauses, which is the right explanation? Well done, it's A, the main clause has been interrupted by the relative clause, but it's still one main clause.

Let's look at that in more detail.

In a relative complex sentence, that main clause can be interrupted by the relative clause.

It's still just one main clause, it's been split into two parts.

So we've got some examples here.

The building, which was very old, was completely deserted.

My uncle Sam, who's my favourite relative, bought me a special treat and the puppies, which were whimpering quietly, eyed me cautiously.

Each time we've got a relative clause, following on from a noun or noun phrase.

But the main clause would still make sense in these sentences if we remove that relative clause.

Let's try it.

Here I've removed the relative clause and the sentence says, the building was completely deserted.

It still makes sense.

This one would say, my uncle Sam bought me a special treat.

And this one would say, the puppies eyed me cautiously.

So that shows us this is still just one main clause, which has been interrupted by that relative clause and if we remove the relative clause, it still makes complete sense in its own because it's one main clause.

So now you try.

What's the main clause in this relative complex sentence? My friend Izzy, who lived just around the corner, often came to visit.

Is the main clause, my friend Izzy? Is it who lived just around the corner? Or is it my friend Izzy often came to visit? Which one of those three is the main clause? Pause the video and decide.

Well done.

This is the relative clause, who lived just around the corner.

So if we remove that, we are left with this main clause, my friend Izzy often came to visit, so that tells us C is the correct answer.

That main clause has been interrupted by the relative clause, but it is still just one main clause.

Hmm, what about this one? I'm going to show you three relative complex sentences, and I want you to find the main clause in each.

Pause the video and have a try.

Okay, let's take a look.

In that first example, the main clause would be Sam sits opposite me in class.

In B, it would be Sofia's dad works very long hours.

And in C, a famous scientist came to visit our school.

Really well done if you've spotted that we've got our main clause there interrupted by the relative clause, and if we remove that relative clause, the main clause will still make complete sense.

Really well done.

Now if we start with a main clause, we can add a second piece of relevant information as a relative clause and create one relative complex sentence.

Let's have a look.

Laura put on her jacket.

She was feeling cold.

I'm gonna take that second sentence and make it a relative clause inside the first sentence to create a relative complex sentence.

I could say, Laura, who was feeling cold put on her jacket.

There's my relative clause adding extra relevant information about my noun, Laura.

Here's another example, the castle was perched on a hill.

It was totally ruined.

I can take that second sentence and add it as a relative clause.

The castle, which was totally ruined, was perched on a hill.

There's my relative clause, which was totally ruined, adding extra relevant information about that noun phrase, the castle.

Notice how those words at the start of the second sentence have been replaced by the relative pronouns.

I don't say Laura, she was feeling cold, put on her jacket.

I say Laura, who was feeling cold, put on her jacket.

I don't say the castle, it was totally ruined, was perched on a hill.

I say the castle, which was totally ruined, was perched on a hill.

So we've used those relative pronouns instead.

And remember that extra relevant information on the relative clause is placed after the noun or the noun phrase it tells us more about.

So if I look at these two sentences, the teacher handed out the whiteboard to the class.

He was keen to get started.

I want to put that second sentence inside the first sentence to make a relative complex sentence.

But we've got several noun phrases in this sentence, the teacher, the whiteboard, and the class.

So I need to think, well, what is that relevant information about? It's about the teacher.

So I need to say the teacher who was keen to get started, handed out the whiteboards to the class.

The relative clause has gone after the noun phrase it was giving us more information about.

So I'm going to give you two sentences to combine to make a relative complex sentence.

Which version of this is correct? Let's have a look.

Here are two sentences, Laura, loved PE best of all.

She was on the football team.

Which of these three shows us how we could make a relative complex sentence correctly from these two sentences? Pause the video and decide.

Well done, it's B.

We have to think carefully, what is that relevant information about? It's about Laura, so we can't put it after PE like in C, because the information is about Laura and not about PE.

So the relative clause goes after the noun phrase it gives us more information about.

Okay, let's look at our final task for this lesson.

I'm going to give you pairs of sentences like we've just seen, and I want you to combine each pair of sentences to write a relative complex sentence.

When you've finished, I want you to circle the parts of the sentence that make up the main clause.

Pause the video and write your relative complex sentences.

Good luck.

Okay, let's quickly check our sentences before we see some results.

Does your relative clause start with a who or a which? Have you used the correct relative pronoun? Remember who, if it's a person or a character, and which if it's a place or a thing.

And does the relative clause come after the noun or noun phrase it gives the extra information about? Pause the video and check that your sentences do all those things.

Okay, let's have a look at how these sentences should have looked.

For number one, we would say Aisha, who lived nearby, came to school by bicycle.

For number two, the elderly man, who was out of breath shuffled slowly down the street.

For number three, Jun, who was supposed to be writing, was doodling on his work.

And for number four, the lion, which had been hunting for hours, finally caught the antelope.

Really well done if you managed to get those sentences combined correctly.

We can see the main clauses here.

Aisha came to school by bicycle, the elderly man shuffled slowly down the street.

Jun was doodling on his work and the lion finally caught the antelope.

Really well done so far this lesson.

Let's summarise what we've learned.

We've learned that a relative clause is a type of subordinate clause that begins with a relative pronoun, like who or which.

We've learned that a relative clause adds relevant extra information about the noun or the noun phrase it follows.

We've learned that if a relative clause is added to a main clause, this creates a relative complex sentence.

And we've learned that in a relative complex sentence, the relative clause can interrupt the main clause.

Thank you so much for joining me today and I really hope to see you again in a future lesson.