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Series 1
- Study English S1 Ep1: Electronic Crime
- Study English S1 Ep2: Vitamin D
- Study English S1 Ep3: Company Growth
- Study English S1 Ep4: Rising Dollar
- Study English S1 Ep5: Global Warming
- Study English S1 Ep6: Greenhouse Gases
- Study English S1 Ep7: Enviro-Loo
- Study English S1 Ep8: Crocodile Tourism
- Study English S1 Ep9: ADHD
- Study English S1 Ep10: Solar House
- Study English S1 Ep11: Events in the past
- Study English S1 Ep12: Carbon Cycle
- Study English S1 Ep13: Under the sea
- Study English S1 Ep14: Junk DNA
- Study English S1 Ep15: Sea Floor
- Study English S1 Ep16: DVT
- Study English S1 Ep17: Water and ageing
- Study English S1 Ep18: Salinity
- Study English S1 Ep19: Weather report
- Study English S1 Ep20: Torres Strait
- Study English S1 Ep21: Watching Birds
- Study English S1 Ep22: Finance Report
- Study English S1 Ep23: Octopuses
- Study English S1 Ep24: Perfect Siesta
- Study English S1 Ep25: Copyright
- Study English S1 Ep26: Classification
Study English S1 Ep8: Crocodile Tourism
In this episode we look at how to correctly use the relative pronouns, that, which and who and we will also practise linking words when speaking English.
Transcript
Hello. Welcome again to Study English, IELTS preparation. I’m Margot Politis.
Today we’ll look at some words that cause a lot of confusion – the relative pronouns ‘that’, ‘which’ and ‘who’, and then we’ll do some pronunciation practice.
But first, let’s listen to some people talk about a very dangerous tourist attraction from Australia’s Northern Territory.
People have always been fascinated with death. Most of the mysteries that you see on television, the films that you see, involve murder in one kind or another. Crocodiles are one of the last remaining dinosaurs and the idea of a crocodile coming out of the water and grabbing somebody is absolutely riveting.
I read about the death of the German tourist who was taken by a crocodile. It didn’t put me off coming to the Northern Territory, quite the opposite in fact.
I think the NT is famous for its crocodiles and probably quite famous for its crocodile attacks and that tourists who come here would like to be, or feel as though they were, involved in that danger.
Tourists want to have a story to take home and if they can say that they were in the Northern Territory where the German tourist was taken by the croc, then it adds to their own adventure.
So he thinks people may actually be attracted to the Northern Territory because of the dangerous crocodiles.
But now we’re going to leave the crocodiles, and talk about something else that can be dangerous – the relative pronouns ‘who’, ‘which’ and ‘that’.
Listen for some relative pronouns here.
People have always been fascinated with death. Most of the mysteries that you see on TV, the films that you see, involve murder of one kind or another.
I read about the death of the German tourist who was taken by a crocodile.
Most of the mysteries ‘that’ you see on TV involve murders.
I read about the death of the tourist ‘who’ was taken by a crocodile.
Relative pronouns are used to introduce relative clauses.
They give more information about a subject.
The subject here is ‘mysteries’.
The ‘that clause’ gives us more information about the subject – ‘the mysteries that you see on TV’,
‘The tourist’ is the subject. The ‘who clause’ gives more information – ‘the tourist who was taken by a crocodile’.
But how do you choose between ‘who’, ‘which’ or ‘that’?
Well the relative pronoun ‘who’ is only used with people.
‘Which ‘is only used with things.
‘That’ is usually only used with things as well. Sometimes, in informal language, it can refer to people.
But when you’re learning English, it’s probably best to avoid using ‘that’ for people.
The most difficult thing with these relative pronouns is working out the difference between ‘which’ and ‘that’.
As a general rule, we use ‘which’ when the clause does not affect the meaning of the sentence.
A ‘which’ clause just gives us extra information.
It can be left out of a sentence, and the sentence still has the same meaning.
When ‘which’ is used in this type of clause, we put commas around it.
‘The hat, which is on the bed, is new.’
Here, the clause ‘which is on the bed’, just gives us additional information.
We can take it out, and the sentence still makes sense.
There is only one hat, it’s the hat on the bed. We take out the which clause, and the important information is still there:
‘The hat is new.’
OK, now let’s look at ‘that’.
We use ‘that’ for clauses that are a crucial part of the sentence. They are actually part of the definition of the subject.
‘The hat that is on the bed is new.’
Notice ‘that’ clauses do not use commas, because they are a crucial part of the sentence.
There are a number of hats that this sentence could be referring to. But the sentence is specifically talking about the hat on the bed, so we use ‘that’.
The ‘that’ clause cannot be taken out of the sentence.
‘The hat is new.’
It doesn’t make sense here, because it doesn’t tell us which hat is being discussed.
It will take some practice to get used to when to use ‘who’, ‘which’ and ‘that’.
To sum up, we use ‘that’ to define the subject.
We use ‘which’, in a clause with commas, to add extra information.
You will notice ‘which’ often being used in place of ‘that’, especially in spoken language. While not strictly correct, it is very common.
The word ‘who’ is a bit simpler. It’s only used when the subject is a person, and can be used in both of these types of clauses.
OK. Now we’re going to do some pronunciation practice.
Students learning English often complain that native speakers speak too fast.
Well, it’s true. English speakers do run their words together, so it’s often very difficult to hear when one word ends and another begins.
To make your spoken English sound natural, it’s important for you to do this too.
You need to learn to link words ending in a ‘final consonant’ sound to words with an ‘initial vowel’ sound.
Let’s look at some words linked with ‘of’.
People have always been fascinated with death. Most of the mysteries that you see on television, the films that you see, involve murder in one kind or another. Crocodiles are one of the last remaining dinosaurs, and the idea of a crocodile coming out of the water and grabbing somebody is absolutely riveting.
I read about the death of the German tourist who was taken by a crocodile. It didn’t put me off coming to the Northern Territory, quite the opposite.
He uses the phrases:
‘most of’,
‘one of’,
‘out of’,
‘death of’.
But in sentences, these phrases will usually become linked together:
‘most of, most of’,
‘one of, one of’,
‘out of, out of’,
‘death of, death of’.
Notice that ‘of’ in these phrases is unstressed.
Practice these ones:
‘many of, many of’,
‘most of, most of’
‘one of, one of’
‘several of, several of’.
Listen to the differences when I read these sentences in a natural, conversational way.
‘One of my best friends lives here’.
‘One of my best friends lives here’.
‘Many of the trees have died’.
‘Many of the trees have died’.
‘I enjoy most of her songs’.
‘I enjoy most of her songs’.
People have always been fascinated with death. Crocodiles are one of the last remaining dinosaurs and the idea of a crocodile coming out of the water and grabbing somebody is absolutely riveting.
He says people have always been fascinated with death.
People ‘have always’.
Notice how in conversation, we link the final consonant sound ‘v’, with the initial vowel sound ‘aw’:
‘have always’,
‘Crocodiles are, crocodiles are’,
‘is absolutely, is absolutely’.
Ok, now let’s try these sentences.
‘She is always studying hard.’
‘She is always studying hard.’
‘They aren’t scared by crocodiles.’
‘They aren’t scared by crocodiles.’
So make sure you practice words in phrases and sentences. That way you’ll get used to linking your words, and your spoken English will sound more natural.
And don’t forget to listen to native speakers as much as you can, and try to copy them, even if they do speak fast!
And that’s all for today. I’ll see you next time on Study English. Bye bye.
Study English S1 Ep8: Crocodile Tourism Study Notes
Study English S1 Ep8: Crocodile Tourism Activity Sheet
Study Tips:
In the IELTS Speaking Test, it is important to speak clearly, at a reasonable pace and in a smooth manner. This is achieved by linking your words.
To make your spoken English sound natural you need to link words ending in a ‘final consonant’ sound to words with an ‘initial vowel’ sound.
For daily English language lessons and tips, like our Learn English Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Thumbnail credit – Flickr CC: Sudarshana
In this episode we look at how to correctly use the relative pronouns, that, which and who and we will also practise linking words when speaking English.
Transcript
Hello. Welcome again to Study English, IELTS preparation. I’m Margot Politis.
Today we’ll look at some words that cause a lot of confusion – the relative pronouns ‘that’, ‘which’ and ‘who’, and then we’ll do some pronunciation practice.
But first, let’s listen to some people talk about a very dangerous tourist attraction from Australia’s Northern Territory.
People have always been fascinated with death. Most of the mysteries that you see on television, the films that you see, involve murder in one kind or another. Crocodiles are one of the last remaining dinosaurs and the idea of a crocodile coming out of the water and grabbing somebody is absolutely riveting.
I read about the death of the German tourist who was taken by a crocodile. It didn’t put me off coming to the Northern Territory, quite the opposite in fact.
I think the NT is famous for its crocodiles and probably quite famous for its crocodile attacks and that tourists who come here would like to be, or feel as though they were, involved in that danger.
Tourists want to have a story to take home and if they can say that they were in the Northern Territory where the German tourist was taken by the croc, then it adds to their own adventure.
So he thinks people may actually be attracted to the Northern Territory because of the dangerous crocodiles.
But now we’re going to leave the crocodiles, and talk about something else that can be dangerous – the relative pronouns ‘who’, ‘which’ and ‘that’.
Listen for some relative pronouns here.
People have always been fascinated with death. Most of the mysteries that you see on TV, the films that you see, involve murder of one kind or another.
I read about the death of the German tourist who was taken by a crocodile.
Most of the mysteries ‘that’ you see on TV involve murders.
I read about the death of the tourist ‘who’ was taken by a crocodile.
Relative pronouns are used to introduce relative clauses.
They give more information about a subject.
The subject here is ‘mysteries’.
The ‘that clause’ gives us more information about the subject – ‘the mysteries that you see on TV’,
‘The tourist’ is the subject. The ‘who clause’ gives more information – ‘the tourist who was taken by a crocodile’.
But how do you choose between ‘who’, ‘which’ or ‘that’?
Well the relative pronoun ‘who’ is only used with people.
‘Which ‘is only used with things.
‘That’ is usually only used with things as well. Sometimes, in informal language, it can refer to people.
But when you’re learning English, it’s probably best to avoid using ‘that’ for people.
The most difficult thing with these relative pronouns is working out the difference between ‘which’ and ‘that’.
As a general rule, we use ‘which’ when the clause does not affect the meaning of the sentence.
A ‘which’ clause just gives us extra information.
It can be left out of a sentence, and the sentence still has the same meaning.
When ‘which’ is used in this type of clause, we put commas around it.
‘The hat, which is on the bed, is new.’
Here, the clause ‘which is on the bed’, just gives us additional information.
We can take it out, and the sentence still makes sense.
There is only one hat, it’s the hat on the bed. We take out the which clause, and the important information is still there:
‘The hat is new.’
OK, now let’s look at ‘that’.
We use ‘that’ for clauses that are a crucial part of the sentence. They are actually part of the definition of the subject.
‘The hat that is on the bed is new.’
Notice ‘that’ clauses do not use commas, because they are a crucial part of the sentence.
There are a number of hats that this sentence could be referring to. But the sentence is specifically talking about the hat on the bed, so we use ‘that’.
The ‘that’ clause cannot be taken out of the sentence.
‘The hat is new.’
It doesn’t make sense here, because it doesn’t tell us which hat is being discussed.
It will take some practice to get used to when to use ‘who’, ‘which’ and ‘that’.
To sum up, we use ‘that’ to define the subject.
We use ‘which’, in a clause with commas, to add extra information.
You will notice ‘which’ often being used in place of ‘that’, especially in spoken language. While not strictly correct, it is very common.
The word ‘who’ is a bit simpler. It’s only used when the subject is a person, and can be used in both of these types of clauses.
OK. Now we’re going to do some pronunciation practice.
Students learning English often complain that native speakers speak too fast.
Well, it’s true. English speakers do run their words together, so it’s often very difficult to hear when one word ends and another begins.
To make your spoken English sound natural, it’s important for you to do this too.
You need to learn to link words ending in a ‘final consonant’ sound to words with an ‘initial vowel’ sound.
Let’s look at some words linked with ‘of’.
People have always been fascinated with death. Most of the mysteries that you see on television, the films that you see, involve murder in one kind or another. Crocodiles are one of the last remaining dinosaurs, and the idea of a crocodile coming out of the water and grabbing somebody is absolutely riveting.
I read about the death of the German tourist who was taken by a crocodile. It didn’t put me off coming to the Northern Territory, quite the opposite.
He uses the phrases:
‘most of’,
‘one of’,
‘out of’,
‘death of’.
But in sentences, these phrases will usually become linked together:
‘most of, most of’,
‘one of, one of’,
‘out of, out of’,
‘death of, death of’.
Notice that ‘of’ in these phrases is unstressed.
Practice these ones:
‘many of, many of’,
‘most of, most of’
‘one of, one of’
‘several of, several of’.
Listen to the differences when I read these sentences in a natural, conversational way.
‘One of my best friends lives here’.
‘One of my best friends lives here’.
‘Many of the trees have died’.
‘Many of the trees have died’.
‘I enjoy most of her songs’.
‘I enjoy most of her songs’.
People have always been fascinated with death. Crocodiles are one of the last remaining dinosaurs and the idea of a crocodile coming out of the water and grabbing somebody is absolutely riveting.
He says people have always been fascinated with death.
People ‘have always’.
Notice how in conversation, we link the final consonant sound ‘v’, with the initial vowel sound ‘aw’:
‘have always’,
‘Crocodiles are, crocodiles are’,
‘is absolutely, is absolutely’.
Ok, now let’s try these sentences.
‘She is always studying hard.’
‘She is always studying hard.’
‘They aren’t scared by crocodiles.’
‘They aren’t scared by crocodiles.’
So make sure you practice words in phrases and sentences. That way you’ll get used to linking your words, and your spoken English will sound more natural.
And don’t forget to listen to native speakers as much as you can, and try to copy them, even if they do speak fast!
And that’s all for today. I’ll see you next time on Study English. Bye bye.
Study English S1 Ep8: Crocodile Tourism Study Notes
Study English S1 Ep8: Crocodile Tourism Activity Sheet
For daily English language lessons and tips, like our Learn English Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Thumbnail credit – Flickr CC: Sudarshana
在本集中,我们将探讨如何正确使用相对代词,那个,哪个和谁以及我们还将练习说英语时链接单词。 成绩单 你好。再次欢迎您学习英语,雅思备考。我是玛戈特·波拉蒂斯。 今天,我们来看一些会引起混乱的单词-相对代词“ that”,“ that”和“ who”,然后我们将进行一些发音练习。 但是首先,让我们听一些人谈论澳大利亚北领地的一个非常危险的旅游胜地。 人们一直对死亡着迷。您在电视上看到的大多数谜团(包括电影)都涉及谋杀的一种或另一种方式。鳄鱼是最后剩下的恐龙之一,鳄鱼从水中冒出来抓人的想法绝对是吸引人的。 我读到了一条被鳄鱼带走的德国游客的死讯。但这并没有阻止我去北领地,事实上却恰恰相反。 我认为北领地以鳄鱼而闻名,也许以鳄鱼袭击而闻名,来这里的游客都希望或感觉好像卷入了这种危险。 游客希望有一个故事能带回家,如果他们可以说他们是在北领地,那位德国游客是由鳄鱼带走的,那么它增加了他们自己的冒险经历。 因此,他认为危险的鳄鱼实际上可能会吸引人们到北领地。 但是现在我们要离开鳄鱼,谈论一些可能是危险的事情–相对代词“谁”,“哪个”和“那个”。 在这里听一些相对代词。 人们一直对死亡着迷。您在电视上看到的大多数谜团,所看到的电影都涉及谋杀某一种或另一种。 我读到了一条被鳄鱼带走的德国游客的死讯。 您在电视上看到的大多数“秘密”都涉及谋杀案。 我读到了一条被鳄鱼带走的旅游者“谁”之死的故事。 相对代词用于引入相对从句。 他们提供了有关该主题的更多信息。 这里的主题是“谜”。 “该条款”为我们提供了有关该主题的更多信息-“您在电视上看到的奥秘”, 主题是“游客”。 “谁”条款提供了更多信息-“被鳄鱼带走的游客”。 但是,您如何在“谁”,“哪个”或“那个”之间进行选择? 好吧,相对代词“谁”只与人一起使用。 “仅”与事物一起使用。 “那”通常也只用于事物。有时,用非正式语言,它可以指代人。 但是,当您学习英语时,最好避免对人们使用“ that”。 这些相对代词最困难的事情是找出“哪个”和“那个”之间的区别。 通常,当从句不影响句子的含义时,我们使用“哪个”。 “哪个”子句只是为我们提供了更多信息。 可以将其保留在句子中,而句子仍然具有相同的含义。 如果在此类子句中使用“哪个”,我们会在其前后加上逗号。 ‘在床上的帽子是新的。’ 在这里,“在床上”子句为我们提供了更多信息。 我们可以将其删除,该句子仍然有意义。 只有一顶帽子,这是在床上的帽子。我们删除了which子句,重要的信息仍然存在: ‘帽子是新的。’ 好的,现在让我们看一下“那个”。 我们将“ that”用于句子中至关重要的部分。它们实际上是主题定义的一部分。 ‘床上的帽子是新的。’ 请注意,“ that”子句不使用逗号,因为它们是句子的关键部分。 这句话可能涉及很多帽子。但是这句话专门讲的是床上的帽子,因此我们使用“ that”。 “ that”子句不能从句子中删除。 ‘帽子是新的。’ 这里没有意义,因为它没有告诉我们正在讨论哪个帽子。 需要习惯于何时使用“谁”,“哪个”和“那个”。 综上所述,我们使用“ that”来定义主题。 我们在带有逗号的子句中使用“哪个”来添加其他信息。 您会注意到,经常用“哪个”代替“那个”,尤其是在口头语言中。尽管并非严格正确,但这是很常见的。 “谁”一词比较简单。仅在主题是人的情况下使用,并且可以在这两种类型的子句中使用。 好的。现在,我们将进行一些发音练习。 学习英语的学生经常抱怨说母语的人讲得太快。 是的,这是真的。讲英语的人会一起讲单词,因此当一个单词结束而另一个单词开始时,通常很难听到。 为了使您的英语口语自然,这对您也很重要。 您需要学习将以“最终辅音”结尾的单词链接到单词带有“初始元音”的声音。
让我们看一些与“ of”相关联的词。
人们一直对死亡着迷。您在电视上看到的大多数谜团(包括电影)都涉及谋杀的一种或另一种方式。鳄鱼是最后剩下的恐龙之一,鳄鱼从水中冒出来抓人的想法绝对是吸引人的。
我读到了一条被鳄鱼带走的德国游客的死讯。但这并没有阻止我去北领地,相反。
他使用以下短语:
‘大多数’,
‘之一’,
‘在……之外’,
“死亡”。
但是在句子中,这些短语通常会链接在一起:
‘大多数,大多数’,
“其中之一”
“出,出”,
“死亡,死亡”。
请注意,这些短语中的“ of”是不加强调的。
练习这些:
“很多很多”
‘大多数,大多数’
“其中之一”
“几个,几个”。
当我以自然,对话的方式阅读这些句子时,请听这些差异。
“我最好的朋友之一住在这里”。
“我最好的朋友之一住在这里”。
“许多树木都死了”。
“许多树木都死了”。
“我喜欢她的大部分歌曲”。
“我喜欢她的大部分歌曲”。
人们一直对死亡着迷。鳄鱼是最后剩下的恐龙之一,鳄鱼从水中冒出来抓人的想法绝对是吸引人的。
他说人们一直对死亡着迷。
人们“一直拥有”。
请注意,在对话中,我们如何将最终的辅音“ v”与初始的元音“ aw”链接起来:
“一直都有”,
‘鳄鱼是鳄鱼,’
“绝对是绝对”。
好的,现在让我们尝试这些句子。
‘她一直在努力学习。’
‘她一直在努力学习。’
‘他们并没有被鳄鱼吓到。’
‘他们并没有被鳄鱼吓到。’
因此,请确保您练习短语和句子中的单词。这样,您将习惯于链接单词,英语口语听起来会更加自然。
而且,即使他们说得很快,也别忘了尽可能多地听母语人士的声音,并尝试复制他们!
今天就这些了。下次我会在“学习英语”上见。再见。