My common mistake when using English, whether in speaking or writing, is the usage of relative pronouns, especially whose, which, and that. The mistakes usually occur when i am making subordinate sentences. Because subordinate sentences are used frequently in our daily life, so i think it is a good idea to fix the usage of relative pronouns, at least these three words.
First of all, whose can be used for expressing possession of something. The possessor can refer to people, animal, or things. However, i used "whose" only to refer people's possession. For this case of using "whose", it is not that i used it wrongly, but i emphasize that i have a misconception of using "whose".
Second, is the usage of "which". This error actually has a connection with the third point, "that". I did not differentiate the usage of "which" and "that". "Which" should be used in nonrestrictive clauses, while "that" should be used in restrictive clauses. For example, in nonrestrictive clause such as "Asia, which is the largest continent in the world, is divided into five regions", using which instead of that is the right way. For restrictive clause, such as "the man that use a red cap is my father", using that instead of which is the correct way.
These are mistakes that i often make. Correcting the usage of these mistakes will likely to help me communicate better in English.
Exercise
There is a popular teacher called Ms. Tate. The teacher, (which, that) many students were inspired by, taught English literature. However, she has retired 10 years ago. The teacher (which, that) I was talking about now lives in Canada. Ms. Tate, (whose, who) husband is a novel writer, is still replying to the letters (which, that) her past students are writing. It shows how much she still cares for her students.
Ms. Tate's publications, (which, that) have inspired many, are all on my bookshelves. The books (that, which) she wrote is used as textbooks of many English literature courses. Despite its quality, the book (which, that) everybody is talking about does not cost much, and is affordable for many students. Particularly, there is a book (which, that) she wrote was a best-seller. The book, (whose, which) cover is red, was written many years ago. However, the best-seller book, (which, that) was written by her, is still talked about.
Retrieved September 8, 2008, from http://www.cityu.edu.hk/elc/quiz/relativ2.htm
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Although I was taught this grammar point a long time ago, I sometimes wonder what relative pronoun I should use in a particular sentence. Your porfolio reminds me about many things that I forgot.
Sometimes I also have problem in using Relative Pronouns well, and I just cannot decide which pronoun should I use. I think I learned much from your portfolio. And I think your exercise is also very good.
Post a Comment