RELATIVE PRONOUNS

A VERY LONG LIFE

Read the text and answer the questions.
Timothy the tortoise was about 160 years old when he died at his home near Exeter in November
2005. Timothy, whose early life was spent at sea, was thought to be the oldest resident in Britain at
the time.
He was found by a British naval officer, Captain John Courtenay Everard, on a Portuguese ship in
1854. Everard, who was a relative of the Earl of Devon, adopted him and he became the mascot
on a succession of British ships for nearly forty years. In 1892 he went to live at Powderham
Castle, which is the historic home of the Earls of Devon, and in 1935 he was given a permanent
home in the castles rose garden.
Throughout his long life, Timothy showed a keen instinct for survival. During the second world war,
for example, he felt the vibrations from the bombs that the Germans were dropping on Exeter and
made his own air-raid shelter under some steps. He was also very healthy, never needing to see a
vet until the last year of his life.
At the time of his death, Timothy was owned by Lady Gabrielle Courtenay, who is the aunt of the
current Earl of Devon. Lady Devon also lives at Powderham, where Timothy was given a family
funeral and was buried in the grounds of the castle.


1. Timothy
a. was born in the nineteen hundreds.
b. died in the twentieth century.
c. was found on board a British ship.
d. was found by a relative of the Earl of Devon.

2. When did Timothy live at Powderham Castle?
a. Until 1892.
b. For more than 100 years.
c. From 1854 to 2005.
d. In the eighteenth century.

3. Where did Timothy spend most of his time?
a. In the garden.
b. In the castle.
c. Under some steps.
d. On the terrace.

4. Timothy
a. was ill for many years before he died.
b. belonged to the Earl of Devons aunt.
c. didnt notice the bombs during the war.
d. didnt have a funeral.












When we want to combine two separate pieces of information about somebody, something or
somewhere in one sentence, we often use RELATIVE PRONOUNS.
Look at these sentences:
Everard, who was a relative of the Earl of Devon, adopted him.
He went to live at Powderham Castle, which is the historic home of the Earls of Devon.
He felt the vibrations from the bombs that the Germans were dropping on Exeter.
Lady Devon also lives at Powderham, where Timothy was given a family funeral.

We use who for people (and sometimes animals, especially if they are pets), which for things,
where for places and when for times. We can use that instead of who, which or when (but never
who) as long as there is no comma before the RELATIVE PRONOUN.
Sometimes the information includes a possessive element:
Timothys early life was spent at sea.
Timothy was thought to be the oldest resident in Britain.

In these cases, we use the POSSESSIVE RELATIVE whose:
Timothy, whose early life was spent at sea, was thought to be the oldest resident in Britain.


Decide if these nouns refer to (i) PEOPLE, (ii) PLACES, (iii) THINGS or (iv) TIMES
academy
animal
bird
body of water
cabbage
future
goose
hippogriff
inventor
narrative
nihilist
ocean
person
school
story
symbol
time
vegetable

Now match the words on the left with their humorous definitions (from Ambrose Bierces
Devils Dictionary http://www.thedevilsdictionary.com/) adding the appropriate relative pronoun

ACADEMY

A bird ____________ supplies quills for writing.
CABBAGE A body of water ____________ occupies about two-thirds of a world
made for man who has no gills.

FUTURE Something ____________ is supposed to typify or represent something
else.

GOOSE

A Russian ____________ denies the existence of anything but Tolstoy
(the leader of the school is Tolstoy.)

HIPPOGRIFF

A narrative ____________ is generally untrue.
INVENTOR A familiar kitchen-garden vegetable ____________ is about as large
and wise as a man's head.

NIHILIST A modern school ____________ football is taught.

OCEAN A time ____________ our affairs prosper, our friends are true and our
happiness is assured.

STORY

An animal (now extinct) ____________ was half horse and half griffin.

SYMBOL

A person ____________makes an ingenious arrangement of wheels,
levers and springs, and believes it civilization.
Insert the correct relative pronoun who, which, that, where or whose to complete the
sentences.

1. John Browns second wife, who was called Mary Anne Day, was only 16 when she married him.
2. Martin Luther King, _______________ birthday is now a national holiday in the USA, was shot
dead in Memphis, Tennessee.
3. Aeschylus was killed when an eagle, _______________ was flying above him, dropped a
tortoise on his head.
4. Eleusis, _______________ Aeschylus was born, is a town near Athens.
5. Attila, _______________ was king of the Huns, died in 453 AD.
6. The British naval officer _______________ found Timothy was called John Courtenay Everard.
7. Powderham Castle, _______________ Timothy lived, belongs to the Earl of Devon.
8. Slavery, _______________ was abolished in 1865, was one of the causes of the American civil
war.
9. John Brown, _______________ business ventures were not successful, accumulated a lot of
debts.
10. The speech _______________ Martin Luther King made in Washington is very famous.

BANK ACCOUNTS
Look at the sentence pairs below. All of them share some information. Can you re-write
them as a single sentence, using a relative pronoun instead of repeating the words?

Tip!
When the repeated words have a different position in the
sentences (e.g. Subject and Object), just use a relative pronoun.
When the repeated words have the same position in the sentences
(e.g. Subject and Subject), you need to insert a relative clause.



1. Most banks have special current accounts for students.
Current accounts for students usually include a cash card for withdrawing money.


2. Cash cards often have a dual function.
Cash cards can be used as debit cards on the Visa Delta network.


3. The Visa Delta network is a kind of electronic money transfer system.
Using the Visa Delta network means you can pay for your shopping by plastic.


4. You can also access the cash-back service in supermarkets
Cash-back is a convenient alternative to using the cash machine.


5. Cheque books and credit cards are only available to you if you are over eighteen.
Banks will also give you a cheque book and credit card provided that you are over eighteen.


6. Overdrafts are available for all student accounts.
An overdraft is a loan arranged with your bank.


7. Overdrafts are available for all student accounts.
Many banks also offer overdrafts at competitive rates.


8. Direct debit is a convenient way to pay your utility bills.
You can set up direct debits to pay your utility bills.


9. You have to pay the gas or electricity company.
The gas or electricity company tells your bank how much you owe them.
Your bank pays the money to them directly from your account.


10. Some students are able to save money.
If you have savings, you may want to put money into a separate savings account.


11. Personal savings accounts tend to have better interest rates.
Better interest rates mean that your money will earn more.

Now read the original passage about student bank accounts, and mark the sentences [T]
for true or [F] for false.

Most banks have special current accounts for students. They usually include a cash card for
withdrawing money at the hole-in-the-wall. These cards often have a dual function, and can be
used as debit cards on the Visa Delta network. This means that you can pay for your shopping by
plastic. You can also access the cash-back service in supermarkets this is a convenient
alternative to using the cash machine.
Provided that you are over eighteen, most banks will also issue you with a cheque book, and
some will even give you a credit card. Most student accounts have an overdraft facility, and many
banks also offer loans at competitive rates.
You can set up direct debits to pay your utility bills. The gas or electricity company tells your
bank how much you owe them, and the sum is paid to them directly from your account.
If youre lucky enough to be able to save money, you may want to set up a standing order to
put money aside. Personal savings accounts tend to have better interest rates, so your money will
earn more.

1. There are current accounts designed for students. [ ]
2. Cash cards usually function as debit and credit cards. [ ]
3. You can get cash-back from any cash-point machine. [ ]
4. All students can have a cheque book. [ ]
5. Overdraft facilities for students are not rare. [ ]
6. Banks often offer good conditions for borrowing money. [ ]
7. Gas and electricity companies can easily steal money from your account. [ ]
8. You will get more interest on your money in a savings account. [ ]