grammar portfolio iii

Relative Clauses Gerunds and Infinitives Phrasal Verbs Passive Voice The Passive Causative

By Silvana Samper

ADJECTIVE CLAUSESAdjectives modify nouns and pronouns, giving a description or more information. An adjective clause is simply a group of words with a subject and a verb that provide a description. The clause starts with a pronoun such as who, whom, that, or which or an adverb such as when, where and why.

ADJECTIVE CLAUSESHow to recognize a relative clause when you see one.A relative clause also called an adjective or adjectival clausewill meet three requirements.

• First, it will contain a subject and verb.• Next, it will begin with a relative pronoun [who, whom,

whose, that, or which] or a relative adverb [when, where, or why].

• Finally, it will function as an adjective, answering the questions What kind? How many? or Which one?

ADJECTIVE CLAUSESWe use adjective clauses to identify or give additional

informationabout nouns (people, places, or things).

• Students who are intelligent get good grades.(The clause who are intelligent get good grades identify the students).

• Pizza, which most people love, is not very healthy.(The clause which most people love, is not very healthy identifies the pizza).

Adjective clauses can also identify or describe indefinite pronouns

such us one, someone, somebody, something, another, and other(s).

• I would like to know someone who speaks English in order to practice my pronunciation.

ADJECTIVE CLAUSESSentences with adjective clauses can be seen as a

combination of two sentences.

The boy is playing soccer + The man is kicking the balloon.The boy who is kicking the balloon is playing soccer.

Silvana has a son + His name is Ian Gabriel. Silvana has a son whose name is Ian Gabriel.

ADJECTIVE CLAUSESAdjective clauses begin with relative pronouns. Relative pronouns that can be the subject of the clause are

who, that, which, and whose.

ADJECTIVE CLAUSESThat is less formal than who and which and more frequently

used in conversations.

• The kids who/that were called first will have the best chance of getting a seat.

• The book which/that I hadn´t read fell on my head.

Use whose + noun to show possession or relationship.• He is the neighbor whose house is for sale.• She knew the family whose house we bought.• Silvana has a son whose name is Ian Gabriel.

ADJECTIVE CLAUSESThere are two kinds of adjective clauses, identifying and nonidentifying.

Use an identifying adjective clause to identify which member of a group the sentence talks about. Do not use commas with this kind of adjective clause.• I have a lot of good friends. My friend who lives in Colombia visits me

often.(The adjective clause is necessary to identify which friend).

Use a nonidentifying adjective clause to give additional information about the

noun it refers to. The information is not necessary to identify the noun. Use a comma before and after the adjective clause.• I have a lot of good friends. My best friend, who lives in Colombia, visits

me often.(The friend has already been identified as the speaker´s best friend. The

adjectiveclause gives additional information, but it isn´t needed to identify the friend).

ADJECTIVE CLAUSES WITH SUBJECT RELATIVE PRONOUNS

That can replace both who and which. However, this is not always possible. That cannot be used in nonidentifying relative clauses. Note that a non-identifying relative clause can be easily removedfrom the sentence. An identifying relative clause, on the other hand, cannot be removed that easily. Ifit is removed from the sentence, the meaning will change.

(Identifying relative clause)• They opposed the motion that / which was proposed by the rival group.Now remove the relative clause ‘that / which was proposed by the rival group’ and you will get the simple sentence ‘They opposed the motion’.As you can see, this sentence does not mean the same as the original sentence because it doesn’tidentify the motion under discussion.

Now consider another sentence. (Nonidentifying relative clause)

• My Brother, who lives in Colombia, is a systems engineer. (NOT My brother, that lives in Colombia,…)Here the relative clause who lives in Colombia is non-identifying. It merely provides additional information. Even if you remove it from the sentence the meaning doesn’t change.• My brother is a systems engineer.As you can see, this sentence means the same as the original sentence; it just doesn’t give as much information.


In writing, a nonidentifying adjective clause is separated from the rest of the sentence by commas.• My brother, who lives in Colombia, came to visit me this year.

In speaking, a nonidentifying adjective clause is separated from the restof the sentence by brief pauses.• My brother (pause) who lives in Colombia (pause) came to visit me

this year.(I have only one brother. He lives in Colombia).

Without commas or pauses the same sentence has a very different meaning.• My brother who lives in Colombia came to visit me this year.I have several brothers. (This one lives in Colombia).


The relative pronoun is the subject.The relative clause can come after the subject or the object of the sentence. We can't drop the relative pronoun.

For example (clause after the object of the sentence):• I'm looking for a secretary who / that can use a computer well.• She has a son who / that is a doctor.• We bought a house which / that is 200 years old.• I sent a letter which / that arrived three weeks later.

For example (clause after the subject of the sentence):• The people who / that live on the island are very friendly.• The man who / that phoned is my brother.• The camera which / that costs $100 is over there.• The house which / that belongs to Julie is in London.

ADJECTIVE CLAUSESThe relative pronoun is the object:In this case we can drop the relative pronoun if we want to. Again, theclause can come after the subject or the object of the sentence.

For example (Clause after the object) • She loves the chocolate (which / that) I bought.• We went to the village (which / that) Lucy recommended.• John met a woman (who / that) I had been to school with.• The police arrested a man (who / that) Jill worked with.

For example (Clause after the subject) • The bike (which / that) I loved was stolen.• The university (which / that) she likes is famous.• The woman (who / that) my brother loves is from Bucaramanga.• The doctor (who / that) my grandmother liked lives in New York.

Gerunds and InfinitivesGerunds and infinitives are sometimes referred to as verb complements. They may function as subjects or objects in a sentence.

A gerund is a verb in its ing (present participle) form that functions as a noun that names an activity rather than a person or thing. Any action verb can be made into a gerund.

An infinitive is a verb form that acts as other parts of speech in a sentence. It is formed with to + base form of the verb. Ex: to buy, to work.

Gerunds and Infinitives

1. The gerund is often used as the subject of a sentence. Eating chocolate is energizing. Running is a good exercise for your health.

2. The gerund is often used after certain verbs as the object of the verb.

I dislike eating greasy food. I am considered not drinking coke.

You can use a possessive Ian´s, the girl´s, your, his, her, its, our, their

before the gerund. I dislike Diego´s eating fast foods. I dislike his eating fast foods.

Note: In informal spoken English, many people use object pronouns instead of possessives before the gerund

I dislike him using credit cards.

Gerunds and Infinitives3. Some verbs can be followed by the infinitive.These verbs fall into three groups:a. Verb + infinitive They hope to obtain the job.

She chose not to give up snuff.

b. Verb + object + infinitive I need to try that new restaurant.She convinced her not to buy the latest model car.

c. Verb + infinitive OR I want to try that new restaurant.

Verb + object + infinitive I want her to try it too.

Gerunds and Infinitives4. Some verbs can be followed by either the gerund or the infinitive.The meanings are the same. I started bringing my own picnic. I started to bring my own picnic.

There is a special use for stop, remember and forget, these can be followed by either the gerund or the infinitive, but the meanings are very different. She stopped eating candy. (She doesn´t eat candy anymore.) She stopped to eat candy. (She stopped another activity in order to

eat candy.) He remembered meeting her at the theater. (First he remembered.

Then he met her. He didn´t forget.) He remembered to meet her at the theater. (First he remembered.

Then he met her. He didn´t forget.) I never forgot eating lunch at McDonald´s. (I ate lunch at McDonald

´s and I didn´t forget the experience.) I never forgot to eat lunch. (I always ate lunch.)

Gerunds and Infinitives5. The gerund is the only verb form that can follow a preposition. I read a news about suffering Alzheimer.

There are many common verb + preposition and adjective + preposition combinations

that must be followed by the gerund and not the infinitive. I don´t approve of smoking inside restaurants. I´m interested in learning another language.

To can be part of the infinitive or it can be a preposition. Use the gerund after the preposition to.

We look forward to having dinner with my grandparents.

6. The infinitive can often follow an adjective. Many of these adjectives express feelings or

attitudes about the action in the infinitive. I ´m happy to hear that I have lost 12 kg. I´m ready to continue on the diet.

Gerunds and Infinitives7. The infinitive can also follow certain nouns. It´s time to take a nap. I have the right to buy what I want. I made a decision to lose weight. It´s a high price to afford. He has permission to use internet in his free time.

8. Use the infinitive to explain the purpose of an action. Silvana eats vegetables to loss weight.

9. To make general statements you can use:Gerunds as subject Painting is interesting.OR it + infinitive It´s interesting to paint.

These are some verbs followed by –ing form

These are some verbs followed by Infinitive

PHRASAL VERBS

A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and preposition, a verb and an adverb, or a verb with both an adverb and a preposition.

A phrasal verb has a meaning which is different from the original verb. The adverb or preposition that follows the verb are sometimes called a

particle. The particle changes the meaning of the phrasal verb in idiomatic ways.

They are also known as ‘compound verbs’. Phrasal verbs are usually usedinformally in everyday speech as opposed to

the more formal Latinate verbs, such as “to get together” rather than “to congregate”, “to put off” rather than “to postpone”, or “to get out” rather than

“to exit”. They should be avoided in academic writing.

PHRASAL VERBSTransitive phrasal verbs have a direct object. He gave up smoking two years ago. We have put off the meeting for the next month.

Intransitive phrasal verbs do not have a direct object. After a horrible year last year things are starting to look up. That old Jeep had a tendency to break down just when I needed it the most.

Phrasal verb MeaningCome back Return Some students didn´t come back.Figure out Understand I figured out the explanation.Look into Research I looked into states of mind.Pick up Improve My mother´s business has picked up.Put up Erect He is putting up (erecting) signs for his new business.

PHRASAL VERBSThere are phrasal verbs with more than one meaning. Please turn down the radio. The company turned down my brother´s application.

Transitive phrasal verbs take an object.Phrasal verb MeaningCall of sth Cancel Let´s call off the sales meeting.Pick out sth Choose Pick out the tables for the party.Take away sth Remove Take away the medicines.Think up sth Invent He suddenly thinks up story for his

parents.Work out sth Solve She worked out the problem.

PHRASAL VERBSMost transitive phrasal verbs are separable. This means that noun

objects can go after the particle or between the verb and the particle. I picked up my baby at school yesterday. I picked my baby up at school yesterday.

If the direct object is a pronoun, it must go between the verb and the particle.

I didn´t understand some words in the article, so I had to look them up in the dictionary.

When the noun object is part of a long phrase, we usually do not separate the phrasal

verb. Malory tried out a theory about how brain processes the information.

PHRASAL VERBSSome phrasal verbs are intransitive. They do not take an object. They are

always inseparable.

Phrasal verb MeaningCatch on Become popular Acupuncture has caught on popular all over.Get ahead Make progress Diego is getting ahead in his tae kwon do training.Show up Appear The dentist showed up on time. Sit down Take a seat Please, sit down.

Separable transitive She picked up the desk She picked (the desk) it up.

Inseparable transitive He counts on your calls. He counts on them.

Intransitive They sat down. He has been away and just got back. My father doesn´t give up. He keeps calling to Mopt.

PHRASAL VERBSMost transitive phrasal verbs are separable. I just took of my scarf OR I just took my scarf off.

If the direct object is a pronoun, it must go between the verb and the particle.

I wrote it down.

If it is part of a long phrase, do not separate the phrasal verb. I filled out the form for my psychologist.

If the phrasal verb is inseparable, noun and pronoun objects always go after the

particle. I ran into Diego at college.

PHRASAL VERBSA small group of transitive phrasal verbs must be separated.

Phrasal verb Meaning Keep your scarf on.Keep sth on Not remove She talked them into a vacation.Talk someone into Persuade

Some phrasal verbs are used in combination with certain prepositions.A phrasal verb + preposition combination (also called a three-word verb) is usually inseparable.

Phrasal verb MeaningCome up with sth Invent Many ideas came up to me.Drop out of sth Quit Steve Jobs drop out of school and take a typography

course.Keep up with sth Go as fast asOR someone He couldn´t keep up with his e-mail. There was too much

to read.

PASSIVE VOICE

In passive sentences, the thing receiving the action is the subject of the sentence and

the thing doing the action is optionally included near the end of the sentence. You

can use the passive form if you think that the thing receiving the action is more

important or should be emphasized.

Grammatical structure

PASSIVE VOICEThe houses were destroyed by the hurricane/The hurricane destroyed the

houses.Tons of waste are thrown into rivers/People throw tons of waste into rivers. The cake is being baked by my grandma/My grandma is baking the cake.

Active and passive sentences often have similar meanings, but a different focus.

Active focuses on the agent (the person or thing doing the action). Millions of people read the newspaper every day.Passive focuses on the object (the person or thing that receives the action). The newspaper is read every day by millions of people.

Form the passive with a form of be + past participle. It is read in all over the world. It is bought every day. It has been sold all over the world.

PASSIVE VOICEOnly transitive verbs have passive forms. Yu Ming published that article. That article was published by Yu Ming.

Intransitive verbs. It seems interesting.Not it seemed interesting. (no passive form)

Use the passive form when the agent is unknown or not important. The newspaper was inaugurated in 1890. (We don´t know who inaugurated the

newspaper). The newspaper is sold at newsstands. (It is not important who sells it).

Or when you want to avoid mentioning the agent. Some mistakes were made in that news on Colombia. (We know who made

mistakes, but we don´t want to blame the person).

PASSIVE VOICEUse the passive voice with by if you mention the agent.It is important to mention the agent only if it is important to know

who it is. The photographs in the article are breathtaking. They were

taken by a famous Photojournalist The first photo paper was invented by Leo Hendrik Baekeland.

Do not add in passive an agent unnecessarily. The photographs in the article were taken by him.

The causative is a common structure in English.

We use this structure to talk about having something done by

another person/thing, especially a service of some type.

THE PASSIVE CAUSATIVETHE PASSIVE CAUSATIVE

THE PASSIVE CAUSATIVETHE PASSIVE CAUSATIVEForm the passive causative with the appropriate form

of :have or get + object + past participle.

Have and get have the same meaning.I got my hair cut by Mariam.OR I had my hair cut by Mariam.

The passive causative can be used with:a. All verb forms I´ll have the car repaired

tomorrow.b. Modals You should get the flat tire changed. c. Gerunds I love having my hair done.d. Infinitives I want to get it combed.

THE PASSIVE CAUSATIVETHE PASSIVE CAUSATIVEUse the passive causative to talk about services that you arrange

for someone to do for you. I used to cut my own hair, but now I have it cut. Mariam will get her hair salon remodeled by a friend.

Passive causative with had:I had it cut last Saturday. (Someone did it for me).Past perfect:I had cut it before. (I did it myself).

Use by when it is necessary to mention the agent (the person doing the service).

Do not use by when it is clear who is doing the service. Next month Bianca is getting her hair done by a new stylist.Not: Where does Bianca get her hair done by a hair stylist?

My favorite resources to practice My favorite resources to practice my English at homemy English at home

I usually use this resource to dispel doubts or reinforce my knowledge; OM PERSONAL ENGLISH, this is a very complete website, and I would say it´s excellent, you have access to all the courses for free; you can find pronunciation courses, grammatical courses, drawingcourses, listening courses, conversation courses and many others.

Moreover, you can answer questionnaires to prove your comprehension and watch videosin all the levels of English.


I use a breathtaking website "THESAURUS" to learn synonyms, you can write and express

different words in your conversations and writings to impress everyone. It is humdrum to

be listening the same words all the time in a speech.

It´s more winning to discover and pick up new words daily.


I would like to share with all of you an application, that I downloaded from internet in

my I phone, this is very interesting, funny and entertaining, its name is PHRASALSTEIN by

Cambridge.In addition, you can learn the most common phrasal verbs, there are around100

phrasal verbs and you can watch a short video with the explanation, in addition you have

access to the translation and examples.

My reflectionsMy reflectionsFirst of all, I´m glad with my lord and my parents for the opportunity to study at Ulacit.

To tell you the truth teacher Starling, this quarter has been very humdrum for me, I feel that I have made no much progress in my learning process, but my listening and comprehension have improved a lot.

I think it is due to the fact; almost all the courses that I took this quarter are not focused to much on speaking.

What do I know as a result of participating in the class discussion that you did not know before?I have recalled many vocabulary, expressions and grammatical structures, even though, I wished I had had more opportunities to speak in class about different topics instead of reviewing all the grammar studied and acquired in

grammar II.

What can I do as a result of participating in the class discussions that you couldn’t do before?I feel more self-confidence to express my thoughts about a topic, I consider I´m capable to express a good

argument with bases, and with the correct grammar, I can identify my errors when I´m speaking and correct them at the

moment, I´m able to understand what my partners say, even when we are talking about a complex or difficult theme.

What could I teach someone to know or do as a result of participating in the class discussions that Icouldn’t teach them before?

Actually, I have reviewed many grammatical structures, expressions and new vocabulary. I think I´m able to explain to a partner what activity or what we must do in a specific topic, I´m skillful enough to explain all the

tenses in general, specifically the perfect tenses with the corresponding past participle of the verbs, I´m competent enough

to establish a conversation with my partners using the vocabulary gotten during the quarter, I can explain some

words with examples if the person cannot understand what I´m saying.

BIBLIOGRAPHYBIBLIOGRAPHY http://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/

verbs/gerunds-and-infinitives/ http://examples.yourdictionary.com/example-adjective-

clauses.html http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/verbphrasaltext.html http://speakspeak.com/resources/english-grammar-rules/

various-grammar-rules/transitive-vs-intransitive-phrasal-verbs

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/activepassive.html

FOCUS ON GRAMMAR 4, PEARSON, THIRD EDITION.

grammar portfolio iii

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