IELTS Writing Band 7 的核心評語：uses a variety of complex structures。「複雜結構」是哪些？——條件句、被動、分詞片語、關係子句（Relative Clauses）。而關係子句是其中最好學、報酬最高的一個。

一個 Task 2 body 段用上 1-2 個結構漂亮的關係子句，立刻擺脫小學作文的節奏。但很多台灣考生卡在兩個問題：what 子句開頭該用哪個關係詞？ 跟 逗號到底加不加？

先看過 被動語態 與 條件句 的人——這篇是 Grammar Range 的第三塊拼圖。

關係子句是什麼

關係子句 = 用一個「關係代名詞」把兩個句子黏在一起，避免重複。

I met a woman. She teaches at NTU. → I met a woman who teaches at NTU.

who 把兩句合成一句——這就是關係子句。

五個關係詞分工表

| 關係詞 | 指什麼 | 角色 | 例句 | |---------|--------------|------------------|------------------------------------------------------------| | who | 人 | 主詞／受詞 | The student who won the prize is my classmate. | | which | 事、物 | 主詞／受詞 | The paper which she wrote was groundbreaking. | | that | 人或事物 | 主詞／受詞（限定子句） | The book that I borrowed was overdue. | | whose | 所有格 | 所有格 | The author, whose novels have sold millions, visited Taipei. | | whom | 人（受詞） | 正式受詞 | The professor whom I mentioned is retiring. | | where | 地點 | 副詞 | The city where I grew up has changed beyond recognition. | | when | 時間 | 副詞 | 1997 was the year when Hong Kong returned to China. |

實務提醒：

  • whom 只在正式 writing 出現，spoken 幾乎不用——會用 = 加分。
  • that 不能用在 non-defining（有逗號）子句——這是硬規則。

核心區別：Defining vs Non-defining

這是台灣考生最常搞混的——但邏輯其實單純。

Defining（限定）子句：無逗號

子句提供的資訊是辨識主詞的關鍵——刪掉句子意思就變模糊。

The students who submitted their essays late will be penalised.

刪掉 who submitted their essays late →「哪些學生會被扣分？」不知道。所以這個子句是「限定」——不能刪，也不加逗號。

Non-defining（非限定）子句：有逗號

子句提供的是附加資訊——刪掉整句意思仍完整。

Professor Lin, who has taught here for thirty years, is retiring next month.

刪掉 who has taught here for thirty years →「林教授下個月退休」依然完整。所以這個子句是「非限定」——用兩個逗號夾起來。

對比同一組主詞

My sister who lives in London is a doctor.（暗示：我有多個姊妹——住倫敦那個是醫生）

My sister, who lives in London, is a doctor.（暗示：我只有一個姊妹——順帶一提她住倫敦）

逗號直接改變意思。

Non-defining 的四條硬規則

  1. 只能用 who / which / whose / whom——不能用 that
  2. 前後必須各一個逗號（除非在句尾，後面用句號）
  3. 不能省略關係代名詞
  4. 在 academic writing 裡常用來補充背景資訊或次要重點

何時可以省略 that

只有在限定子句裡、且關係代名詞當受詞時，that（或 who / which）可以省略。

The book (that) I borrowed is overdue. ✓ 可以省（that 是 borrow 的受詞）

The book that is on the desk is mine. ✗ 不能省（that 是 is 的主詞）

快速檢測：關係詞後面如果立刻接主詞＋動詞，就能省；如果立刻接動詞，不能省。

分詞片語：Band 7+ 的升級版

進階考生會把某些關係子句縮寫成分詞片語——更精煉。

Policies which are designed to tackle inequality... → Policies designed to tackle inequality...

Students who are studying abroad often... → Students studying abroad often...

規則：主動刪 who/which are 後改 -ing；被動刪 who/which are 後改 -ed。

6 個 Task 2 plug-and-play 模板

背下這六個，下筆時直接套。

| # | 模板 | |---|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1 | Policies which aim to ... often ... | | 2 | Students who are raised in ... tend to ... | | 3 | The most serious problem, which many governments have ignored, is ... | | 4 | Countries whose economies depend on ... face ... | | 5 | In nations where X is widespread, ... has become ... | | 6 | A generation that has grown up with ... sees the world differently from its predecessors. |

8 個 Band 7+ 示範句

  1. Children who are exposed to a second language before the age of seven acquire native-like pronunciation more readily.
  2. The Internet, which many now consider a basic utility, has transformed almost every sector of the economy.
  3. Policies designed to curb air pollution have produced measurable gains in cities where enforcement is credible.
  4. Professor Chen, whose research focuses on urban mobility, has advised three successive governments.
  5. Employees who work from home report higher satisfaction but weaker team cohesion.
  6. The reforms, which were introduced in 2003, transformed the higher-education landscape.
  7. Countries that invest heavily in preventive care tend to spend less on hospital services overall.
  8. The 1990s, when economic liberalisation accelerated, saw unprecedented growth across the region.

台灣學生常見 L1 轉移錯誤

錯誤 1：漏掉關係代名詞

❌ The man live next door is a doctor. ✅ The man who lives next door is a doctor.

中文「住隔壁的那個男人」沒有關係代名詞——英文必須有。

錯誤 2：defining 加逗號

❌ People, who smoke, have higher cancer rates. ✅ People who smoke have higher cancer rates.（限定——逗號會改變意思成「所有人都抽菸」）

錯誤 3：non-defining 用 that

❌ My father, that is 60, is retiring. ✅ My father, who is 60, is retiring.

錯誤 4：關係子句主詞重複

❌ The book which it I read was amazing. ✅ The book which I read was amazing.

中文「我讀的那本書」會把 它 保留——英文只能有一個關係代名詞，不能加代名詞。

10 題自測

填入正確的關係詞（who / which / that / whose / whom / where / when）或標 ∅ 表示可省略。加上必要的逗號。

  1. The student ____ won the scholarship is from Taichung.
  2. Taipei ____ has a population of 2.7 million is the largest city in Taiwan.
  3. The novel ____ I read last week was translated from Spanish.
  4. The professor ____ lectures I attended is retiring next year.
  5. 1997 is the year ____ Hong Kong was handed back to China.
  6. The man ____ I spoke to yesterday works for the ministry.
  7. My best friend ____ I have known since primary school is moving abroad.
  8. Countries ____ economies depend on tourism suffered badly during the pandemic.
  9. The company ____ was founded in 1985 now employs 5,000 people.
  10. The building ____ we are standing was built in 1922.

解答

  1. who / that (defining, 無逗號)
  2. , which has a population of 2.7 million, (non-defining, 有逗號；不能用 that)
  3. (that / which) ∅ (可省略——that 當受詞)
  4. whose (所有格)
  5. when (時間副詞)
  6. (whom / that / who) ∅ (可省略——當受詞)
  7. , who I have known ... , (non-defining, 因為「最好的朋友」只有一個)
  8. whose economies (所有格)
  9. , which was founded in 1985, (non-defining；但如果是要區分多家公司則用 that)
  10. where (地點副詞；in which 也對但較正式)

自我檢查：錯超過 3 題——重讀「Defining vs Non-defining」一節。逗號 = 意思——這個觀念抓住，其他就會了。

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