Adjective Clauses
A sentence which contains just one clause is called
a simple sentence.
A sentence which contains one independent clause and
one or more dependent clauses is called a complex
sentence. (Dependent clauses are also calledsubordinate clauses.)
There are three basic types of dependent clauses: adjective clauses, adverb clauses,
and noun clauses. (Adjective clauses are also called relative
clauses.)
A. Adjective clauses perform the same
function in sentences that adjectives do: they modify nouns.
The teacher has a car. (Car is a noun.)
It’s a new car. (New is an adjective which
modifies car.)
The car that she is driving is not hers.
(That she is driving is an adjective clause which
modifies car. It’s a clause because it has a subject (she)
and a predicate (is driving); it’s an adjective
clause because it modifies a noun.)
Note that adjectives usually precede the nouns
they modify; adjective clauses always follow the nouns they
modify.
B. A sentence which contains one
adjective clause and one independent clause is the result of combining two
clauses which contain a repeated noun. You can combine two
independent clauses to make one sentence containing an adjective clause by
following these steps:
1. You must have two
clauses which contain a repeated noun (or pronoun, or noun and
pronoun which refer to the same thing). Here are two examples:
The book is on the table. + I like the book.
The man is here. + The man wants the book.
2. Delete the repeated
noun and replace it with a relative pronoun in
the clause you want to make dependent. See C. below for
information on relative pronouns.
The book is on the table. + I like which
The man is here. + who wants the book
3. Move the relative
pronoun to the beginning of its clause (if it is not already there). The clause
is now an adjective clause.
The book is on the table. + which I like
The man is here. + who wants the book
4. Put the adjective
clause immediately after the noun phrase it modifies (the
repeated noun):
The book which I like is on the table.
The man who wants the book is here.
C. The subordinators in adjective
clauses are called relative pronouns.
1. These are the most important
relative pronouns: who, whom, that, which.
These relative pronouns can be omitted when
they are objects of verbs. When they are objects of prepositions, they can be
omitted when they do not follow the preposition.
WHO replaces nouns and pronouns
that refer to people. It cannot replace nouns and pronouns that
refer to animals or things. It can be the subject of a verb.
Ininformal writing (but not in academic writing),
it can be used as the object of a verb.
WHOM replaces
nouns and pronouns that refer to people. It cannot replace nouns
and pronouns that refer to animals or things. It can be the object of
a verb or preposition. It cannot be the subject of a verb.
WHICH replaces
nouns and pronouns that refer to animals or things. It cannot
replace nouns and pronouns that refer to people. It can be the subject of
a verb. It can also be the object of a verb or preposition.
THAT replaces
nouns and pronouns that refer to people, animals or things. It can
be the subject of a verb. It can also be the object of
a verb or preposition (but that cannot follow a
preposition; whom, which, and whose are the
only relative pronouns that can follow a preposition).
2. The following words can also be
used as relative pronouns: whose, when, where.
WHOSE replaces possessive forms
of nouns and pronouns (see WF11 and pro in Correction
Symbols Two). It can refer to people, animals or things. It can
be part of a subject or part of an object of
a verb or preposition, but it cannot be a complete subject or object. Whose cannot
be omitted. Here are examples withwhose:
The man is happy. + I found the man’s wallet. =
The man whose wallet I found is
happy.
The girl is excited. + Her mother won the
lottery. =
The girl whose mother won the lottery is
excited.
WHEN replaces
a time (in + year, in + month, on + day,...). It cannot be a
subject. It can be omitted. Here is an example with when:
I will never forget the day. + I graduated on that day.=
I will never forget the day when I
graduated.
The same meaning can be expressed in
other ways:
I will never forget the day on which I
graduated.
I will never forget the day that I
graduated.
I will never forget the day I graduated.
WHERE replaces
a place (in + country, in + city, at + school,...). It cannot
be a subject. It can be omitted but a preposition (at, in, to)
usually must be added. Here is an example with where:
The building is new. + He works in the building. =
The building where he works is
new.
The same meaning can be expressed in
other ways:
The building in which he works is
new.
The building which he works in is
new.
The building that he works in is
new.
The building he works in is new.
D. Adjective clauses can be restrictive or nonrestrictive.
1. A restrictive adjective clause contains
information that is necessary to identify the noun it modifies. If a
restrictive adjective clause is removed from a sentence, the meaning of the
main clause changes. A restrictive adjective clause is not separated
from the main clause by a comma or commas. Most adjective clauses are
restrictive; all of the examples of adjective clauses above are restrictive.
Here is another example:
People who can’t swim should not jump into the
ocean.
2. A nonrestrictive adjective clause gives
additional information about the noun it modifies but is not necessary to
identify that noun. If a nonrestrictive adjective clause is removed
from a sentence, the meaning of the main clause does not change. A nonrestrictive
adjective clause is separated from the main clause by a comma or commas.
The relative pronoun that cannot be used in nonrestrictive
adjective clauses. The relative pronoun cannot be omitted from a nonrestrictive
clause. Here is an example:
Billy, who couldn’t swim, should not have jumped into
the ocean.
E. Adjective clauses can often be
reduced to phrases. The relative pronoun (RP) must be the subject of
the verb in the adjective clause. Adjective clauses can be reduced to phrases
in two different ways depending on the verb in the adjective clause.
1. RP + BE = 0
People who are living in glass houses should not
throw stones. (clause)
People living in glass houses should not throw
stones. (phrase)
Mary applied for a job that was advertised in the paper.
(clause)
Mary applied for a job advertised in the paper.
(phrase)
2. RP + OTHER VERB (not BE) = OTHER
VERB + ing
People who live in glass houses should not throw
stones.(clause)
People living in glass houses should not throw
stones. (phrase)
Students who sit in the front row usually
participate more. (clause)
Students sitting in the front row usually
participate more. (phrase)
