التلوّث، خطر يهدّد بيئتنا · Programme: Defining people and objects · Grammar: Relative pronouns: who, which, that
By the end of this lesson, I can:
- I can talk about different forms of pollution and their impact.
- I can define people with who or that, and things or animals with which or that.
- I can join two sentences into one with a relative pronoun.
- I can pronounce “ch” as /tʃ/ (beach), /k/ (chemical) or /ʃ/ (machine).
🖼️ Picture dictionary قاموس مصوّر
tap 🔊 to listen📚 كلمات الدرس
12 كلمة من هذا الدرس في القاموس المدرسي: المعنى بالعربية والفرنسية، والنطق، ومثال.
📖 Read: Green Club blog: a day we will never forget أقرأ
Last Saturday, our Green Club visited two places which showed us how serious pollution is. Our guide was Mr Sami Ben Amor, an engineer who works for an environmental association.
First, we went to a beach that used to be very beautiful. A month ago, a ship spilled oil near the coast, and black patches still ruin the sand. Mr Ben Amor showed us a seabird which could not fly because its feathers were covered in oil. Some fishermen who live near the sea cannot work any more.
Then we visited the town landfill. It was a huge hill of waste: bags, bottles and old tyres. A worker told us that rubbish never really disappears; we only move it to another place. When waste burns, it releases tiny particles that people inhale without knowing. And the dirty discharge from the landfill can go into the ground and pollute the water which farmers use.
That day, we understood that pollution is a real threat. Every small action has an impact. People who throw away one bottle think it doesn’t matter — but millions of “just one bottle” make a mountain!
Do you understand? أفهم
Answer in your copybook first, then check.
- Who was Mr Sami Ben Amor?
Answer
An engineer who works for an environmental association.
- What ruined the beach?
Answer
The oil that a ship spilled near the coast.
- Why couldn’t the seabird fly?
Answer
Because its feathers were covered in oil.
- What do people inhale when waste burns?
Answer
Tiny particles that the burning waste releases.
- What is the main message of the blog?
Answer
Pollution is a real threat and every small action has an impact.
🧩 Grammar القواعد
Relative pronouns join two sentences and tell us which person or thing we are talking about.
- who ➡️ people: I met an engineer. He protects the sea. ➡️ I met an engineer who protects the sea.
- which ➡️ things and animals: He inhaled the fumes. They were toxic. ➡️ He inhaled the fumes which were toxic.
- that ➡️ people OR things: it can replace who and which.
The relative pronoun replaces he / she / it / they — don’t repeat them.
أسماء الموصول: who للعاقل (الأشخاص)، which لغير العاقل (الأشياء والحيوانات)، وthat للاثنين معًا. وهي تعوّض الضّمير فلا نكرّره.
Who, which or that?
| Pronoun | For… | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 👤 who | people | The man who cut the tree was a logger. |
| 📦 which | things, animals | The bag which was on the beach killed a turtle. |
| 👤📦 that | people and things | The girl that recycles everything is my sister. / The bottle that I found was empty. |
Two sentences ➡️ one
- Find the word that is repeated: The river is dirty. It runs near our village.
- Replace the second one (it) with which / that.
- Put the clause just after the noun: The river which runs near our village is dirty.
Define it!
- A landfill is a place which receives a town’s waste.
- A polluter is a person or company that makes the environment dirty.
- An ecologist is someone who studies and protects nature.
💬 Useful expressions عبارات مفيدة
Defining people and objects
Talking about the impact of pollution
🔊 Pronunciation النطق
Worked examples أمثلة محلولة
Try first, then read the solution.
I know a girl. She collects plastic bottles on the beach.
Step-by-step solution
- The repeated person: a girl / she.
- For people, use who.
- Replace she with who.
✓ I know a girl who collects plastic bottles on the beach.
The ship spilled oil. It ruined the coast.
Step-by-step solution
- The oil ruined the coast: the repeated thing is oil / it.
- For things, use which.
- Put the clause after oil.
✓ The ship spilled oil which ruined the coast.
Define a hunter with a relative pronoun.
Step-by-step solution
- A hunter is a person.
- Use who (or that).
- Say what he does.
✓ A hunter is a person who kills wild animals.
⚠️ Common mistakes أخطاء شائعة
⭐ Remember أحفظ
- Pollution can be visible (oil spills, rubbish) or invisible (particles, gases).
- Waste doesn’t disappear: it goes to landfills.
- who = people; which = things and animals; that = both.
- The relative pronoun replaces he/she/it/they: don’t repeat them.
- “ch” can sound /tʃ/ (beach), /k/ (chemical) or /ʃ/ (machine).
Quick quiz اختبار سريع
4 questions · instant feedback1. The engineer … guided us works for an association.
2. The bird … I saw couldn’t fly.
3. A place where a town’s rubbish is buried is a…
4. In which word is “ch” pronounced /k/?
✍️ Write: Project step 2: free writing about a polluted place أكتب
Write freely for ten minutes about a place that pollution has changed (a beach, a park, a river, a street). Then improve your text and use at least three relative pronouns.
Steps
- Describe the place before and now.
- Say who or what polluted it.
- Explain the impact on people, animals and plants.
- Use who, which and that at least once each.
A model text to compare with (after writing mine)
There is a small river which runs behind my grandmother’s house. Twenty years ago, it was clean, and the children who lived nearby swam in it. Today, the water is grey and it smells bad. A factory that makes plastic bottles discharges dirty water into it every night. As a result, the frogs and fish which lived there have disappeared. Even the farmers who use the water for their vegetables are afraid now. I think the river is a treasure that we must save.
One good example among many: compare, don’t copy.
😊 The lighter side استراحة
Little drops of water make the mighty ocean.
What has a mouth but never eats, and a bed but never sleeps?
Answer
A river.
What did the ocean say to the beach? Nothing — it just waved!
✅ Exercises تمارين
All exercises →6 exercises on three levels, with new questions every time.
- Choose the right answerTo do
- ClassifyTo do
- Situation 1To do
- Situation 2To do
Practise: Pollution, a Threat to Our Environment
True or false, complete, choose, classify and situations: instant correction with explanations.
Got the lesson? Try it yourself
6 exercises · instant correction · new questions every time
Start the exercisesPictures: Twemoji (CC-BY 4.0). Texts, explanations and exercises: Scolaire.tn.