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Why does the sign say Hollywood? Relative adverbs: the year when, the reason why

This B1 ESL lesson plan teaches relative adverbs, when, why and where, through the Hollywood Sign, which began in 1923 as an ad for new houses.

Grammar
When after a time (1923 is the year when the sign went up), why after the reason and where after a place, with that or nothing also right for when and why.
Topic
How a billboard for Hollywoodland lost its last four letters and became a landmark, with words such as billboard, hillside, steel and searchlight.
Activities
Episode notes to read, a hike to a viewpoint and a listener's message to hear, self-checking drills, a chat that plans a Saturday hike and open boxes about landmarks.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: big letters, famous places

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: signs and landmarksVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: from an ad to a landmark

    • Look at the picture: the Hollywood Sign from behindPictureUnlock
    • Read the episode notesArticleUnlock
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: a hike under the sign

    • Listen to Jade and DariusListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the Listener's Take: Harriet's messageListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: the year when, the reason why

    • Study the scheme: when, why and whereGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: a relative word for a time, a reason or a placeFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: write the noun and when, why or whereFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: which sentence is correct?QuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: plan a hike

    • Choose the right replies: plan a hike in Los AngelesChatTry it
    • Open a box and answerOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Sort the words into the correct columns: the old sign or the new sign?Sort into columnsUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: time, reason or place?Fill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: which sentence means the same?QuizUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: a time, a reason or a place?Drag and dropUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: a landmark fact pageChoose the optionUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: the hosts answer HarrietDrag and dropUnlock

31 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • landmark
  • billboard
  • hillside
  • steel
  • pole
  • tractor
  • termite
  • searchlight
  • housing development

Grammar: relative adverbs: when, why and where

When, why and where can start a relative clause about a time, a reason or a place: 1923 is the year when the sign went up. Telling the Hollywood Sign's story, learners match each word to the noun before it, accept that or nothing as other right choices, and give reasons with The reason why… is that…

The year when…, the reason why…

Add information about a time, a reason or a place: the year when it went up, the reason why it says Hollywood, the hill where it stands.

A time, a reason, a place

When follows a time such as the year, the day or the month; why follows the reason; where follows a place: Mount Lee is the hill where the sign stands. A subject and a verb come next: the day when work began on the new H.

When, why and where

After…UseExample
a time: the year, the day, the month, the timewhen1923 is the year when the sign went up.
a reason: the reasonwhyDo you know the reason why it says Hollywood?
a place: the hill, the city, the park, the placewhereMount Lee is the hill where the sign stands.

How to build it

the year / the reason / the hillwhen / why / wheresubject + verb

September 26, 1949, is the day when work began on the new H.

The reason why the sign said Hollywoodland is that it advertised houses.

Griffith Park is the park where you can hike to viewpoints.

Three right ways with when and why

When and why can change to that or drop out: the year when it went up, the year that it went up, the year it went up. All three are correct, and the same works for the reason: the reason (why / that) it says Hollywood.

When and why: three right ways

With when / whyWith thatWith nothing
the year when it went upthe year that it went upthe year it went up
the day when I first saw itthe day that I first saw itthe day I first saw it
the reason why it says Hollywoodthe reason that it says Hollywoodthe reason it says Hollywood

On the trail and in the story

  • 1923 is the year when a billboard advertised Hollywoodland.
  • Jade asked the reason why the sign says Hollywood.
  • 1978 is the year new letters replaced the old ones.
  • The reason that the Chamber replaced the sign is that its poles had rotted.
  • Harriet still remembers the day when she first saw the sign.
  • The viewpoint is the place where Jade and Darius stop.

No which, no because, no of

Before a subject and a verb, a time takes when, not which: the year when it went up, not the year which it went up. After the reason, never use because or of: not the reason because it says Hollywood, not the reason of why it changed.

No which, no because, no of

Before a subject and a verb, use when after a time, not which: the year when it went up (not: the year which it went up). After the reason, use why, not because or of: the reason why it says Hollywood (not: the reason because…, not: the reason of why…). With when and why, that or nothing is right too.

Time or place, and the reason why… is that…

Don't mix when and where: the year when and the place where, not the year where or the place when. To give the reason itself, add is that: The reason why the sign changed is that LAND came down.

Time or place?

when is for times and where is for places, so don't mix them: the year when… (not: the year where…), the place where… (not: the place when…). To give the reason, say The reason why… is that…: The reason why the sign changed is that LAND came down.

Common mistakes

  • 1923 is the year which the sign went up.

    1923 is the year when the sign went up.

    a time: when (or that), not which

  • That's the reason because it says Hollywood.

    That's the reason why it says Hollywood.

    the reason why (or that)

  • Tell me the reason of why it changed.

    Tell me the reason why it changed.

    no of

  • Mount Lee is the place when the sign stands.

    Mount Lee is the place where the sign stands.

    a place: where

More lessons on this grammar: Relative clauses lessons and exercises

Try the relative adverbs exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 18 auto-checked exercises
  • 4 games
  • 1 article
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • add a time with when: February 1978 is the month when a windstorm damaged every letter.
  • give a reason with The reason why… is that…: The reason why the sign said Hollywoodland is that it advertised houses.
  • use that or no word instead of when and why: the year it went up, the reason that it says Hollywood
  • keep when for times and where for places: Mount Lee is the hill where the sign stands, not the place when

Lesson 24 closes Art and design, unit 6 of English B1.2 · Changemakers. It adds when and why to the where of A2.2 lesson 26, after a unit of whose (lesson 21), commas (lesson 22) and clauses without a pronoun (lesson 23). Lesson 25 opens unit 7, Volunteers and changemakers, with verb + -ing or to. A landmark with a hundred years of history is full of years and reasons: the year when it went up, the reason why it says Hollywood.

Students spin a wheel of questions about landmarks, hikes and billboards, then learn twelve words, from advertise and rebuild to termite and housing development, with pictures and audio. They read the episode notes on how a 1923 billboard became the Hollywood Sign, then hear Jade and Darius at a viewpoint below it and Harriet from California remember the day she first saw it; both are AI-voiced. The grammar chapter has the scheme and four self-checking drills, including a table that turns facts into when and why clauses. In the speaking chapter, students plan a hike with Roman in a chat and open boxes about landmarks and town names.

All ten homework tasks check themselves: a word match, an anagram and gaps for the words, a sort of old-sign and new-sign details, gaps for a time, a reason or a place, word order, a quiz on sentences that mean the same, nouns to drag into sentences, a landmark fact page with choices, and the hosts' answer to Harriet.

Grammar:
relative clauses · when · why · where · the year when · the reason why
Topic:
the Hollywood Sign · Los Angeles · Griffith Park · landmarks · billboards · hiking · art and design · Stories That Travel

Teaching tips

  • Put the sign's dates on the board after the reading: 1923, 1944, 1949, 1978. Students say one sentence for each date: 1978 is the year when new letters replaced the old ones.
  • Before the notes, ask why the sign might say Hollywood. Collect a few guesses, then read to find the real reason: it began as an ad for a housing development called Hollywoodland.
  • Play the hike dialogue twice: first for the facts about the sign, then for each when, why and where. Students write down the noun before each one: viewpoint, reason, year, place.
  • Finish with Harriet's challenge: each student designs giant letters for a hill in their town and explains them with The reason why… and The place where…

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The whole course: English B1.2 · Changemakers

32 lessons for adults at B1 in American English, about people and ideas that changed things: start-ups, future cities, food, memory, customs, art, volunteers and adventure. The podcast team of English B1.1 is back for a season called Changemakers. Learners use the second conditional, the passive, reported speech, the past perfect, relative clauses and verb patterns, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Start-up stories

    the second conditional, If I were you, the first vs the second conditional, also, too, as well and besides

    1. Lesson 1The garage where Silicon Valley beganThe second conditional for imagined situations
    2. Lesson 2Would you sell lemonade to save bees?Second conditional questions and If I were you
    3. Lesson 3Pitch it to the Sharks!First vs second conditional: a real plan or a dream?
    4. Lesson 4A bakery that hires anyone?Adding ideas: also, too, as well, either and besides

  2. Unit 2 Cities of tomorrow

    the passive in the present simple and the past simple, with modals, and in the present perfect and present continuous

    1. Lesson 5Can you cross a city without going outside?The present simple passive
    2. Lesson 6A park on top of a freeway?The past simple passive
    3. Lesson 7Can a desert city catch the rain?The passive with modals
    4. Lesson 8Can an old railroad become a park?The present perfect and present continuous passive

  3. Unit 3 Food for the future

    comparative and superlative adverbs, the future passive, verbs with prepositions, phrasal verbs with up, away and out

    1. Lesson 9Why did Carver tell farmers to plant peanuts?Comparative and superlative adverbs
    2. Lesson 10Lettuce from space?The future passive with will be
    3. Lesson 11Why do corn, beans and squash grow together?Verbs with dependent prepositions
    4. Lesson 12What happens to dining-hall leftovers?Phrasal verbs with up, away and out

  4. Unit 4 Memory and learning

    reported statements with say and tell, tense changes, time and place words, reported questions, requests and commands

    1. Lesson 13Can you train your memory?Reported statements with say and tell
    2. Lesson 14He got better but never rememberedReported statements about the past
    3. Lesson 15Can a TV show teach the alphabet?Reported questions
    4. Lesson 16Can you learn a new skill at 70?Reported requests and commands

  5. Unit 5 Customs and manners

    degree adverbs such as quite and pretty, the past perfect, the past perfect vs the past simple, make vs do

    1. Lesson 17To tip or not to tip?Adverbs of degree before adjectives and adverbs
    2. Lesson 18They'd already started without me!The past perfect: had + past participle
    3. Lesson 19What should you do at a powwow?Past perfect vs past simple
    4. Lesson 20How do you accept a lei?Make vs do: collocations to learn

  6. Unit 6 Art and design

    relative clauses with whose, non-defining relative clauses, relative clauses without a pronoun, when and why

    1. Lesson 21Art that moves in the airRelative clauses with whose
    2. Lesson 22A heart that sells a stateNon-defining relative clauses
    3. Lesson 23What would you paint on a city wall?Relative clauses without who, which or that
    4. Lesson 24 · you're hereWhy does the sign say Hollywood?Relative adverbs: when, why and where

  7. Unit 7 Volunteers and changemakers

    verb + -ing or to, -ing as a subject and after prepositions, stop, remember, try and forget, prefer and would rather

    1. Lesson 25A day on, not a day off?Verb + -ing or verb + to
    2. Lesson 26The house that welcomed a neighborhoodGerunds as subjects and after prepositions
    3. Lesson 27A walk that lasted 24 hoursStop, remember, forget and try + to or -ing
    4. Lesson 28Head, heart, hands and healthPrefer, would rather and would prefer

  8. Unit 8 Adventure and challenge

    possessive 's vs of, must and can't for deduction, might, may and could for possibility, the meanings of get

    1. Lesson 29Could you climb a fourteener?Possessive 's, s' or of
    2. Lesson 30It must be here somewhere!Must and can't for deduction
    3. Lesson 31How did Houdini get out?Might, may and could for possibility
    4. Lesson 32A capital with no road inThe meanings of get

Questions about this lesson

What are relative adverbs?
Relative adverbs are when, why and where when they start a relative clause about a time, a reason or a place: 1923 is the year when the sign went up. Do you know the reason why it says Hollywood? Mount Lee is the hill where the sign stands. The B1 lesson Why does the sign say Hollywood? on edio.ai teaches all three.
How do you use when and why as relative adverbs?
Put when after a word for a time, such as the year or the month, and why after the reason; then add a subject and a verb: February 1978 is the month when a windstorm damaged every letter. That's the reason why it says Hollywood. Don't use which there: the year which it went up is a mistake.
Is it “the reason why” or “the reason because”?
It's the reason why, or simply the reason that: That's the reason why it says Hollywood. The reason because… and the reason of why… are both mistakes. To say what the reason is, go on with is that: The reason why the sign said Hollywoodland is that it advertised a housing development.
Can you use “that” instead of when or why?
Yes: that or no word at all is also correct. The year when it went up, the year that it went up and the year it went up mean the same, and so do the reason why, the reason that and the reason + clause. The drills in Why does the sign say Hollywood? on edio.ai never mark that as wrong.
What's the difference between when and where as relative adverbs?
When is for times, where for places: Saturday is the day when I'm free, but Griffith Park is the park where you can hike to viewpoints. Mixing them up is a common slip: the year where… and the place when… are both wrong. In Why does the sign say Hollywood?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai, a chat about a hike tests the difference.
Why does the Hollywood Sign say Hollywood?
It began as an ad: in 1923, a group of investors paid $21,000 for a billboard that advertised Hollywoodland, a new housing development, so the first sign had 13 letters. By March 1944, the wind had blown down the H. According to the Hollywood Sign Trust, the Chamber of Commerce rebuilt the H in 1949 and took down the four letters LAND, so the sign said Hollywood.
When was the Hollywood Sign built?
The first sign went up in 1923, and it was supposed to last only about 18 months. The sign you see today is a newer one: after a windstorm damaged every letter in February 1978, workers took the old sign down that August and built a new one with a steel frame. It was unveiled in November 1978, and each letter is 45 feet tall.
How do I teach relative adverbs to B1 students?
Start from nouns students already use: the day, the place, the reason. Ask them to finish That's the day when… about their own lives, then show that and no word as other right answers. Why does the sign say Hollywood? on edio.ai moves from episode notes and a hike dialogue to the scheme, a gap-fill and a table that turns facts into clauses.
What's a good game for practicing relative adverbs?
Play “Time, reason or place?”: say a noun such as the summer, the reason or the park, and the first student to finish a true sentence with when, why or where gets a point. The open boxes in Why does the sign say Hollywood? on edio.ai add prompts like Do you know the reason why your town or city has its name?
What's good homework for relative adverbs?
Good homework makes learners decide between time, reason and place before they write: nouns like year, reason and city to drag into sentences, gaps for when, why or where, and a quiz on sentences that mean the same. The ten homework tasks in Why does the sign say Hollywood? on edio.ai all check themselves.
How do you practice relative adverbs one-to-one?
Plan a trip together: the student names the place where they'd go, the day when they'd leave and the reason why, and the teacher asks follow-up questions. The chat in Why does the sign say Hollywood? on edio.ai needs no partner: a friend in Los Angeles plans a Saturday hike with the student, and each wrong reply mixes up when, why or where.
Are there interactive exercises for relative adverbs?
Yes. With no account, this page plays three parts of Why does the sign say Hollywood?, a B1 lesson on edio.ai: Jade and Darius's hike dialogue, a gap-fill for a time, a reason or a place and a chat that plans a hike. Everything else needs an account.
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