ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

Dependent clauses include adjective clauses, adverb clauses,and noun clauses
(By Richard Nordquist) (http:// grammar.about.com)


1. Adjective Clauses
By Richard Nordquist (About.com Guide)

A dependent clause used as an adjective within a sentence.
An adjective (or adjectival) clause usually begins with a relative pronoun (which, that, who, whom, whose), a relative adverb (where, when, why), or a zero relative. Also known as a relative clause.

a. Relative pronoun (who/ever, whom, which, that, whose, when/ever, where/ever, why)
What are relative pronouns?
A defining relative clause states defining information about a person or a thing. It is used to define one object/thing or a person from another. Without this information the sentence would not be clear. The relative pronouns in English are which, that, who, whom, and whose. Who and whom refer only to people. Which refers to things, qualities, and ideas--never to people. That and whose refer to people, things, qualities, and ideas.
Note: The relative pronoun replaces the noun.
Examples:
• Who is that man in there street?
• Whose husband is that waiting in the car?
• Is that cake good?
• When are you going to call her?
• Why are you so tired?
• Which house is yours?
Relative Pronouns
- Time Reason Person Place Thing
Subject -- -- Who, That Where That, Which
Object When Why Who/Whom/That - That, Which
Possessive Whose - Whose - Whose


Use of Relative Pronouns in Complex Sentences
Whom is used when referring to the object of the sentence, not the subject.
For example;
I saw the boy to whom I spoke.
In this sentence, "I" is the subject and "the boy" is the object.
Another way to know whether you should use whom is to look at the preposition that is being used ; such as
To, against, from, for, about,
That is; against whom, for whom, about whom, etc.
However, you do not use "whom" when dealing with things.
The play, about which, I had much to say.
Other examples
I talked to the girl ___ car had broken down in front of the shop.Correct answer: I talked to the girl whose car had broken down in front of the shop. 2) Mr Richards, ___ is a taxi driver, lives on the corner.Correct answer: Mr Richards, who is a taxi driver, lives on the corner. 3) We often visit our aunt in Norwich ___ is in East Anglia.Correct answer: We often visit our aunt in Norwich which is in East Anglia. 4) This is the girl ___ comes from Spain.Correct answer: This is the girl who comes from Spain. 5) That's Peter, the boy ___ has just arrived at the airport.Correct answer: That's Peter, the boy who has just arrived at the airport. 6) Thank you very much for your e-mail ___ was very interesting.Correct answer: Thank you very much for your e-mail which was very interesting. 7) The man, ___ father is a professor, forgot his umbrella.Correct answer: The man, whose father is a professor, forgot his umbrella. 8) The children, ___ shouted in the street, are not from our school.Correct answer: The children, who shouted in the street, are not from our school. 9) The car, ___ driver is a young man, is from Ireland.Correct answer: The car, whose driver is a young man, is from Ireland. 10) What did you do with the money ___ your mother lent you?Correct answer: What did you do with the money which your mother lent you?

Examples of Identifying relative pronouns in the following clauses

a) "How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?"
b) (Charles De Gaulle)
c) "On the plus side, death is one of the few things that can be done just as easily lying down."
d) (Woody Allen)
e) "An atheist is a man who has no invisible means of support."
f) (John Buchan)
g) "Even if you do learn to speak correct English, whom are you going to speak it to?"
h) (Clarence Darrow)
i) "Never play cards with a man called Doc. Never eat at a place called Mom's. Never sleep with a woman whose troubles are worse than your own."
j) (Nelson Algren)

"Three relative pronouns stand out as being particularly common in English: who, which, and that. The zero relativizer [or dropped relative pronoun] is also relatively common. However, . . . the relative pronouns are used in very different ways across registers.
For example:
That and zero are the preferred choices in conversation, although relative clauses are generally rare in that register.
Fiction is similar to conversation in its preference for that.
In contrast, news shows a much stronger preference for which and who, and academic prose strongly prefers which.
In general, the relative pronouns that begin with the letters wh- are considered to be more literate.
In contrast the pronoun that and the zero relativizer have a more colloquial flavor and are preferred in conversation."
(Douglas Biber, Susan Conrad, and Geoffrey Leech, Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Pearson, 2002)


Exercise 1
Turn these simple sentences into complex sentences. You are NOT allowed to use conjunctions; only relative pronouns – who, whom, which, whose.
1. I saw a boy. His bag was large. I said hello to him
2. I was riding my bike. I love that old bike. I used it to get to my friend’s house.
3. The guests arrived. We have invited them.
4. The shoes are expensive. I have bought them.
5. This is the gentleman. I am speaking with him.
6. The house is big. We live in this house.
7. I met the lady. Her son is ill.
8. We spoke to the man. His car is here.
9. The edition of the novel is good. I bought the novel.
10. The lawyer’s daughter has just arrived. She telephoned earlier.
11. The lawyer’s daughter has just arrived. He was happy to see her.
12. The man’s wife has just arrived. She spoke to me earlier.
13. The man’s wife has just arrived. He is unhappy.
14. The man’s wife has just arrived. I spoke about him. He is unhappy.
15. The train arrived at 3PM. I ran towards it. I almost missed it.
16. I saw the boy. I threw a ball at him. I have fought against him. I dislike him.
17. This is the woman. I was speaking with her. I had had a fight with her. I had thrown her against the wall.
18. The man was sleeping. He started to snore. I threw a cushion at him.
19. The man ate a cake. He liked it. He was angry.
20. We spoke to a man. His car is here. I spoke to him.
Exercise 2
Identify the relative pronoun of the following sentences
1) "He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe is as good as dead."
(Albert Einstein)
2) "Creatures whose mainspring is curiosity enjoy the accumulating of facts far more than the pausing at times to reflect on those facts."
(Clarence Day)
3) "Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh."
(W. H. Auden)
4) "Love, which was once believed to contain the Answer, we now know to be nothing more than an inherited behavior pattern."
(James Thurber)
5) "The means by which we live have outdistanced the ends for which we live. Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men."
(Martin Luther King, Jr.)
6) "The IRS spends God knows how much of your tax money on these toll-free information hot lines staffed by IRS employees, whose idea of a dynamite tax tip is that you should print neatly."
(Dave Barry)
7) "On I trudged, past the carefully roped-off breeding grounds of terns, which chirruped a warning overhead."
(Will Self, "A Real Cliff Hanger," 2008)
8) The man that hit my motorcycle gave me false insurance information.
9) "The man who first abused his fellows with swear words, instead of bashing their brains out with a club, should be counted among those who laid the foundations of civilization."
(John Cohen, 1965)

Subordination with Adjective Clauses
By Richard Nordquist, About.com Guide

Coordination is a useful way of connecting ideas that are roughly equal in importance. But often we need to show that one idea in a sentence is more important than another. On these occasions we use subordination to indicate that one part of a sentence is secondary (or subordinate) to another part. One common form of subordination is the adjective clause--a word group that modifies a noun.

Consider how the following sentences might be combined:
My father is a superstitious man.
He always sets his unicorn traps at night.
One option is to coordinate the two sentences:
My father is a superstitious man, and he always sets his unicorn traps at night.
When sentences are coordinated in this way, each main clause is given equal emphasis.


What if we want to place greater emphasis on one statement than on another? We then have the option of reducing the less important statement to an adjective clause. For example, to emphasize that father sets his unicorn traps at night, we can turn the first main clause into an adjective clause:
My father, who is a superstitious man, always sets his unicorn traps at night.

As shown here, the adjective clause does the job of an adjective and follows the noun that it modifies--father. Like a main clause, an adjective clause contains a subject (in this case, who) and a verb (is). But unlike a main clause an adjective clause can't stand alone: it has to follow a noun in a main clause. For this reason, an adjective clause is considered to be subordinate to the main clause.
Identifying Adjective Clauses

The most common adjective clauses begin with one of these relative pronouns: who, which, and that. All three pronouns refer to a noun, but who refers only to people and which refers only to things. That may refer to either people or things.

The following sentences show how these pronouns are used to begin adjective clauses:
Mr. Clean, who hates rock music, smashed my electric guitar.
Mr. Clean smashed my electric guitar, which had been a gift from Vera.
Mr. Clean smashed the electric guitar that Vera had given me.
In the first sentence, the relative pronoun who refers to Mr. Clean, the subject of the main clause. In the second and third sentences, the relative pronouns which and that refer to guitar, the object of the main clause.

Exercise 3 and answer
PRACTICE: Identifying Adjective Clauses
Only some of the sentences below contain adjective clauses. See if you can pick out the adjective clauses, and then compare your responses with the answers at the end of the exercise.
1) I bought a car from Merdine, and it turned out to be a lemon.
2) The car that I bought from Merdine turned out to be a lemon.
3) Pandora, who had recently celebrated a birthday, opened the box of gifts.
4) Lila, who has been the fire warden for 30 years, lives in a trailer with some scrappy dogs and cats.
5) Lila, who lives in a trailer with some scrappy dogs and cats, has been the fire warden for 30 years.
6) People who smoke cigarettes should be considerate of nonsmokers.
7) Jacob, who smokes cigarettes, is considerate of nonsmokers.
8) Mr. Mann has small, dark eyes, which peer inquisitively from behind metal-rimmed glasses.
9) My wedding ring is worth at least ten dollars, and now I have lost it.
10) I have lost my wedding ring, which is worth at least ten dollars.


Answers of exercise 3
1. (no adjective clause)
2. that I bought from Merdine
3. who had recently celebrated a birthday
4. who has been the town fire warden for nearly 30 years
5. who lives in a trailer with some scrappy dogs and cats
6. who smoke cigarettes
7. who smokes cigarettes
8. which peer inquisitively from behind metal-rimmed glasses
9. (no adjective clause)
10.which is worth at least ten dollars
Punctuating Adjective Clauses

These three guidelines will help you decide when to set off an adjective clause with commas:
Adjective clauses beginning with that are never set off from the main clause with commas.
Food that has turned green in the refrigerator should be thrown away.
Adjective clauses beginning with who or which should not be set off with commas if omitting the clause would change the basic meaning of the sentence.
Students who turn green should be sent to the infirmary.
Because we don't mean that all students should be sent to the infirmary, the adjective clause is essential to the meaning of the sentence. For this reason, we don't set off the adjective clause with commas.

Adjective clauses beginning with who or which should be set off with commas if omitting the clause would not change the basic meaning of the sentence.
Last week's pudding, which has turned green in the refrigerator, should be thrown away.
Here the which clause provides added, but not essential, information, and so we set it off from the rest of the sentence with commas.
Exercise 4 and answer
PRACTICE: Punctuating Adjective Clauses
In the following sentences, add commas to set off adjective clauses that provide additional, but not essential, information. Don't add commas if the adjective clause affects the basic meaning of the sentence.
1) Caramel de Lites which are cookies sold by the Girl Scouts contain 70 calories each.
2) These are the times that try men's souls.
3) I refuse to live in any house that Jack built.
4) I left my son at the campus day-care center which is available to all full-time students with young children.
5) Students who have young children are invited to use the free day-care center.
6) A physician who smokes and overeats has no right to criticize the personal habits of her patients.
7) Gus who gave Merdine a bouquet of ragweed has been exiled to the storm cellar for a week.
8) Professor Legree lost his only umbrella which he has owned for 20 years.
9) Healthy people who refuse to work should not be given government assistance.
10) Felix who was once a hunter in the Yukon stunned the roach with one blow from a newspaper.

Answers of exercise 4
1. Caramel de Lites, which are cookies sold by the Girl Scouts, contain . . ..
2. (no commas)
3. (no commas)
4. . . . day-care center, which is available to all full-time students with young children.
5. (no commas)
6. (no commas)
7. Gus, who gave Merdine a bouquet of ragweed, has . . ..
8. . . . umbrella, which he has owned for 20 years.
9. (no commas)
10. Felix, who was once a hunter in the Yukon, stunned . . ..

Relative Pronouns and Adjective Clauses
By Richard Nordquist, About.com Guide
As we've seen (in Subordination with Adjective Clauses), an adjective clause is a group of words that works like an adjective to modify a noun. Here we'll focus on the five relative pronouns that are used in adjective clauses.

An adjective clause usually begins with a relative pronoun: a word that relates the information in the adjective clause to a word or a phrase in the main clause.

The most common adjective clauses begin with one of these relative pronouns: who, which, and that. All three pronouns refer to a noun, but who refers only to people and which refers only to things. That may refer to either people or things.

Two other relative pronouns used to introduce adjective clauses are whose (the possessive form of who) and whom (the object form of who). Whose begins an adjective clause that describes something that belongs to or is a part of someone or something mentioned in the main clause:
The ostrich, whose wings are useless for flight, can run faster than the swiftest horse.
Whom stands for the noun that receives the action of the verb in the adjective clause:
Anne Sullivan was the teacher whom Helen Keller met in 1887.
Notice that in this sentence Helen Keller is the subject of the adjective clause, and whom is the object. Put another way, who is equivalent to the subject pronouns he, she, or they in a main clause; whom is equivalent to the object pronouns him, her, or them in a main clause.

Exercise 5 and answer

PRACTICE: Adding Pronouns to Adjective Clauses
Complete each of these sentences by adding an appropriate relative pronoun: who, which, that, whose, whom. Then compare your responses with the answers at the end of the exercise.
1) The creek beds, ---- in May are usually overflowing, are no more now than a trickle.
2) Sundown is an unincorporated town of about 20,000 people, almost all of ---- are over the age of 60.
3) Kathryn DiNitto is the lawyer ---- handled my case.
4) A lawyer, ---- first responsibility is to her client, should still have respect for the law.
5) Howard is majoring in badminton, ---- is not yet an Olympic sport.
6) Lori Alexander, ---- we elected as state senator two years ago, has left government to start her own business.
7) The blue liquid ---- you gave me is not cough syrup.
8) My first car was a ten-year-old Pacer, ---- once was considered "the car of the future."
9) Professor Legree, ---- dissertation has just been published by Vanity Press, has agreed to be the keynote speaker.
10) John Wayne, ---- appeared in over 200 movies, was the biggest box-office attraction of his time.

Answers of Exercise 5
1. which; 2. whom; 3. who; 4. whose; 5. which; 6. whom; 7. that; 8. which; 9. whose; 10. Who

Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Adjective Clauses
By Richard Nordquist, About.com Guide

In Subordination with Adjective Clauses, we learned how an adjective clause functions like an adjective to modify a noun. In Relative Pronouns and Adjective Clauses, we focused on the role played by the relative pronoun. Here we'll learn to distinguish between the two main types of adjective clauses: restrictive and nonrestrictive.

Nonrestrictive Adjective Clauses

An adjective clause set off from the main clause by commas is said to be nonrestrictive. Here's an example:
Old Professor Legree, who dresses like a teenager, is going through his second childhood.
This who clause is nonrestrictive because the information in the clause doesn't restrict or limit the noun it modifies (Old Professor Legree). The commas signify that the adjective clause provides added, not essential, information. This practice is consistent with Comma Guideline #4: "Use a pair of commas to set off interruptions."


Restrictive Adjective Clauses

On the other hand, an adjective clause that is restrictive should not be set off by commas.
An older person who dresses like a teenager is often an object of ridicule or pity.
Here, the adjective clause restricts or limits the meaning of the noun it modifies (An older person). A restrictive adjective clause is not set off by commas.

So let's keep in mind two basic rules:
Nonrestrictive: An adjective clause that can be omitted from a sentence without affecting the basic meaning of the sentence should be set off by commas.
Restrictive: An adjective clause that cannot be omitted from a sentence without affecting the basic meaning of the sentence should not be set off by commas.

Exercise 6 and answer
Practice: Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Clauses

For each sentence below, decide if the adjective clause (in bold) is restrictive or nonrestrictive. When you're done, compare your answers with those at the end of the exercise.
Students who have young children are invited to use the free daycare center.

1) I left my son at the campus daycare center, which is free to all full-time students.
2) John Wayne, who appeared in over 200 movies, was the biggest box-office attraction of his time.
3) I refuse to live in any house that Jack built.
4) Merdine, who was born in a boxcar somewhere in Arkansas, grows homesick every time she hears the wail of a train whistle.
5) Every journalist has a novel in him, which is an excellent place for it.
6) I like to keep a bottle of stimulant handy in case I see a snake, which I also keep handy.
7) The thing that impresses me the most about America is the way parents obey their children.
8) A physician who smokes and overeats has no right to criticize the personal habits of his patients.
9) The beer that made Milwaukee famous has made a loser out of me.

Answers of Exercise 6
restrictive
nonrestrictive
nonrestrictive
restrictive
nonrestrictive
nonrestrictive
nonrestrictive
restrictive
restrictive
restrictive

Sentence Building with Adjective Clauses
Exercises in Building and Combining Sentences
By Richard Nordquist, About.com Guide


So far in our study of adjective clauses, we've learned the following:
The adjective clause--a word group that modifies a noun--is a common form of subordination.
An adjective clause usually begins with a relative pronoun.
The two main types of adjective clauses are restrictive and nonrestrictive.
Now we're ready to practice building and combining sentences with adjective clauses.


Consider how these two sentences can be combined
My mp3 player fell apart after a few weeks.
My mp3 player cost over $200.
By substituting the relative pronoun which for the subject of the second sentence, we can create a single sentence containing an adjective clause:
My mp3 player, which cost over $200, fell apart after a few weeks.
Or we may choose to substitute which for the subject of the first sentence:
My mp3 player, which fell apart after a few weeks, cost over $200.
Put what you think is the main idea in the main clause, the secondary (or subordinate) idea in the adjective clause. And keep in mind that an adjective clause usually appears after the noun it modifies.

PRACTICE: Building Sentences with Adjective Clauses
Exercise 7 and answer
Combine the sentences in each set into a single, clear sentence with at least one adjective clause. Subordinate the information that you think is of secondary importance. When you are done, compare your new sentences with the sample combinations on page two. Keep in mind that many combinations are possible, and in some cases you may prefer your own sentences to the original versions.

1) The first alarm clock woke the sleeper by gently rubbing his feet.
The first alarm clock was invented by Leonardo da Vinci.

2) Some children have not received flu shots.
These children must visit the school doctor.

3) Success encourages the repetition of old behavior.
Success is not nearly as good a teacher as failure.

4) I showed the arrowhead to Rachel.
Rachel's mother is an archaeologist.

5) Merdine was born in a boxcar.
Merdine was born somewhere in Arkansas.
Merdine gets homesick every time she hears the cry of a train whistle.

6) The space shuttle is a rocket.
The rocket is manned.
This rocket can be flown back to earth.
This rocket can be reused.

7) Henry Aaron played baseball.
Henry Aaron played with the Braves.
Henry Aaron played for 20 years.
Henry Aaron was voted into the Hall of Fame.
The vote was taken in 1982.

8) Oxygen is colorless.
Oxygen is tasteless.
Oxygen is odorless.
Oxygen is the chief life-supporting element of all plant life.
Oxygen is the chief life-supporting element of all animal life.

9) Bushido is the traditional code of honor of the samurai.
Bushido is based on the principle of simplicity.
Bushido is based on the principle of honesty.
Bushido is based on the principle of courage.
Bushido is based on the principle of justice.


10) Merdine danced on the roof.
It was the roof of her trailer.
Merdine danced during the thunderstorm.
The thunderstorm flooded the county.
The thunderstorm was last night.
Answers of Exercise 7
Here are sample combinations for the 10 sets of sentence-building exercises on page one. Keep in mind that in most cases more than one effective combination is possible.

1) The first alarm clock, which woke the sleeper by gently rubbing his feet, was invented by Leonardo da Vinci.
2) Children who have not received flu shots must visit the school doctor.
3) Success, which encourages the repetition of old behavior, is not nearly as good a teacher as failure.
4) I showed the arrowhead to Rachel, whose mother is an archaeologist.
5) Merdine, who was born in a boxcar somewhere in Arkansas, gets homesick every time she hears the cry of a train whistle.
6) The space shuttle is a manned rocket that can be flown back to earth and reused.
7) Henry Aaron, who played baseball with the Braves for 20 years, was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1982.
8) Oxygen--which is colorless, tasteless, and odorless--is the chief life-supporting element of all plant and animal life.
9) Bushido, which is the traditional code of honor of the samurai, is based on the principles of simplicity, honesty, courage, and justice.
10) Merdine danced on the roof of her trailer during the thunderstorm that flooded the county last night.
2. Adverb Clauses
3. Noun Clauses