Study the rules, look at the examples, then do the exercises.
A relative clause gives more information about a noun (a person, thing or place). Instead of writing two short sentences, we join them with a relative pronoun: who, which, that, whose, where or when. This is one of the most useful skills at B1, because it makes your speaking and writing sound smooth and grown-up.
Look at how two sentences become one:
The pronoun you choose depends on the kind of noun you are describing. Learn this table well — it answers most exam questions.
| Pronoun | Use it for... | Example |
|---|---|---|
| who | people | The man who lives next door is a doctor. |
| which | things / animals | This is the phone which takes great photos. |
| that | people or things (informal) | The book that won the prize is here. |
| whose | possession (belonging) | She's the artist whose paintings are famous. |
| where | places | That's the town where I was born. |
| when | times | I'll never forget the day when we met. |
A defining relative clause tells you which person or thing we mean. Without it, the sentence does not make full sense. We do NOT use commas.
A non-defining relative clause adds extra information that we could remove. The sentence still makes sense without it. We put it between commas, and we do NOT use that.
The two commas are not decoration — they can change what the sentence means. Compare:
| Sentence | Meaning |
|---|---|
| My sister who lives in Berlin is a nurse. | I have more than one sister; I mean the Berlin one. (defining, no commas) |
| My sister, who lives in Berlin, is a nurse. | I have only one sister; "in Berlin" is just extra news. (non-defining, commas) |
In a defining clause, if the relative pronoun is the object of the verb, we can leave it out. This is very common in natural English.
These are the errors B1 students make most often with relative clauses. Check your own writing against this list.
| Wrong ✗ | Right ✓ | Why? |
|---|---|---|
| My mother, that is a teacher, is kind. | My mother, who is a teacher, is kind. | non-defining clause → never use "that". |
| My laptop which is old still works. | My laptop, which is old, still works. | extra information → needs two commas. |
| She's the girl who's dog won. | She's the girl whose dog won. | "whose" = possession; "who's" = who is. |
| This is the house where I grew up in it. | This is the house where I grew up. | "where" already means "in that place"; no extra "in it". |
| The person which called you is here. | The person who called you is here. | use "who" (or "that") for people, not "which". |
Two friends look at old photos and describe the people and places in them. Read it twice and notice each relative clause — which are defining (no commas) and which are non-defining (commas)?
Choose the correct answer. — 10 questions, each one is marked instantly. Questions get harder as you go.
Learn the words, then use them to describe the people and places in your life.
Write 8 sentences describing people, places and things in your life. Use at least 8 of the words above.
Sentence starters (you can begin with these):
Değerlendirme öğretmenin tarafından yapılacak. (Your teacher will review your task.)
Read the text, then answer the questions.
Good readers prepare before they start. Before you read, think about these three questions (you do not need to write the answers):
Words to spot (from the Speaking section): relative · landmark · reliable · talented · remote · spacious · describe · belong
Elif is an architect who grew up in a small town on the Aegean coast. The street where she was born was once full of beautiful old stone houses, but by the time she finished university, most of them were empty and falling down. Elif, who had always loved historic buildings, decided to do something about it, because she could not watch them disappear.
When Elif was a child, the street was a lively place where everyone knew everyone else. She still remembers the old baker whose shop stood on the corner, and the neighbours who sat outside their doors on warm summer evenings. In those days, the stone houses, which were built more than a hundred years ago, stayed cool in the hot months and warm in winter. Elif loved the thick walls, the wooden shutters, and the little gardens where fig trees grew.
Life in the town changed slowly. Young people who wanted better jobs moved to the big cities, and families who had once filled the houses left one by one. The children who used to play in the street grew up and did not come back. By the time Elif was a student, many windows were broken, and grass grew between the stones. It made her sad to walk past the place where she had been so happy.
At university, Elif studied architecture because she wanted to understand how old buildings were made. Her teachers, who were experts in history, taught her that a town which loses its old houses also loses part of its memory. This is an idea that stayed with her for many years. She read book after book about restoration, and she visited other towns where local people had already saved their historic streets.
In 2015 she bought a house that nobody wanted. It was the oldest building on the street, and its roof, which had not been repaired for fifty years, was almost destroyed. Many people thought she was crazy. However, Elif had a clear plan. She wanted to create a place where local artists could live and work.
The first time Elif walked into the house she had bought, she felt both excited and afraid. The floor, which was covered in a thick layer of dust, made a strange noise under her feet. Birds had built nests in the corners, and rain came through the broken roof whenever there was a storm. At the back there was a small room where an old fireplace still stood, and Elif decided that this was the place where the story of the house would begin again.
Her family did not understand her decision at first. Her father, who had worked hard so that Elif could study, asked her why she wanted to spend all her money on a ruin. Her friends, who had comfortable jobs in the city, thought she should buy a modern flat instead. But Elif, who was a person that trusted her own heart, knew exactly what she wanted to do, and she was ready to prove that the old house still had a future.
The project, which took three years, was not easy. She wanted to use traditional methods, so she hired builders whose families had lived in the town for generations. There were also months when she almost ran out of money. But she never gave up.
Working with the local builders became one of the best parts of the project. The oldest builder, whose grandfather had also built houses in the same town, showed Elif how to prepare the traditional plaster that the old walls needed. He often told stories about the days when the street was full of life, and Elif wrote down everything he said. She wanted to keep not only the buildings but also the knowledge that these men carried in their hands.
There were, of course, some very hard days. One winter, a storm damaged part of a wall that the team had only just finished. Another time, the money in her account was so low that she could not pay the workers for a whole month. On the evening when she felt like giving up, an old neighbour brought her a plate of warm food and said, "This is the street where your family lived. Please do not stop." Those words, which Elif never forgot, gave her the strength to carry on.
Little by little, the house began to change. The roof was repaired, the broken windows were replaced, and the walls, which had once been grey and sad, were painted in soft, warm colours. Artists from the town and from other cities heard about the project. A young painter who needed a quiet studio was the first person to move in, and soon a potter and a photographer joined her too.
Today, the house that Elif saved is a busy art centre. The rooms where paint once peeled off the walls are now full of colour. Tourists who visit the coast often stop to see it, and the neighbours, who once doubted her, are proud of what she has done.
On a normal morning, the building is full of sound. In one room, a teacher who loves music gives lessons to children from the town. In another, visitors can watch a potter whose bowls are now sold in shops across the country. There is a small café where people drink tea and talk for hours, and a garden where the old fig tree, which Elif remembers from her childhood, still grows. The corner where paint once fell from the ceiling is now a bright space where young people learn to draw.
The art centre has slowly changed the whole street. Other owners, who saw what Elif had done, began to repair their own houses. A family that had moved away years before came back and opened a small guest house. The street, which had once been quiet and empty, is now a place that people travel from far away to visit.
Elif still remembers the day when she signed the papers for that first ruined house. "It was the moment that changed my life," she says. "This is the street where I grew up, and now it has a future."
When young people ask Elif for advice, she always gives them the same answer. "Look for the thing that you truly love," she says, "and never be afraid of the work that it needs." She believes that almost every town has a street like hers — a place where the past and the future can meet. And she hopes that others, who care about their own history, will one day find the courage to do the same.
Choose the correct answer.
Are these sentences true or false, according to the text?
Complete each sentence with ONE relative pronoun from the text (who, which, that, whose, where, when).
Write your answer in your own words. These questions are not marked automatically.
1. Why did Elif decide to save the old houses on her street?
2. Why did Elif hire builders whose families were from the town?
3. What do you think Elif means when she says the street "now has a future"?
Find these connectors in the text — each one appears at least once: and, but, so, because, however, when, where, also. (You will use these same connectors in the Writing section.) Note them down, then check.
Todd and Darcy discuss whether some common English sayings are really true.
You will hear two friends, Todd and Darcy, talking about famous English sayings such as "It's not what you know, but who you know". You will listen TWICE. First listen: answer questions 1-5. Second listen: answer questions 6-10. (Kaydı İKİ kez dinleyeceksin: ilk dinlemede 1-5, ikinci dinlemede 6-10.)
Write and submit your description; your teacher will review it.
A good description does two things: it adds detail with relative clauses, and it links ideas with connectors. At A2 you used and, but, so, because. At B1 you add also, when, while, although and however, and you use relative clauses to pack more information into each sentence.
| Connector | Use it to... | Example |
|---|---|---|
| and | add information | She's a friend who is kind and always honest. |
| but | show a small contrast | The flat, which is small, is cosy, but it has no garden. |
| so | show a result | He's reliable, so he's the person who I always call. |
| because | give a reason | I love the café because it's a place where I can relax. |
| also | add an extra point | She's talented. She's also a person whose ideas inspire me. |
| when | say at what past time | When I was a child, the village where we lived was quiet. |
| while | two things at the same time | While I was there, I met a man who became a friend. |
| although | show a strong contrast | Although the town is remote, it's a place that I love. |
| however | contrast between two sentences | The house was old. However, it was the home where I grew up. |
See the difference — the same facts, written two ways:
| Separate sentences ✗ | Connected, fluent writing ✓ |
|---|---|
| I have a friend. Her name is Aylin. She is a nurse. She lives in Izmir. Her house is lovely. We spend summers there. | I have a friend called Aylin, who is a nurse and lives in Izmir. Her house, which is lovely, is the place where we spend every summer. |
A description paragraph has three parts. The skeleton stays the same every time — you change the content, not the structure:
| Part | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Opening | Introduce the person or place with a defining relative clause | There is a place that means a lot to me. |
| 2. Body | Add details with more relative clauses. Use non-defining clauses (commas) for extra facts, and link with connectors. | The house, which is over a hundred years old, is where my grandmother lived. She was a person whose stories I loved. |
| 3. Closing | A final comment about why it matters now | It is still the place where I feel most at home. |
Describe a person, place or thing that is important to you. Use relative clauses to add detail.
Değerlendirme öğretmenin tarafından yapılacak. (Your teacher will evaluate your writing.)
Mixed questions from the whole unit, then check what you can do.
14 questions: grammar + vocabulary + reading + listening. Each question is marked instantly.
Tick what you can do now. Honest answers help your teacher.
İşaretlemediğin madde varsa ilgili bölüme dönüp tekrar çalış — soldaki menüden her bölüme geri dönebilirsin.
Oturum kontrol ediliyor...