Adjective clauses Exercise 1 Combine each of the following pairs of simple sentences into one complex sentence containing an adjective clause.
1. The theft was committed last night. The police has caught the man. 2. The French language is different from the Latin language. Latin was once spoken throughout Europe. 3. You are looking upset. Can you tell me the reason? 4. He had several plans for making money quickly. All of them have failed. 5. The landlord was proud of his strength. He despised the weakness of his tenants. 6. This is the village. I was born here. 7. You put the keys somewhere. Show me the place. 8. Paul was an old gentleman. He was my travelling companion. 9. A fox once met a crane. The fox had never seen a crane before. 10. The shop keeper keeps his money in a wooden case. T his is the wooden case. Answers
1. The police has caught the man who committed the theft last night. 2. The French language is different from the Latin language which was once spoken throughout Europe. 3. Can you tell me the reason why you are looking upset. 4. All the plans which he had for making money quickly have failed. 5. The landlord who was proud of his strength despised the weakness of his tenants. 6.This is the village where I was born. 7. Show me the place where you put the keys. 8. Paul who was an old gentleman was my travelling companion. 9. A fox which had never seen a crane before once met a crane. 10. This is the wooden case where the shopkeeper keeps his money.
T h e
A d j e c t i v e
C l a u s e
Recognize an adjective clause when you see one.
An adjective clause — also also called an adjectival or relative clause — will will meet three requirements:
First, it will contain a subject and verb. Next, it will begin with a relative pronoun [who, whom, whose, that, or which] or a relative adverb [when, where, or why]. kind? How many? orWhich one? Finally, it will function as an adjective , answering the questions What kind? How
The adjective clause will follow one of these two patterns: RELATIVE PRONOUN OR ADVERB
RELATIVE PRONOUN AS SUBJECT
+ +
SUBJECT
VERB
Here are some examples: Whose big, brown eyes pleaded for another cookie
+
VERB
Whose = relative pronoun; eyes = subject; pleaded = verb.
Why Fred cannot stand sitting across from his sister Melanie Why = relative adverb; Fred = subject; can stand = verb [ not, an adverb, is not officially part of the verb].
That bounced across the kitchen floor That = relative pronoun functioning as subject; bounced = verb.
Who hiccupped for seven hours afterward Who = relative pronoun functioning as subject; hiccupped = verb.
Avoid writing a sentence fragment .
An adjective clause does not express a complete thought, so it cannot stand alone a s a sentence. To avoid writing a fragment, you must connect each adjective clause to a main clause. Read the examples below. Notice that the adjective clause follows the word that it describes. Diane felt manipulated by her beagle Santana, whose big, brown eyes pleaded for another cookie . Chewing with her mouth open is one reason why Fred cannot stand sitting across from his sister Me la ni e . Growling ferociously, Oreo and Skeeter, Madison's two dogs, competed for the hardboiled egg th at bo un ce d acr o ss the kit che n fl oo r . Laughter erupted from Annamarie, who hiccupped for seven hours afterward .
Punctuate an adjective clause correctly.
Punctuating adjective clauses can be tricky. For each sentence, you will have to decide if the adjective clause is essential or nonessential and then use commas accordingly. Essential clauses do not require commas. An adjective clause is essential when you need the information it provides. Look
at this example: The vegetables th at pe ople le ave une at en are often the most nutritious. Vegetables is nonspecific. To know which ones we are talking about, we must have the information in the adjective clause. Thus, the adjective clause is essential and requires no commas.
If, however, we eliminate vegetables and choose a more specific noun instead, the adjective clause becomes nonessential and does require commas to separate it from the rest of t he sentence. Read this revision: Broccoli , wh ic h pe op le oft en le av e une at en, is very nutritious.
Adjective Clauses
Here is a brief review of adjective clauses and relative pronouns. An adjective clause is used to describe a noun: The car, which was red , belonged to Young-Hee. A relative pronoun is usually used to introduce an adjective clause : Young-Hee, who is a Korean student, lives in Victoria. The main relative pronouns are: Pronoun
Use
Example
Who
used for humans in subject position
Hans, who is an architect, lives in Berlin.
Whom
used for humans in object position
Marike, whom Hans knows well, is an interior decorator.
Which
used for things and animals in subject or object position
Marike has a dog which follows her everywhere.
That
used for humans, animals and things, in subject or object position (but see below)
Marike is decorating a house that Hans designed.
There are two main kinds of adjective clause:
1. Non-defining clauses
Non-defining clauses give extra information about the noun, but they are not essential: The desk in the corner, which is covered in books , is mine. Explanation : We don't need this information in order to understand the sentence. “The desk in the corner is mine” is a good sentence on its own — we still know which desk is referred to. Note that non-defining clauses are usually separated by commas, and “that” is not usually used in this kind of context.
2. Defining clauses
Defining clauses give essential information about the noun: The package that arrived this morning is on the desk. Explanation : We need this information in order to understand the sentence. Without the relative clause, we don't know which package is being referred to. Note that “ that” is often used in defining relative clauses, and they are not separated by
commas. When you are sure that you understand the lesson, you can continue with the exercises.
Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns, giving a description or more information. An adjective clause is simply a group of words with a subject and a verb that provide a description. The clause starts with a pronoun such as who, whom, that, or which or an adverb such as when, where and why. Adjective Clauses In Action
Adjective clauses do not change the basic meaning of the sentence. In some cases, when they provide more information into a sentence, they need to be set off with commas. Here are several examples of sentences with the adjective clauses underlined:
Pizza, which most people love, is not very healthy. The people whose names are on the list will go to camp. Grandpa remembers the old days when t here was no television. Fruit that is grown organically is expensive. Students who are intelligent get good grades. Eco-friendly cars that run on electricity save gas. I know someone whose father served in World War II. Making noise when he eats is the main reason why Sue does not like to eat with her brother. The kids who were called first will have the best chance of getting a seat. Running a marathon, a race of twenty-six miles, takes a lot of training. I enjoy telling people about Janet Evanovich whose latest book was fantastic. The people waiting all night outside the Apple store are trying to purchase a new iPhone. "He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe is as good as dead." - Albert Einstein “Those who do not complain are never pitied.” - Jane Austen “People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid .” - Søren Kierkegaard “Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died .” - Erma Bombeck Turning Adjective Clauses into Phrases
An adjective clause with a subject pronoun - such as which, that or who - can also be shortened into a phrase. You can shorten an adjective clause in two ways: 1.
Omit the subject pronoun and verb.
2.
Omit the subject pronoun and change the verb to the form ending in "ing." Here are some examples of how to create an adjective phrase:
Adjective Clause: The books, which are lost, are not really necessary. Adjective Phrase: The books lost are not really necessary.
Adjective Clause: The girl who is running is my best friend. Adjective Phrase: The girl running is my best friend.
Adjective Clause: His share of the money, which consists of $100,000, was given to him on Monday. Adjective Phrase: His share of the money, consisting of $100,000, was given to him on Monday.
Adjective Clause: Something that smells bad may be rotten. Adjective Phrase: Something smelling bad may be rotten.
Remember, the goal of an adjective clause is to add more information to a noun or a pronoun. You can add the information by including a few more words or by changing the adjective clause to a phrase.
