Grammar: ✨ Grammar Essentials: 🧩 Parts of Speech & 🏗️ Sentence Structure (Advanced) (B2) - Lesson 3: Relative Clauses with "where" & "when" (review and expansion)

✨ Lesson 3: Relative Clauses with "where" & "when"

We know that relative clauses¹ add information to a sentence. Today we focus on two very common relative pronouns that describe places and times: where and when. We will review their basic use and then expand to a more formal² structure.

Using "where" to Describe Places

We use the relative pronoun 'where' to give more information about a place (e.g., a city, a house, a restaurant). It introduces a clause that tells us what happens or what is located in that place.

"Battambang is the city where I grew up."

"Let's go to the café where we met last week."

Using "when" to Describe Times

Similarly, we use 'when' to give more information about a time or a specific event (e.g., a year, a day, an era³). It tells us what happened at that time.

"I'll never forget the day when I graduated from university."

"2015 was the year when my family moved to this house."

B2 Expansion: Using Prepositions + 'which'

Using 'where' and 'when' is very common and natural. However, in formal and written English, we can express the same idea using a preposition⁴ + which. Think of 'where' and 'when' as a convenient shortcut⁵.

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`where` = `in which` / `at which`

"This is the house where I live."
(Formal alternative) → "This is the house in which I live."

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`when` = `on which` / `in which` / `at which`

"That was the day when we won."
(Formal alternative) → "That was the day on which we won."

🧠 Practice Quiz: Choose the Right Word

Choose the best word to complete each sentence.

1. The restaurant _______ we had dinner last night was excellent.
   Answer: where
2. Do you remember the time _______ we got lost in the countryside?
   Answer: when
3. That is the old building _______ the famous artist used to live. Which is a more formal alternative for the gap?
   Answer: in which ('where' is the simple answer, 'in which' is the formal alternative.)
4. The Khmer New Year is a time _______ families get together to celebrate.
   Answer: when
5. The office _______ I work is on the third floor.
   Answer: where

📝 Homework: Re-write the Sentences

Combine or rewrite these sentences using the target relative pronoun.

1. Combine using 'where': "This is the village. My family has lived in this village for generations."
   Answer: This is the village where my family has lived for generations.
2. Combine using 'when': "I love April. The Khmer New Year happens in April."
   Answer: I love April, when the Khmer New Year happens.
3. Rewrite this sentence using a more formal structure with a preposition: "That was the summer when I learned to swim."
   Answer: That was the summer in which I learned to swim.

Vocabulary Glossary

1. Relative Clause: (Noun Phrase) - ឃ្លាភ្ជាប់ (khléa ph'choăp) - A clause which gives more information about a noun, often starting with who, which, where, or when. ↩
2. Formal: (Adjective) - ជាផ្លូវការ (chéa phlɨw'kaa) - Used in serious, official, or academic situations. ↩
3. Era: (Noun) - សម័យ (sâ'măy) - A long and distinct period of history. ↩
4. Preposition: (Noun) - ធ្នាក់ (tneăk) - A word that connects a noun to another word (e.g., in, at, on, for). ↩
5. Shortcut: (Noun) - ផ្លូវកាត់ (phlouv'kăt) - A shorter, quicker way of doing something. ↩