English Course · Level 3 (B1) · Week 9 of 12

Learning for Life

Grammar: Relative clauses · defining and non-defining · who, which, whose, where (and commas)

This week's plan

Day	Learn	Listen / Watch	Practise
Day 1	Words: School and university · Sentences 1–2	BBC 6 Minute Grammar: “Relative clauses” (podcast)	Exercise 1
Day 2	Words: Studying and exams · Sentences 3–4	BBC 6 Minute English: “Which country has the best schools?” (podcast)	Exercise 2
Day 3	Words: Phrasal verbs for learning · Sentences 5–6	British Council: “Relative clauses: non-defining relative clauses” (grammar)	Exercise 3
Day 4	Words: People and places · Sentences 7–8	British Council: “A student discussion” (listening) + BBC 6 Minute English: “The school that puts the kids in charge” (podcast)	Exercise 4
Day 5	Words: Learning and skills · Sentences 9–10	British Council: “An introduction to a lecture” (listening)	Write & Speak
Day 6	Review all 30 words + 10 sentences	BBC 6 Minute English: “How reading shapes your brain” (podcast)	Redo mistakes
Day 7	Free day ☺	BBC 6 Minute English: “Why read books, not screens?” (podcast)	Tick your tracker

30 minutes a day: review, learn, listen, practise, speak. Day 7 is a free day. Tap a resource to find it.

30 words to learn

Set 1 · School and university

degreeشهادة جامعية
graduateيتخرّج / خرّيج
lectureمحاضرة
scholarshipمنحة دراسية
tuition feesمصروفات / رسوم الدراسة
facultyكلية

Set 2 · Studying and exams

reviseيراجع / يذاكر
sit an examيؤدي امتحانًا
passينجح في / يجتاز
failيرسب
cheatيغشّ
memoriseيحفظ (عن ظهر قلب)

Set 3 · Phrasal verbs for learning

catch up (with)يلحق بـ / يعوّض ما فاته
fall behindيتأخر عن زملائه
look up (a word)يبحث عن (كلمة في القاموس)
go overيراجع (بسرعة)
drop out (of)يترك الدراسة / يتسرّب
pick up (a language)يكتسب / يلقط (لغة)

Set 4 · People and places

classmateزميل الدراسة
private tutorمدرّس خصوصي
head teacherمدير المدرسة / الناظر
state schoolمدرسة حكومية
private schoolمدرسة خاصة
boarding schoolمدرسة داخلية

Set 5 · Learning and skills

knowledgeمعرفة
markدرجة
certificateشهادة
online courseدورة عبر الإنترنت / كورس أونلاين
attendيحضر / يواظب على
concentrateيركّز

10 sentences to memorise

1The teacher who helped me most was my English teacher.المعلم الذي ساعدني أكثر من غيره كان معلم الإنجليزية.
2Cairo University, which was founded in 1908, is one of the oldest universities in Egypt.جامعة القاهرة، التي تأسست عام ١٩٠٨، من أقدم الجامعات في مصر.
3Omar is the student whose father is a doctor.عمر هو الطالب الذي يعمل أبوه طبيبًا.
4That's the café where we used to revise for our exams.هذا هو المقهى الذي كنا نذاكر فيه لامتحاناتنا.
5My brother, who lives in Germany, got a scholarship.أخي، الذي يعيش في ألمانيا، حصل على منحة دراسية.
6I fell behind because I missed two weeks of lectures.تأخرت عن زملائي لأنه فاتني أسبوعان من المحاضرات.
7She dropped out of university, which surprised everyone.تركت الجامعة، وهو ما فاجأ الجميع.
8Do you know anyone whose children go to a boarding school?هل تعرف أحدًا يذهب أطفاله إلى مدرسة داخلية؟
9If you don't know a word, look it up in a dictionary.إذا لم تعرف كلمة، فابحث عنها في القاموس.
10Tuition fees at private universities are getting more expensive every year.مصروفات الجامعات الخاصة تزداد غلاءً كل عام.

Grammar: Relative clauses · defining and non-defining · who, which, whose, where (and commas)

who = people · which = things · whose = possession (his / her / their) · where = places · that = people or things (defining clauses only).

Defining clause (no commas) = tells us WHICH person or thing. Non-defining clause (with commas) = adds extra information.

في العربية نقول «المعلم الذي أحبّه» بضمير في آخر الجملة، فيكتب المتعلمون ✗ The teacher who I like him. في الإنجليزية لا نكرّر الضمير: ✓ The teacher who I like. و whose = «الذي + ـه / ـها»: الطالب الذي أبوه طبيب = the student whose father is a doctor. والجملة بين فاصلتين (non-defining) معلومة إضافية لو حذفناها تبقى الجملة مفهومة، ولا نستخدم فيها that أبدًا.

Word	Use	Example
who	people	The man who called you is my uncle.
which	things	The course which I took was online.
whose	possession	That's the girl whose brother is a pilot.
where	places	This is the school where I studied.
that	people or things (no commas)	The book that you lent me is great.

Defining (no commas)	Non-defining (commas)
The students who studied hard passed. (only those students)	My students, who studied hard, all passed. (extra information about all my students)
I need a book which explains grammar clearly.	This book, which my teacher gave me, is very useful.

✗ The teacher who I like her is Mrs Mona. ✓ The teacher who I like is Mrs Mona.

✗ My father, that is a teacher, … ✓ My father, who is a teacher, …

whose ≠ who's (who's = who is): the man whose car… / the man who's waiting…

In defining clauses you can leave out who / which / that when it is the object: The course (that) I took was great.

Exercises

Exercise 1 · Complete with who, which, whose or where.

1) This is the school ___ I studied for twelve years.
2) The girl ___ mother is a lecturer wants to study medicine.
3) The course, ___ lasts six months, starts in March.
4) Mr Hany, ___ teaches us maths, is very patient.
5) I've lost the book ___ you lent me.
6) He's the student ___ won the scholarship.

Show the answers

1) where 2) whose 3) which 4) who 5) which / that 6) who / that

Exercise 2 · Join the sentences. Use a non-defining relative clause (with commas).

1) My sister is a doctor. She lives in Alexandria.
2) Al-Azhar University is in Cairo. It is over 1,000 years old.
3) Karim failed the exam. His father is a teacher.
4) Aswan is in the south of Egypt. My grandparents live there.
5) This laptop was a present. I use it for my online course.

Show the answers

1) My sister, who lives in Alexandria, is a doctor. / My sister, who is a doctor, lives in Alexandria. 2) Al-Azhar University, which is over 1,000 years old, is in Cairo. / Al-Azhar University, which is in Cairo, is over 1,000 years old. 3) Karim, whose father is a teacher, failed the exam. 4) Aswan, where my grandparents live, is in the south of Egypt. 5) This laptop, which I use for my online course, was a present. / This laptop, which was a present, is the one I use for my online course.

Exercise 3 · Correct the mistake.

1) The teacher who I like her is Mrs Mona.
2) My uncle, that is an engineer, lives in Giza.
3) That's the man who's car was stolen.
4) The university which I studied is in Mansoura.
5) Nour who is my cousin is studying law.

Show the answers

1) The teacher who I like is Mrs Mona. 2) My uncle, who is an engineer, lives in Giza. 3) That's the man whose car was stolen. 4) The university where I studied is in Mansoura. / The university which I studied at is in Mansoura. / The university at which I studied is in Mansoura. 5) Nour, who is my cousin, is studying law.

Exercise 4 · Translate into English.

1) هذه هي المدرسة التي درست فيها.
2) أخي، الذي يعمل في دبي، سيزورنا الشهر القادم.
3) أعرف طالبًا أبوه وزير.
4) فاتني كثير من المحاضرات فتأخرت عن زملائي.

Show the answers

1) This is the school where I studied. / This is the school (that / which) I studied at / in. 2) My brother, who works in Dubai, is going to visit us next month. / My brother, who works in Dubai, will visit us next month. 3) I know a student whose father is a minister. 4) I missed a lot of lectures, so I fell behind my classmates. / I missed many lectures, so I fell behind (my classmates).

Do each exercise in pencil first, then open the answers to check.

Write & Speak

Write & Speak — “The teacher who changed my life” or “My school days”: write 120–150 words. Use at least five relative clauses, including whose and at least one with commas. Then read it aloud and pause a little at each comma.

Example: The teacher who changed my life was Mr Adel, who taught us English at secondary school in Tanta. He was a tall, quiet man whose lessons were never boring. Before I met him, English was the subject which I hated most. I couldn't concentrate, and I was falling behind my classmates. Mr Adel, who had studied in London, used songs and short stories instead of making us memorise long lists of words. I still remember the small classroom where we acted out scenes from plays. He also taught us how to look up new words and guess their meaning. When I failed a test, he didn't shout at me. He gave me extra exercises, which helped me catch up. Thanks to him, I got a high mark in my final exam and decided to study languages at university. Today I'm a translator, and I still keep in touch with him.