The Passive & Relative Clauses
Episode #9 of the course English grammar by Kasia Sielicka, PhD
So, the next day, I went to the office. I was really excited that I would see Susan but also terrified about asking her . . . you know . . . the question.
“Hi, Susan,” I said when I saw her beautiful face.
“Hi, John,” she answered. “About that phone call yesterday . . . did you really want to ask about the time?”
“No, not really. I wanted to ask you . . . ” I really didn’t know how to say that. “It’s about my article, the Queen article. I’ve just realized I don’t know much about her home, Buckingham Palace. Could you also be my guide today?”
Oh my, what was I saying? Buckingham Palace?!
“Oh, sure,” said Susan, puzzled. “Let’s take a tour. Take your jacket!”
And we took the tube to the Palace. Susan turned out to be a very knowledgeable guide.
“The Palace was built in 1705 and transformed into a real palace by John Nash, who was fired for spending too much money on it. George III bought it for his wife, Queen Charlotte, whose 14 children were born there (one was born in another place). It has 760 windows, which are cleaned every six weeks. Also, there are secret tunnels, which connect the palace to streets close to it.”
And she gave me many other fascinating facts, but I wasn’t really in a mood to listen.
“Susan,” I asked, “why don’t we grab a coffee? There’s a café down there, and I have one more question to ask.”
“Oh, sure,” she answered suspiciously. She probably thought I was out of my mind.
The Passive
The Palace was built in 1705.
John Nash was fired for spending too much.
Queen Charlotte’s 14 children were born there.
The windows are cleaned every six weeks.
In these sentences, we use the passive. We make the passive by using the verb “to be” in the first form and then the third form of the main verb. There are two main uses of the passive:
a. When we don’t know who does the thing
John Nash was fired for spending too much.
We don’t know who fired John Nash. But it doesn’t matter—what matters is that he lost his job. More examples:
The chemical element of radium was discovered in the 19th century. (We don’t know who discovered it.)
Help! My car has been stolen! (I don’t know who stole it. All I know is that it’s gone!)
b. When it’s obvious who does the thing (everyone knows it, so it makes no sense to say that).
The windows are cleaned every six weeks.
We know who cleans the windows—many professional window cleaning people!
Queen Charlotte’s 14 children were born there.
We know who gave birth to Queen Charlotte’s children—the Queen herself!
Another example:
Slow down, or you’ll be arrested for speeding. (It makes no sense to say, “someone will arrest you”—only the police can arrest people.)
Relative Clauses
The building was transformed into a real palace by John Nash, who was fired for spending too much money on it.
George III bought it for his wife, Queen Charlotte, whose 14 children were born there.
It has 760 windows, which are cleaned every six weeks.
Also, there are secret tunnels, which connect the palace to streets close to it.
These sentences have in them “relative clauses”—these are the parts starting with “who,” “which,” or “whose” (also “where” and “when”). We use them to combine two simple sentences into a more complex sentence. So, instead of saying:
It has 760 windows. The windows are cleaned every six weeks.
we can say:
It has 760 windows, which are cleaned every six weeks.
More examples:
This is the house where I was born.
I’ll meet you at 6 pm, when Alan will come as well.
Shh! Let me tell you a secret! In the café, John WILL ask Susan to marry him. Read about him doing it in the last episode of our course tomorrow!
Recommended book
Practical English Usage by Michael Swan
Share with friends