Shadowing Practice: RELATIVE CLAUSES in 4 Steps - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hey, can you tell me about relative clauses?
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Sure.
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First, do you know what clauses are?
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Mmm, not really.
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Basically, if you put a bunch of words together and it sounds like a sentence on its own, then it's a clause.
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So, is a clause and a sentence the same thing?
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A clause by itself can be a sentence, but you can also put two or more clauses together in one large sentence.
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In fact, one way to do that is with relative clauses.
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Okay.
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Why is it called a relative clause?
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Because one clause is related to the other.
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Kind of like in a family?
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Yeah.
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You and your cousin have grandparents in common, so you are related to your cousin.
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In the same way, a relative clause has a word or phrase in common with the main clause of its sentence.
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Okay.
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Can you give me an example?
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How about this sentence?
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I've got tickets to see Vanessa Jones who sings like an angel.
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We've got two clauses here.
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What's the first one?
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I got tickets to see Vanessa Jones.
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And who sings like an angel is the other clause.
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Both clauses talk about Vanessa Jones, so they have that in common.
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But who sings like an angel can't be a sentence by itself.
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Well, I guess it could be if it was a question.
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Right, that's a good point.
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Who is a pronoun, kind of like we or him or this.
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Who is a relative pronoun, which we use for questions and for...
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Relative clauses?
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Right.
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What are the common question words?
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Who, what, where, and when.
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Good.
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Quick note, for relative clauses, we need to change what to which.
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Okay, but what What about this clause?
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Like I said, who is a pronoun, so let's replace it with another pronoun for the singer.
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She sings like an angel.
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Yeah, that could be a sentence by itself.
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Or we could replace the pronouns with the noun they represent.
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Vanessa Jones sings like an angel.
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So we have two good clauses here, each in their own sentence.
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I got tickets to see Vanessa Jones.
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Vanessa Jones sings like an angel.
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Or we could put them together into one sentence.
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I got tickets to see Vanessa Jones, who sings like an angel.
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Let's take a look at how we put these classes together.
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We'll use a different pair.
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We watched Toy Story at Dave's house last night.
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Toy Story was the first Pixar film.
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Are these two sentences related?
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Yeah, they're both talking about Toy Story.
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Right.
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Our first step in putting the classes together is to find out the noun they have in common.
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Let's call it star instead of the noun that both clauses have in common every time.
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Works for me.
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The next step is to decide which is your main clause and which is your relative clause.
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So how do we do that?
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Sometimes it doesn't really matter.
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But often the main clause should fit better with the context.
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Are we talking about what you did last night or are we talking about Pixar?
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Oh, okay.
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I see.
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So the relative clause is less important than the main clause?
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Kinda.
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The relative clause usually gives us more information about something in the main clause.
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Okay, that makes sense.
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But sometimes the sentence sounds better or worse depending on which clause is relative.
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Why don't we try both ways and see how they sound?
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Alright.
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So let's say, Toy Story was the first Pixar film, is our relative clause this time.
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Alright.
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Put it after star in the main clause.
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But Toy Story is in the middle of the sentence.
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If we put the relative clause there, it's inside the main clause.
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That's fine.
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Think of it like a sandwich.
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Okay.
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The third step is to remove star from the relative clause.
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We just take it out?
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We'll replace it with a relative pronoun.
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That's step four.
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What's the best pronoun for star?
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Toy Story is a movie, and we should use which for things like that.
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Good.
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Place it at the beginning of the green clause.
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And that's all?
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Yeah.
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What's our final sentence?
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We watched Toy Story, which was the first Pixar film, at Dave's house last night.
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I noticed that you paused before and after the relative clause, which is good.
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When we write them down, we put commas in those places.
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Gotcha.
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Now, let's go back to step two, and we'll make the opposite choice.
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The top clause is the relative one now.
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What do we do with it?
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Put it after Toy Story in the bottom clause, but before was the first Pixar film.
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Right.
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Now we remove star from the green clause, and then we add who, which, where, or when.
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We add which, just like last time.
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And put it before we watched?
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That's right.
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And we're done.
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Toy Story, which we watched at Dave's house last night, was the first Pixar film.
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Both sentences sounded good, I think.
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Yeah, I think so too.
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So I guess it depends on the context this time.
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Right.
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But if it doesn't sound correct for some other clauses you're working on, try changing which clause is the relative one.
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Gotcha.
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What happens if I put the relative clause in the wrong spot?
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Then we get a misplaced modifier, which means you're giving information about the wrong thing.
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Let's try this example.
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My friend Greg has a pet rabbit who is six feet tall.
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The relative clause should come just after star or what the two clauses have in common.
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So here it looks like both clauses are talking about the rabbit.
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The rabbit is six feet tall?
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Does that sound right to you?
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No. No. Then who is six feet tall?
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My friend Greg.
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Ah.
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Then let's say my friend Greg, who is 6 feet tall, has a pet rabbit.
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Ugh, but it's not as funny that way.
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Hmm, true.
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Anything else I should know?
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Yeah, there's another relative pronoun, which we use with possessives.
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If we're talking about Steve in the main clause, but Steve's hat in the relative clause, we say whose hat.
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Okay, that makes sense.
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One more thing.
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We've talked about the common link between the clauses being nouns, but they can also be verb phrases.
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Hmm, like what?
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Take this example.
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Penny always picks her nose, which is really gross.
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Ew, that is so gross.
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Yeah, well, you know, she's five years old, so.
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Anyway, what does witch refer to?
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Her nose?
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Is her nose really gross?
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No. Well, I don't know.
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I I haven't seen her nose.
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Heh, then what is probably really gross?
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Picking her nose!
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Yeah.
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It's not just one thing, it's the whole situation.
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Okay.
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So, when a relative clause refers to a situation, we use which as the pronoun?
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Usually.
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Gotcha.
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So, when do we use relative clauses?
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Whenever you want to put thoughts together in one sentence.
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Oh right.
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But like you said before, the relative clause usually gives us more information about something in the main clause.
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Right.
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Relative clauses let you express all that at once.
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Cool.
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Another reason is to change the flow of the paragraph or of your speech or whatever.
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If you have a bunch of short sentences, it sounds very choppy.
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I see.
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There's a lot of starting and stopping.
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Right.
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So it helps to put some of the sentences together.
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This can give you some variation in the rhythm.
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And when your words flow together more, you sound more natural.
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Right, exactly.
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So when you want to write or sound smoother, consider using relative clauses.
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Definitely will.
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Why Practice Speaking with This Video?
Learning English with videos is a game-changer for speaking practice—and this one’s a gem! The casual dialogue breaks down relative clauses in a relatable way, making it perfect for english speaking practice and even IELTS speaking practice. By shadowing the conversation (try our shadowing site for guided practice!), you’ll master natural rhythm and intonation while nailing grammar. It’s a quick win: you’ll sound more fluent in no time, whether you’re chatting with friends or acing an exam.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
The video simplifies relative clauses with 3 key structures you can use today:
- Relative pronouns: "who" and "which" – The speaker uses "who" for people ("Vanessa Jones who sings...") and explains "which" replaces "what" for things. This clarity helps you avoid common mistakes.
- Combining clauses – Instead of two short sentences ("I got tickets... Vanessa Jones sings..."), you’ll learn to merge them smoothly: "I got tickets to see Vanessa Jones, who sings like an angel." This makes your speech sound more advanced.
- Identifying common ground – Relative clauses connect ideas through shared nouns (like "Vanessa Jones" or "Toy Story"). The video’s examples show how this "link" makes your sentences cohesive—critical for IELTS speaking fluency.
Common Pronunciation Traps
Watch out for these tricky spots when shadowing: - "Relative" – Don’t rush the "tive" sound; it’s "REL-uh-tiv," not "REL-tiv." - "Pronoun" – Stress the first syllable: "PROH-noun," not "proh-NOUN." - "Vanessa Jones" – The speaker links "Vanessa" and "Jones" smoothly; practice blending the "a" and "J" sounds. These small fixes will make your speech sound more natural, whether you’re using a shadowspeaks tool or practicing alone.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | decide which is · Story, which was · clause, which is |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | We've talked · haven't seen |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is related · are related |
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | should fit · should use · should come |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.