Relative Clauses

Article excerpt · target grammar marked

Ed Catmull, who co-founded Pixar and ran it for three decades, built a studio whose creative process was deliberately designed to make hierarchy invisible.

Grammar Reference · Relative Clauses

Defining relative

Identifies which person or thing. No commas. The leader who listens carefully generates lasting loyalty. Cannot be removed without changing the sentence's meaning.

Non-defining clause

Adds extra information. Always uses commas. Catmull, who co-founded Pixar, ran it for thirty years. Remove it and the sentence still makes sense.

Prepositional

Formal register — preposition before which or whom. The system about which he wrote changed management theory. Informal: the system he wrote about.

Whose + noun phrase

Shows possession for both people and organisations. Bridgewater, whose culture was unusually open, became a case study for researchers.

01Exercise 1 — Form · Write the Correct Form

Relative Clauses

1.Keltner, research into power spans twenty years, calls this the power paradox.

2.The habit Keltner considers most important is building structures that return unfiltered information.

3.McNamara, served as Secretary of Defense in 1962, later reflected on the role of restraint.

4.This is a paradox about political theorists have argued for centuries.

5.Pixar was a studio production meetings were designed to make rank invisible.

6.The person opinion should carry most weight is the one who best understands the problem.

02Exercise 2 — Transform

rewrite with the new structure

1.The system was called radical transparency. Dalio invented it at Bridgewater.

2.Catmull co-founded Pixar. His creative philosophy shaped the studio's culture.

3.Keltner studies power. His research has continued for more than twenty years.

4.The Cuban Missile Crisis lasted thirteen days. McNamara reflected on it later.

5.Leaders avoid discomfort. This discomfort is exactly what transparency demands.

6.Bridgewater has an unusual culture. Its internal processes are well documented.

03Exercise 3 — About You

in your notebook

Personalise: complete five sentences about yourself using the target grammar.

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