Hotel Crawler

When you are saying "Hotel Crawler" what do you want to say?

When Dutchman Vincent van Dijk .....(1)...... as a lifestyle trend watcher, moved to Amsterdam for his job, he couldn't find a place to live.

He'd been staying in hotels for several weeks ..... (2) ..... he hit on a great idea. Carrying nothing but the suitcase ..... (3) .... all his possessions were contained, he decided to stay in a different hotel every night for a year and a blog about his experiences. He realised that through his blogging, each hotel ..... (4) ..... he was staying could gain valuable publicity, so he began asking her managers if he could stay for free in exchange for a write-up in his blog. Most of the managers ..... (5) ...... hotels were struggling in the wake of financial crisis, were delighted with the idea.

The hotels ...... (6) ..... he wrote varied from cheap hotels to five star-luxury spots. Some hotel managers treated him like a king, greeting him personally on arrival, preparing the finest suite on offer, or letting him dine for free. He luxuriated in a 3.500 euros-a-night-room ..... (7) ..... it took him ten minutes to switch off all the lights (he joked in his blog). Another room had an en suite bathroom ..... (8) ..... would not be out of place in a royal palace. But he also stayed in cheap drives, ..... (9) ..... were barely habitable. He came across hotels that smelt fresh paint and cigarette smoke, a room ..... (10) ..... was no wider than a toilet, and curtains covering crumbling walls.

Vincent van Dijk's idea was an audacious project, but probably only do-able by someone ..... (11) ..... hotels are one of life's great pleasures. Despite offers from hotels in London, Paris and Rio, Van Dijk stayed put in Holland ..... (12) ..... he plans to write a book about Amsterdam's accommodation.

1 a) who works         b) who works          c) that works

2 a) was when          b) at which point     c) which point

3 a) which in             b) which                   c) in which

4 a) that                     b) where                  c) which

5 a) whom                 b) whose                 c), whose

6 a). about which      b) what                    c), about which

7 a) in which              b) which                  c) in where

8 a) that                     b) at which               c), that 

9 a) which some       b) some which        c) some of which

10 a) that                   b) where there        c) in which it

11) a) who                 b) for whom             c) for which

12) a) where              b) , where                c) on which

                                                           "Speakout Advanced" by Antonia Clare and JJ.wilson

Answers:

1a; 2b; 3c; 4b; 5c; 6c, 7a; 8a; 9c; 10a; 11b; 12b

Relative clauses

A. Defining relative clauses

Defining relative clauses give essential information about a noun. Compare: 

1. My uncle, who lives in New York, is coming to Oxford
2. My uncle who lives in New York is coming to Oxford

In sentence 1, who lives in New York, is a non defining relative clause. It gives extra non-essential information about the uncle. In sentence 2, it is a defining relative clause. The speaker has more than one uncle so she identifies which uncle she is talking about. 

In defining relative clauses, we can omit the relative pronoun if it is the object or the verb

I’ve eaten the cake (which) I made yesterday

B. Non defining relative clauses 

Non-defining relative clauses give an extra information about a noun. Use a comma before and after the relative clause.

That project, which I started years ago, still isn’t finished. 

C. Relative pronouns

Use: who for people, which for things/group of people, where for places, whose for possessions belonging to people and things. That can replace any pronoun except whose in defining relative clauses

Use a relative pronoun after some of, all of, a few of, none of

She has four sister, none of whom are married

D. Fixed prepositional phrases and relative clauses

There are a number of fixed phrases which use a preposition in an non-defining relative clause.

The company ran out of money, at which point I quit my job

He may work late, in which case I’ll get home first

We watched the final, the result of which was never in doubt

In informal sentences, the preposition stays with the verb. In formal sentences we put the preposition before the relative pronoun. Compare: 

He completed the book which he’d been working on (informal)

He completed the book on which he’d been working (formal)