6.3 Relative Clauses, Conjunctions & Subordination

6.3 Relative Clauses, Conjunctions & Subordination

Quick Answer: New at Flyers are so (I didn't want to walk home so I went on the bus), where-clauses (My grandmother has forgotten where she put her glasses), before/after clauses without future reference, and tag questions (That's John's book, isn't it?). Who / which / where as relatives for people, things and places are A1 Movers. Part 1 definitions, Part 2 replies, Part 6 gaps and Part 7 stories all use this stack.

Be honest about which list each linker comes from

Cambridge does not replace Movers grammar at Flyers; it adds a short new row. Children who treat who as a Flyers-only word, or so as a synonym of because, lose easy marks.

| Linker | List | Job | Official-style example | |---|---|---| | and | Starters | Add a similar idea | I've got a pen and a pencil. | | because | Movers | Give a reason | I went home because I was tired. | | when clause (not future) | Movers | Time link | When he got home, he had his dinner. | | who relative | Movers | Person | Vicky is the girl who is riding a bike. | | which relative | Movers | Thing | That is the DVD which my friend gave me. | | where relative (place noun) | Movers | Place | This is the house where my friend lives. | | so | Flyers-new | Result | I didn't want to walk home so I went on the bus. | | where clause (not defining a noun) | Flyers-new | Forgotten/known where | My grandmother has forgotten where she put her glasses. | | before/after clauses | Flyers-new | Order, not future | I finished my homework before I played football. | | Tag questions | Flyers-new | Check a statement | That's John's book, isn't it? |

The two where rows are the ones teachers flatten. They are not the same item.

Movers relatives: who, which, where after a noun

These define a person, thing or place already named:

• William is the boy who is wearing the striped pyjamas.
• A journalist is a person who writes about news in a newspaper.
• That is the torch which Emma took into the cave.
• This is the castle where the queen lived.

Reading and Writing Part 1 is ten definitions and fifteen words. The printed lines are often full sentences (This person flies a plane and usually wears a uniform) rather than a relative clause, but the meaning skill is the same: a pilot is a person who flies a plane. Children who know Movers who/which parse the definition faster and are less likely to copy an astronaut onto the plane line. Related pairs still decide the mark: pilot / astronaut, journalist / photographer, postcard / stamp. Relatives do not replace that vocabulary work; they help the child hold the meaning while they copy the exact word, including a or an.

Part 5 paraphrase uses the same relatives in reverse. The story may say Mr Park, their history teacher, took them to visit an old castle. A gap sentence may need the teacher who took them to the castle or the castle which stood on the hill. Write 1–4 words, copied with the story's spelling.

That appears in some classroom relatives (the DVD that my friend gave me). The Handbook's Movers examples use who, which and where. Teach that as a common stand-in for which in things if you wish, but do not claim a separate Flyers-new that-clause list. It is not on p. 77.

Flyers-new where-clauses: a missing piece of information

Official example: My grandmother has forgotten where she put her glasses.

Here where does not follow a place noun (the house where). It opens a clause that is the object of forgotten: she has forgotten the place of the glasses. Other Flyers-safe copies:

• Harry doesn't know where the swan went.
• Emma can't remember where she put the torch.
• Do you know where the museum is?

This pattern also appears with other question words in classroom English (I don't know what time it starts), and What time…? is itself Flyers-new (section 6.4). The listed where-clause is the one to drill for Part 6: a diary line I can't remember where I ___ my key needs put or left, not a relative which.

Speaking Part 2 information exchange can use the same clause when a cue is a place: Do you know where Helen's club is? once the place cue has been read.

Because versus so

Movers because answers why. Flyers so answers what happened as a result.

• Reason: Harry was thirsty because the hill was long.
• Result: Harry was thirsty so Mr Park gave him juice.

Official Flyers example: I didn't want to walk home so I went on the bus. The first clause is the situation; the second is what the speaker did about it.

Part 6 loves a one-word so or because gap. The test is whether the child can see direction:

• The hotel cook couldn't sail back ___ there was a storm. → because (reason after).
• There was a storm ___ the cook couldn't sail back. → so (result after).
• Emma doesn't want to go near the swans ___ she says they are not friendly. → because.

Children who sprinkle so in every gap because it is "the new word" will lose the reason gaps. Teach the pair, not the new word alone.

And remains the Starters adder. Part 7 needs all three: The astronaut landed and an alien came out. He was hungry because the journey was long, so he ate a biscuit.

Before, after, and when: order without future

Section 6.1 taught the tense rule; this section teaches the linking job.

• Flyers-new clause: Emma took a photo before she wrote the postcard. Harry put on his coat after he left the hotel.
• Movers when: When they arrived at the castle, the children were tired.
• Prepositions from earlier lists still exist: after school, before midday. Those are not the new clause.

Keep both verbs in a past (or both in a present habit). Do not write Before he will climb the hill, he is going to drink water as if it were Flyers-new. The Handbook bars future reference in these clauses.

Part 7 is where order earns the 5-mark story. The Handbook asks children to look at the three pictures first, write one or two sentences about each, and consider how they can connect picture 1 to pictures 2 and 3. Then, next, after that, so, because, when, before and after are the legal toolkit. Then and next are time adverbs children already meet; What else/next? is Flyers-new as a question (section 6.4), not as a story adverb you must force.

Tag questions: Flyers-new checks

Official example: That's John's book, isn't it?

A tag question turns a statement into a check. At Flyers, teach the simple mirror:

• Positive statement → negative tag: The castle is on the hill, isn't it? Harry can see the swan, can't he? They went by bus, didn't they? Emma has been to the pyramids, hasn't she?
• Negative statement → positive tag: It isn't going to rain, is it? We haven't bought the present yet, have we?

Match the auxiliary to the statement: is/isn't, are/aren't, can/can't, do/don't, did/didn't, have/haven't, will/won't. Use Flyers names and things (John's book, Harry's torch, the silver necklace).

Do not build a B1 tag course (barely, seldom, let's, nobody). Those are not on the Young Learners lists. A Part 2 option may be a tag used as a reply (It's at the sports centre, isn't it?) when the first speaker is checking a fact. A Part 6 email might need isn't or don't as the one missing word in a tag; read the comma and the pronoun (it/he/they) after the gap.

Speaking interaction (one of the three 0–5 criteria) rewards children who can check and respond, not only announce. A tag is one legal way to do that without leaving the list: We're going to the stadium, aren't we?

Paper by paper

Part 1 (10 marks): match definition to word. Movers who/which thinking helps, but you still copy the word in the box. Relatives in your head; exact spelling on the line.

Part 2 (5 marks): discourse and referencing. So, tags, Shall we, and replies that point back with there / it / them decide among A–H. Two options unused.

Part 4 (10) and Part 6 (5): grammar words in gaps — who, which, where, because, so, when, before, after, and. Part 6 has no box, so the child must produce so not because when the second clause is a result. Collocations still matter (ask a question, do some homework); a linker gap is not a guess from the nearest noun.

Part 5 (7): 1–4 word completions that often rewrite a relative or a time clause from the story. Copy spelling.

Part 7 (5 marks): connect three pictures. A story with only full stops and no so/when/after is harder for the reader. One or two linkers are enough; a chain of ten and then is not better.

Speaking Part 1: the child says how the picture is different (In your picture there are two swans). That is contrast, not a relative clause, but The boy who is wearing red is taller is legal Movers language if it describes a difference of appearance or relative size.

Speaking Part 3: a few words per picture is enough. A single so between picture 3 and 4 (The bag is heavy so Harry sits down) is plenty.

A five-line repair drill

Take a broken Part 7 draft and repair only the linkers:

1. Harry walked to the castle. He was tired. He sat down. → Harry walked to the castle. He was tired so he sat down.
2. Emma didn't know the way. She asked a police officer. → Emma didn't know where the museum was so she asked a police officer.
3. They saw the pyramid. They took photos. → After they saw the pyramid, they took photos.
4. That's the torch. Emma bought it. → That's the torch which Emma bought, isn't it?
5. William is the boy. He is riding the camel. → William is the boy who is riding the camel.

Lines 1–3 use Flyers-new so / where-clause / after. Lines 4–5 mix a Flyers tag with Movers relatives. That mix is what the combined lists require.