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Relative Clause practice for IELTS Speaking

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🗣️ In IELTS Speaking, Band 7+ students use relative clauses to:

  1. Add detail naturally → “I met a guy who runs a small tech company.”
  2. Show opinions, reactions or results → “I failed my first driving test, which was so frustrating.”
  3. Sound fluent and connected → “I live in a city where people are really friendly.”

🎯 In this lesson, learn about and practice relative clauses!

Relative clauses are categorised as “complex structures” and are one of the most common and useful structures in IELTS speaking and writing.

⚡ Quick Reminder:

A defining clause gives important information — it tells who or what you mean. Example: The boy who plays football is my brother.
A non-defining clause gives extra information — it’s not needed to understand the meaning. Example: My brother, who plays football, is very kind. Another example: I went to Paris last year, which was an amazing experience.

2 Common Mistakes Band 6 students make with Relative Clauses:

1) Band 6 students sometimes forget the relative pronoun (that/which/who etc) when making Relative defining clauses.

Note: This mistake is often seen by students from East Asian countries (China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand & Myanmar)

2) Band 6 students often speak in short sentences and are NOT able to make Relative non-defining clauses to Extend their ideas.

🔗 Exercise 1- Practice making defining Relative Clauses

Task: Combine each pair into one sentence using a relative pronoun to create a defining relative clause.
Remember: this information is needed to know who or what you’re talking about — it is essential.
(Example: I found a watch. It was very cool 👉 I found a phone that was very expensive.)

  1. I met a woman. She teaches English.
  2. I bought a phone. It takes awesome pictures.
  3. I know someone. They are from Canada.
  4. I took her to a restaurant. The restaurant is where we first met.
  5. I’ll never forget my teacher. He helped me loads with Math.
  6. I admire certain people. These people do not give up easily.
  7. I watched a documentary. It changed the way I see the world.
  8. It is a company. The company produces electric vehicles.
  9. I have a friend. He recently opened up a fancy restaurant.
  10. I’d like to go to a university. I want to practice speaking English there.
Answers
  1. I met a woman who/that teaches English.
  2. I bought a phone that/which takes awesome pictures.
  3. I know someone that/who from Canada.
  4. I took her to the restaurant (that) we first met. (“that” is the object here, so we can omit it and remember to add the definite article “the”)
  5. I’ll never forget the teacher who/that helped me loads with Math. (remember to add the definite article “the”)
  6. I admire certain people that/who do not give up easily.
  7. I watched a documentary that/which changed the way I see the world.
  8. It is a company that/which produces electric vehicles.
  9. I have a friend that/who recently opened up a fancy restaurant.
  10. I’d like to go to a university where/that I can practice speaking English there.

    🎙️ Exercise 2- Practice expanding ideas with Non-defining Relative Clauses

    Task: Combine each pair of sentences into one using a non-defining relative clause to add extra information.
    Remember: this information is not needed to know who or what you’re talking about — it just gives more detail.
    (Example: I visited Paris. It’s the capital of France 👉I visited Paris, which is the capital of France.

    1. My brother lives in Canada.
    2. I grabbed a coffee with a mate last week.
    3. My laptop is brand new.
    4. The festival had plenty of food and drinks.
    5. I binge-watched the newest season of Stranger Things last month.
    6. I used to play a lot of chess when I was younger.
    7. My girlfriend booked a fancy hotel for next month.
    8. I recently moved house.
    9. I still haven’t found anything to get my sister for her birthday.
    10. My uncle and auntie asked if I could help them paint their fence this weekend.
    11. I started going to the gym again last month.
    12. I recently passed my driving test.
    13. I’m definitely gonna get a dog in a few years.
    14. I bought a new pair of headphones yesterday.
    15. I tried cooking Thai food for the first time.
    16. My best friend moved to another city.
    17. I got caught in the rain on my way home.
    18. I recently cancelled some streaming platforms that I don’t use that much.
    19. I arrived late to a meeting.
    20. I’m saving up for a trip next summer.
    Answers
    1. My brother lives in Canada, which means I don’t get to see him very often.
    2. I grabbed a coffee with a mate last week, which was a nice break from studying.
    3. My laptop is brand new, which means things don’t take forever to load!
    4. The festival had plenty of food and drinks, which was great because we didn’t bring much with us.
    5. I binge-watched the newest season of Stranger Things last month, which was totally worth it and I’d highly recommend it!
    6. I used to play a lot of chess when I was younger, which really helped me learn about strategy.
    7. My girlfriend booked a fancy hotel for next month, which I’m really looking forward to.
    8. I recently moved house, which has been exciting but also pretty stressful.
    9. I still haven’t found anything to get my sister for her birthday, which is starting to stress me out a bit.
    10. My uncle and auntie asked if I could help them paint their fence this weekend, which I’m not too excited about.
    11. I started going to the gym again last month, which is why I probably feel so much better.
    12. I recently passed my driving test, which was such a huge relief.
    13. I’m definitely gonna get a dog in a few years, which will be incredible!
    14. I bought a new pair of headphones yesterday, which is great because my old ones were rubbish.
    15. I tried cooking Thai food for the first time, which turned out surprisingly well.
    16. My best friend moved to another city, which has been hard because we used to hang out all the time.
    17. I got caught in the rain on my way home, which completely ruined my shoes.
    18. I recently cancelled some streaming platforms that I don’t use that much, which should save me a bit of money each month.
    19. I arrived late to a meeting, which was a bit awkward.
    20. I’m saving up for a trip next summer, which gives me something exciting to look forward to.

    🎙️ Exercise 3- Describe And Guess!- (Using defining Relative Clauses)

    How it works:

    Give Student A a card with a word (e.g. “teacher,” “restaurant,” “country,” “friend”). They describe it using a defining clause without naming it.

    Person 1: “It’s a place where people go to watch movies.”
    (→ cinema)
    Person 2:”Is it ….”

    Then Swap roles!

    Think of places, people and things. Here are some ideas to help you:

    👩‍🏫 People (who)

    teacher · actor · singer · doctor · football player · classmate · neighbour · YouTuber · chef · volunteer · scientist · politician · influencer · tour guide · artist · journalist · designer · author · firefighter · engineer

    🌆 Places (where)

    restaurant · library · cinema · park · supermarket · beach · school · zoo · stadium · café · museum · airport · train station · mountain · island · hospital · university · shopping mall · campsite · theatre

    🎒 Things (which / that)

    smartphone · bicycle · backpack · watch · pen · computer · car · TV · headphones · book · washing machine · drone · credit card · key · charger · fridge · umbrella · mirror · camera · water bottle


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