San Francisco

The area had long been inhabited by native Americans, the Ohlone (meaning “people of the west”) before the first Spanish immigrants came to settle in this part of the country. After the Mexican-American War, the small town became American territory, and when the California gold rush started in 1848, the population increased enormously. Nowadays San Francisco is famous especially for its cable car and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge connects the city of San Francisco and San Francisco Peninsula. It spans the Golden Gate, a straitbetween the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay–that’s where the name Golden Gate Bridge comes from.

Construction on the bridge began in 1933 and was completed in 1937. The bridge rises 230 m above the water. With its total length of 1970 meters it was the longest suspension bridge in the world until 1964. The bridge is part of the United States Highway 101, has six lanes and a footpath on each side.

Grammar Exercise on the Text

Relative Clauses

Relative clauses are formed with »who« or »that« gebildet. We use »who« for people and »that« for animals, things or events.

Exercise

Read the text again and complete the sentences according to the text.

1. San Francisco was inhabited by the Ohlone that gave the famous bridge its namewho wanted fo find goldthat connects San Francisco and San Francisco Peninsulawho are a native American tribewho drive on the United States Highway 101.
2. In the 19th century there were many people in San Francisco that gave the famous bridge its namewho wanted fo find goldthat connects San Francisco and San Francisco Peninsulawho are a native American tribewho drive on the United States Highway 101.
3. There is a bridge that gave the famous bridge its namewho wanted fo find goldthat connects San Francisco and San Francisco Peninsulawho are a native American tribewho drive on the United States Highway 101.
4. The bridge is used by people that gave the famous bridge its namewho wanted fo find goldthat connects San Francisco and San Francisco Peninsulawho are a native American tribewho drive on the United States Highway 101.
5. There is a strait called Golden Gate that gave the famous bridge its namewho wanted fo find goldthat connects San Francisco and San Francisco Peninsulawho are a native American tribewho drive on the United States Highway 101.