General English A2 · Lesson 3A

Grammar Bank

The rules behind this lesson — form, use, model sentences and the mistakes to avoid.

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Grammar focus of this lesson

Possessives + short relative clauses

2 structures

Possessive 's and whose
's shows ownership; whose asks who the owner is.
I've got this
Rules & form
- ›Singular noun + 's: Ana's car, my boss's office.
- ›Plural noun ending in -s + ': my parents' house.
- ›Ask with whose: Whose bag is this? — It's Tom's.
- ›For things, prefer of: the name of the company.
Examples
- “That's Pedro's brother.”
- “The students' books are on the table.”
- “Whose keys are these?”
Watch out · Whose (owner) is not who's (= who is).
Your own example
Defining relative clauses
Extra words that tell you which person or thing we mean.
I've got this
Rules & form
- ›who / that (people) · which / that (things) · whose (possession) · where (places).
- ›No commas — the information is essential.
- ›You can omit the pronoun when it's the object: the report (that) I sent.
- ›Don't repeat the object: the report that I sent it ✗.
Examples
- “The people we choose shape our lives.”
- “That's the supplier that missed the deadline.”
- “This is the office where I started.”
Watch out · Never use what for that: the thing what happened ✗.
Your own example