grammar · neutral

The + ordinal + N + who/that + V

Band 5-6speakingtask2

Used to identify a person/thing by their position in an order and then add a relative clause describing them.

Examples

“The first student who spoke had an interesting point.”

“The second report that I read was more detailed.”

“The last witness who testified contradicted the earlier statement.”

Band 8 sentence

“The first researcher who proposed the model later revised it in light of new evidence.”

Collocations

  • the first student who
  • the last person who

Word family

first / second / third / last ordinalthe first one who phrase

Common mistakes

The first students who arrived was given a prize.→The first student who arrived was given a prize.

The last who spoke changed his mind.→The last person who spoke changed his mind.

Say it for a higher band

5First students who→6The first students who→7+The + ordinal + N + who/that + V

Synonyms

the first one who

Easily confused

the first who vs the first one who

“The first person who arrived was from Canada.”

Related words

defining vs non-defining relative clauses (use of commas and that/which/who), who + Vthe + superlative + N + (that) + S + Veach of whom + V, which is why + S + VIndefinite pronouns + who/that + V (someone/anyone/anything + who/that)the majority of + N + who + Vthose who + V

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In Relative clauses

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