Sentence Structure: Quantifiers, Pronouns & Relative Clauses
Section: Use of English | Syllabus: Cambridge Primary English as a Second Language (0057)
Quantifiers, Reciprocal and Reflexive Pronouns
- Quantifiers tell us how much or how many: either / neither (choosing between two), both (of) (two together), several, plenty (a larger, unspecified amount). "Either book is fine." "Neither answer is correct." "Both of them arrived late."
- Reciprocal pronouns show an action two or more people do to each other: each other (usually two people), one another (two or more). "They looked at each other." "The students helped one another."
- Indefinite pronouns refer to people or things without naming them exactly: someone, anyone, everyone, nobody, something, anything, everything, nothing.
- Reflexive pronouns show the subject and object are the same person: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves. "She hurt herself." "They organised the party themselves."
Quantifiers show roughly how much of a group a statement applies to
Connectives and Relative Clauses
- Connectives of time join ideas and show when things happen: while (two things happening together), until (up to a point in time), as soon as (immediately when). "She waited until the bus arrived." "As soon as I finish, I will call you."
- A defining relative clause gives essential information about a noun, introduced by who, which, that, whose (possession) or whom (formal, for people as an object): "The man whose car was stolen called the police."
- A non-defining relative clause adds extra, non-essential information, separated by commas: "My brother, who lives in London, is visiting next week."
Question: Combine these two sentences using a relative pronoun: "The man called the police." + "His car was stolen."
Step 1 — Identify the connection between the sentences: "his car" belongs to "the man" — this is possession, so use "whose". Step 2 — Insert the relative clause directly after "the man". Answer"The man whose car was stolen called the police."
Subordinate Clauses After Say/Tell and Verb Patterns
- After say, use a subordinate clause, often introduced by "that" (which can be left out): "She said (that) she was tired."
- After tell, always name the person being told before the subordinate clause: "She told me (that) she was tired."
- Verb + object + infinitive pattern: verb + person/thing + to + base verb: "I have something to do." "She wants him to help."
- Verbs like give, take, send, bring, show can take a direct and indirect object in two orders:
- verb + indirect object + direct object: "She gave me the book."
- verb + direct object + to/for + indirect object: "She gave the book to me."
Common Mistakes
MistakeNaming the person directly after "say," e.g. "She said me that she was tired."
FixUse "tell" when naming the person directly: "She told me that she was tired." "Say" does not take a person directly.
MistakeUsing a reflexive pronoun when the subject and object are different people, e.g. "She hurt myself."
FixOnly use a reflexive pronoun when the subject and object refer to the same person: "She hurt herself."
MistakeUsing "who" instead of "whose" to show possession in a relative clause, e.g. "The man who car was stolen..."
FixUse "whose" to show possession in a relative clause: "The man whose car was stolen..."
Worked Example: Choosing Between Two Object OrdersQuestion: Rewrite the sentence using the pattern "verb + direct object + to + indirect object": "She gave me the book."
Step 1 — Identify the direct object ("the book") and the indirect object ("me"). Step 2 — Reorder: verb + direct object + "to" + indirect object. Answer"She gave the book to me."
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