Grammar: B1 - ✨ Grammar Essentials: 🧩 Parts of Speech & 🏗️ Sentence Structure - Lesson 4: Defining Relative Clauses with "where" (for places)

Grammar: Defining Relative Clauses

B1 Lesson 4: Describing Places with 'Where'

What you will learn: By the end of this lesson, you will be able to use the relative adverb 'where' to give essential information about a place by describing what happens there.

Using 'Where' for Places

We already know how to use who for people and which for things. Today, we'll learn the word for giving essential information about a place or location: where.

We use 'where' to connect a place to an action. It essentially means "in that place" or "at that location."

Combining Sentences

Let's see how it works. We can combine two simple sentences into one stronger sentence:

1. That is the restaurant.
2. We ate dinner there.

We replace the location phrase ("there") with "where" to connect the two ideas:

That is the restaurant where we ate dinner.

Here are more examples:

Pub Street is an area where many people have fun.

Do you know a shop where I can buy a SIM card?

Key Distinction: 'Where' vs. 'Which' for Places 📖

A Common Point of Confusion

This can be tricky. Here is a simple rule to help you decide:

Use...	When...	Example
Where	The place is the location of an action. (The clause has its own subject: We stayed, people drink, etc.)	The hotel where we stayed was nice.
Which	The place is the subject or object of the verb in the clause.	The hotel, which is on the main road, is nice.

In Conversation

Let's see how these words are used in a real conversation in Siem Reap.

Tourist: Excuse me, I'm looking for a restaurant where I can try authentic Khmer food.

Local: Ah, you should go to Malis. It's a famous restaurant which serves amazing food.

Tourist: Great, thank you! Do you know a guide who speaks good English?

Local: Yes, my friend Dara is a guide who knows everything about the temples!

Practice Your Grammar 🎯

Exercise: Choose 'who', 'which', or 'where'

Choose the correct word to complete the sentences.

1. A cafe is a place ______ people drink coffee.
   → where
2. The tuk-tuk driver ______ took us to the temple was very friendly.
   → who
3. The hotel ______ has the rooftop pool is very expensive.
   → which
4. Is this the spot ______ we can see the best sunrise?
   → where
5. I want to find the shop ______ sells good souvenirs.
   → which

Your Grammar Mission ⭐

Describe Your City

Write two sentences describing interesting places you know. Use a defining relative clause with 'where' in each sentence.

Example: The Old Market is a place where you can buy many interesting souvenirs.

Key Vocabulary

• Place (Noun) | កន្លែង
  A particular position, point, or area.
• Location (Noun) | ទីតាំង
  A particular place or position.
• Relative Adverb (Noun) | កិរិយាវិសេសភ្ជាប់
  A word (like where, when, why) that introduces a relative clause.