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Please check my sentences with relative clauses (1)

hirashin

Sempai
Donor
8 Apr 2004
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Dear, native English speakers,

Would you check my sentences with relative clauses?
1 Mary has a son who is a doctor.
2 The book (that) Tom lent to me was really interesting.
3 Nancy has found the wallet (which) Mike was looking for.
4 Do you know the student who won the first prize in the contest?
5 This is the book (that) I told you about yesterday.
6 Recently I read a book which told about French culture.
7 This is the desk (that/which) I made yesterday.
8 Show me the camera (that/which) you bought recently.
9 Lend me a book that/which tells about Japanese culture.
10 The movie (that/which) I saw/watched was really intersting.
11 I often talk to the people who/that live next door.

Thank you in advance.

Hirashin from Kyoto , Japan
 
These all seem fine. Number 4 seems a little long winded and possibly a little repetitive. I personally would say something like "Do you know which student won first prize(in the contest)?"
 
  • Grammatically all fine, though I wouldn't say 'told about' French/Japanese culture; 'explained' or 'described' would be better.
 
Thanks for the help, Lothor. Don't you say "the book tells about French/Japanese culture"? Well, I learned it from a book written by an American person. That may be a difference between American English and British English. Are you originally from Britain?

Hirashin
 
Yes, I am British. You could be right about it being a difference between US and UK English.
 
I am an American, and I wholly concur with @Lothor. "A book which told about / tells about", while not wrong, sounds somewhat awkward and unnatural. The choices suggested by @Lothor are better.

Interestingly, if you make a slight change from "tells about" to "talks about", the sentences sound more natural. This is a slightly colloquial expression, though, and so I prefer @Lothor 's suggestions for the purpose of teaching English.

Probably about the most natural way to say this would be "...a book about French culture." You could also say "...a book pertaining to French culture" or "...a book regarding French culture." However, these do not work with the lesson you are teaching.
 
Thanks for your view about the use of "tell about", joadbres. I appreciate it.

The book I refered to, Spoken American English, was written and revised by an American person named William L. Clark. The first edition of the book was published more than 50 years ago. Some comments in the book may be old-fashioned.

Hirashin
 
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