Surprising presidential coincidences between Lincoln and Kennedy have been circulating in the press and on social networks for decades. Are the mentioned things true or just coincidence? Decide for yourself…

A.Lincoln and J.F. Kennedy

I Fill in the blanks using the correct form of the word in brackets:

Life

• Both presidents had 7 letters in their last name.
• Both were over 6′ _______ (FOOT) tall.
• Both men studied _______ (LAWFUL).
• Both served in the military. Lincoln was a scout captain in the Black Hawk War, and Kennedy served as a navy lieutenant in World War II.
• Both had no _______ (FRIGHTEN) of their mortality and disdained bodyguards.
• Both Lincoln and Kennedy were _________ (FAME) for their wit and for telling hilarious stories and anecdotes.

Death

• Both presidents were shot in the head, on a Friday.
• Both were seated beside their _______ (WIFE) when shot. Neither Mrs. Lincoln nor Mrs. Kennedy was ______ (INJURY).
• One more ________ (SIMILAR): days before the murder happened Lincoln told his wife and friends about a dream he’d had of being shot by an assassin. Hours before the murder happened Kennedy told his wife and friends it would be _______ (EASILY) for an assassin to shoot him from a crowd.
• Lincoln was shot in a theatre named Ford. Kennedy was shot in a car made by Ford. Kennedy was shot in a car named Lincoln.
• Andrew Johnson, who killed Lincoln, was born in 1808. Lyndon Johnson, the Keneddy’s _________ (MURDER) was born in 1908.

Fill in the blanks with the right preposition, where necessary.

Family and Friends

• Both presidents were named _______ their grandfathers.
• Both were born ______ second children.
• Both married while _______ their thirties. Lincoln married ________ 33 and Kennedy married at 36.
• Both married dark-haired, twenty-four-year-old women.
• Both wives died around the age ________ 64. Mary Todd Lincoln died _____ 1882 at age 63 years and 215 days, and Jackie Kennedy died in 1994 at age 64 years 295 days.
• Each couple had four children two ________ whom died before becoming a teen.
• Each couple lost a son while in the White House. Willie Lincoln died at age 12 in 1862, and Kennedy’s son Patrick died two days _______ his birth in 1963.

Politics

• Lincoln’s secretary was named Kennedy.
  Kennedy’s secretary was named Lincoln.
• Lincoln gave freedom _______ the black people and legalized equality. Kennedy enforced equality _______ the black.
• Both presidents were elected _______ the House of Representatives in ’46.
• Both were elected to the presidency _______ ’60.
• Both Lincoln and Kennedy were loved _______ the common people and hated ________ the establishment.

III Look at the Lincoln’s and Kennedy’s quotes. Make the opposite of the words in italics to complete the quotes.

Let’s take a closer look at the following sentences:

• I couldn’t hear WHAT they were saying.
• The man WHOM I saw on the bus the other day is Tom’s brother.
• James didn’t phone, WHICH is very surprising.
• My best friend Katherine, WHO happens to go to the same university as me, decided to leave her parents’ house and start living on her own.

All the listed examples above demonstrate the use of RELATIVE CLAUSES. The relative clauses can be (1) defining and (2) non-defining. Here’s the structure:

Some other ways of using Relative clauses:

• Examples
• who and which are more usual in written English whereas that is more usual in speech when referring to things:

• That’s the boy (Ø, that, who, whom) I invited to the party.
• That is the house (Ø, that, which) I’d like to buy.

PRACTICE:

1 Complete each sentence using who/whom/whose/where.

1. What’s the name of the man whose car you borrowed?
2. A cemetery is a place____________ people are buried.
3. A pacifist is a person ____________ believes that all wars are wrong.
4. An orphan is a child ____________ parents are dead.
5. What was the name of the person to ____________ you spoke on the phone?
6. The place ____________ we spent our holidays was really beautiful.
7. This school is only for children ____________ first language is not English.
8. The woman with ____________ he fell in love left him after a month.

2 Make one sentence from the two. Use who/that/which.

1. A girl was injured in the accident. She is now in hospital.
2. (The girl who was injured in the accident is now in hospital.)
3. A waitress served us. She was impolite and impatient.
4. The _______________________________________________________
5. A building was destroyed in the fire. It has now been rebuilt.
6. The _______________________________________________________
7. Some people were arrested. They have not been released.
8. The _______________________________________________________
9. A bus goes to the airport. It runs every half an hour.
10. The _______________________________________________________

3 Complete the text with what, which, whom, whose, who or that.

• My friend Caroline, ____________ had always wanted to live in the country, finally decided to move. She wanted a house ____________ had at least three bedrooms. The first house she looked at was exactly ____________ she wanted – it was an old house with a lovely garden. But her sister, ____________ opinion she always respected, wasn’t very enthusiastic, as she thought the house needed a lot doing to it, ____________ would mean spending a lot more money. Caroline looked at other houses, none of ____________ were as nice as the first one. Eventually, she made up her mind to buy it. When she went to the lawyers to sign the contract she saw amongst the documents the personal details of the woman from ____________ she was buying it. The woman was born on 13th June 1963, exactly the same day as her! That coincidence was ____________ finally convinced her that the house was meant for her.

1 Fill the blanks with a suitable tag.

1. David spends a lot of money on clothes, _________________?
2. You haven’t done your homework, ___________________?
3. Let’s go for a walk, ___________________?
4. The employers were on a meeting yesterday, __________________?
5. She won’t be here on time, _________________?
6. You spent the day with your boyfriend, _______________?
7. They’ll invite us, _________________?
8. Sam has a new bike, ________________?
9. I’m fine now, __________________?
10. All the boys made a mess, _______________?
11. It wasn’t so cold yesterday, ______________?