B1 · Module 04 · Class 16 — Back to Mexico City

Narrative Scene

Altius Consulting Group — Mexico City, Monday Morning

Two weeks and thirteen interviews. Santiago and Marco land at Benito Juárez International Airport at midnight on Sunday. By Monday morning they are back in the Altius office, laptops open, the combined field notes from Bogotá and Santiago de Chile spread across the conference table.

Elena Durán arrives at nine. She reads the cover page of the consolidated briefing, then looks up.

"Tell me the headline. Not the document — the headline."

Santiago takes a breath. "The markets are viable. The regulatory risk is real but manageable. The window is narrower than we projected — but it hasn't closed."

"And Marco?"

Marco looks at the table. "The stakeholders we interviewed — the ones who control the assets Vantage is targeting — are open. Not enthusiastic. But open."

Elena nods. "Good. Now write it so that Claire Beaumont can read it in ten minutes and brief her partners in five."

Santiago picks up his pen. The last document of Module 4 begins.

Consolidation — Full Reference Table

DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

No commas. Identifies which person/thing. Cannot be removed. "That" is allowed.

who

person (subject or object)

"The director who oversees concessions is our key contact."

which / that

thing or organisation

"The bill that is under review could close the investment window."

whose

possession (person or thing)

"The analyst whose data we cited has since revised her projections."

where

place

"The building where interviews were conducted is in Zona Rosa."

when

time period

"The quarter when returns peaked was Q3 2023."

NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES

Always commas. Never "that". Adds extra information. Can be removed without losing core meaning.

who

person (already identified)

"Rodrigo Méndez, who signed the northern corridor deal, oversees concessions."

which

thing (already identified)

"The Q2 report, which flagged a regulatory risk, was well received."

whose

possession (already identified)

"Marco Peña, whose field report covered both markets, is the junior analyst."

which (clause-referring)

refers to entire previous clause

"Traffic projections increased by 18%, which is above the figure in the proposal."

REDUCED RELATIVE CLAUSES

Remove "who/which + be". Use participle. More concise and formal. Cannot reduce future tense.

Active: verb-ing

who/which + present verb

"the director overseeing concessions"  (← who oversees)

Passive: past participle

which/that + is/was + p.p.

"the report submitted in January"  (← that was submitted)

Appositive

who is + title/role

"Isabel Fuentes, director of project finance, …"  (← who is director)

Cannot reduce:

future or clause-referring which

"the team that will manage Phase 3"  /  "…, which suggests that…"

PREPOSITION-FRONTED CLAUSES

Formal written English. Preposition moves BEFORE which/whom. Use "whom" for people.

for which

"the company for which we work"  (← that we work for)

in which

"the sector in which we are investing"  (← that we are investing in)

to which

"the agency to which applications must be submitted"  (← that applications are submitted to)

on which

"the framework on which the model is based"  (← that the model is based on)

with whom

"the director with whom we met"  (← that we met with)

against which

"the criteria against which assets are assessed"  (← that assets are assessed against)

Quick Decision Guide — Which Type to Use?

Does the clause IDENTIFY which person/thing?  —  YES → DEFINING (no commas, "that" allowed)

Does the clause ADD CONTEXT to an already-known noun?  —  YES → NON-DEFINING (commas, no "that")

Can you replace "who/which + be" with a participle?  —  YES → REDUCE IT (more concise, more formal)

Is there a preposition at the end of the clause?  —  YES → FRONT IT in formal writing (for which / in which…)

Does "which" refer to the whole previous clause?  —  YES → NON-DEFINING clause-referring which (…, which suggests/confirms/means that…)