Synthesis & Transformation

1. Sentence Synthesis
Which / When / Where

2. Which, When, Where
 Relative pronouns – which, when and
where
 Gives more information about
something, sometime or somewhere
mentioned
 The pronouns come immediately after
the noun which refers to the thing,
time or place being talked about.

3. Which (without comma)
 No comma is needed in front of ‘which’ when
the relative clause gives information that
helps to identify the thing being spoken
about.
E.g. The stairs lead to the attic. They are
slippery.
 The stairs which lead to the attic are slippery.
The relative clause ‘which lead to the attic’ makes it
clear which stairs we are talking about.

4. Which (without comma)
E.g. The chair was damaged. I threw it away.
 I threw away the chair which was damaged.
The relative clause ‘which was damaged’ makes
it clear which chair we are talking about.
E.g. The car crashed into me. It belonged to
Paul.
 The car which crashed into me belonged to
Paul.

5. Which (with a comma)
 A comma is needed in front of ‘which’ when
the relative clause gives further information
about something but not to identify it.
E.g. He said he had no money. It was not true.
 He said he had no money, which was not
true.
The relative clause ‘which was not true’ gives only an
extra piece of information.

6. Which (with a comma)
E.g. I have tasted my aunt’s curry. It is not bad
at all.
 I have tasted my aunt’s curry, which is not
bad at all.
The relative clause ‘which is not bad at all’ gives only
an extra piece of information.
E.g. He got a gold medal again a year later. It
surprised everybody.
 He got a gold medal again a year later, which
surprised everybody.

7. preposition + Which
 You can have a preposition + ‘which’
E.g. I ate three apples. One was bad.
 I ate three apples, of which one was bad.
E.g. The waves crashed against the rocks.
Peter stood on the rocks.
 The waves crashed against the rocks on
which Peter stood.

8. When (2 instantaneous events)
 When is used to talk about the time of
event(s).
 The two events may be immediate.
E.g. I blinked my eyes. Peter threw a
piece of paper at me.
 When I blinked my eyes, Peter threw
a piece of paper at me.

9. When (2 events – 1 continuous
and 1 instantaneous)
 One event may be immediate and the
event which is continuous is after ‘when’.
E.g. I walked home. I met Jane.
 I met Jane when I was walking home.
OR
 When I was walking home, I met Jane.
Continuous event

10. Where (place)
E.g. This is the tree. I rested under it.
 This is the tree where I rested under.
E.g. Jane remembered that the tickets could
be purchased from there.
 Jane remembered where to buy the
tickets from.

11. Where (used with ‘to’)
 He crossed the road to his mother. She
was waiting there.
 He crossed the road to where his mother
was waiting.

12. Where (not referring to a place)
E.g. We had a few cases yesterday. Pupils’
wallets were stolen.
 We had a few cases yesterday where
pupils’ wallets were stolen.