Adjective Clauses
See The Sentence for
definitions of sentence, clause, and dependent clause.
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.)
This page contains information about adjective clauses. Also
see Adverb
Clauses and Noun 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 (butthat 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 bepart 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)
