Harvey's Elementary Grammar and Composition · Lesson 33 · Part 1: Part I: The elementary course

33. The relative clause

Goal: Your child can write and analyze sentences with relative clauses, and can trade a relative clause for an adjective.

⏱ About 25 minutes · 7 steps

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You'll need

  • The book, open to this lesson
  • Paper and a pencil (or a slate)

What's in the book

Lesson 33 defines the relative clause and gives a parsing model, a writing exercise, two model analyses, eight sentences to analyze and five to rewrite with adjectives.

The lesson, step by step

  1. Review

    Ask: What are the relative pronouns? What is an antecedent?

  2. The new idea

    Read:

    A Relative Clause is a clause introduced by a relative pronoun.

    In "The boy that studies, will learn," the relative clause is "that studies." It tells which boy.

  3. Write sentences

    Write five sentences with relative clauses modifying the subject, following the model:

    The boy that studies, will learn.

    Then try one where the clause modifies the object:

    I have lost the knife which you gave me.

  4. Analyze

    Analyze a few of the book's sentences aloud: subject, predicate, and which word the clause modifies:

    I have a knife that has a white handle.

    Solomon, who was the son of David, built the temple.

  5. Clause to adjective

    Rewrite with an adjective instead of the clause:

    I have an apple that is rotten.

    A little boy who is lame, came to our house yesterday.

  6. Check together

    Compare with the answers below.

  7. Use it today

    In today's reading, find one relative clause and say which noun it describes.

Answers to the book's problems

Relative clauses: 1 who is wealthy (man). 2 that has a white handle (knife). 3 who studies (He). 4 which I can not share (blessings). 5 who was the son of David (Solomon). 6 that deserves respect (man). 7 whom he loves (him). 8 that forsake the law (They). Adjectives: I have a rotten apple. A little lame boy came to our house yesterday. How far do you go with the flowing rivers? I like honest people. Will you buy me a four-bladed knife?

Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.

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