ADJECTIVE CLAUSES "GRAMMAR"

ADJECTIVE CLAUSES
Introduction

Adjective clauses (or relative clauses) are a type of subordinate clause that act as adjectives.

What the meaning from adjective clause?

Adjectives is 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.

Quick Refresher: Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns. Clauses are groups of words with a subject and a verb, and subordinate clauses cannot stand alone.

Simple Adjectives
What is an adjective?  It is a word that describes a noun.  The adjective can describe the color, size, weight, height, texture, etc. of the noun it is describing.

I have a car.	It is red.
I have a red car. My brother has two red cars.

1.  Notice that adjectives describe nouns.
2.  Notice that adjectives come before the noun--not after the noun.
3.  Notice that adjectives do not change form.  Do not add an "s"  if the noun is plural.
      My brother has two reds cars.

Adjective Clauses

You know that a clause has a subject and a verb.  When you have a clause that is describing a noun, it is called an adjective clause.  Unlike the simple adjective, adjective clauses come after the noun they describe.

The boy who is crying doesn't want his mother to leave.

1.  Notice that "who is crying"  is describing the noun "boy."  It is an adjective clause.
2.  The sentence is made up of two clauses:
     The main clause = The boy doesn't want his mother to leave.
     The adjective clause = "who is crying"  (The boy is crying.)

There are several kinds of adjective clauses. The first kind we will study is where the relative pronoun is the subject of the adjective clause. (The relative pronouns = who, that, which, whose)

Adjective Clause:  Subject (Person)

Let's look at pairs of sentences.  The second sentence will be used to describe a noun in the first sentence.

The man is my father.

The man has a red beard.

Ask yourself the following questions when you are trying to combine two sentences.

Which two nouns are the same in each of the sentences?	The man	The man
Is the noun in the second sentence in the subject or object position of the sentence?	The noun (the man) is in the subject position of the second sentence.
Is the noun or pronoun a person, thing, possessive, place, or time?	The man is a person.
If the noun is a person in subject position, use who or that.	who is my father. that is my father.
Put the adjective clause directly after the noun (or noun phrase) that you are describing.	The man who has a red beard is my father. The man that has a red beard is my father.	2 possibilities to give the same meaning.

Adjective Clause:  Subject (Thing)

I live in a house.

The house is located on Beacon Hill.

Which two nouns are the same in each of the sentences?	a house	the house
Is the noun in the second sentence in the subject or object position of the sentence?	The noun (the house) is in the subject position of the second sentence.
Is the noun or pronoun a person, thing, possessive, place, or time?	The house is a thing.
If the noun is a "thing" in subject position, use that or which.	that is located on Beacon Hill. which is located on Beacon Hill..
Put the adjective clause directly after the noun (or noun phrase) that you are describing.	I live in a house that is located on Beacon Hill. I live in a house which is located on Beacon Hill.	2 possibilities to give the same meaning.

Adjective Clause:  Object (Person)

I saw a woman.

You met her in Paris.

Which two nouns are the same in each of the sentences?	a woman	her
Is the noun in the second sentence in the subject or object position of the sentence?	The noun ( her) is in the object position of the second sentence.
Is the noun or pronoun a person, thing, possessive, place, or time?	"Her" is a person.
If the noun is a person in object position, use whom, who (informal), that, or nothing.	you met whom in Paris you met who in Paris you met that in Paris you met in Paris.
Move the relative pronoun (whom, who, that) to the beginning of the adjective clause.	whom you met in Paris who you met in Paris that you met in Paris you met in Paris
Put the adjective clause directly after the noun (or noun phrase) that you are describing.	I saw the woman whom you met in Paris. I saw the woman who you met in Paris. (Informal) I saw the woman that you met in Paris. I saw the woman you met in Paris.	4 possibilities to give the same meaning

Adjective Clause:  Object (Thing)

The building burned down.

We visited it yesterday.

Which two nouns are the same in each of the sentences?	the building	it
Is the noun in the second sentence in the subject or object position of the sentence?	The noun ( it) is in the object position of the second sentence.
Is the noun or pronoun a person, thing, possessive, place, or time?	"it" is a thing
If the noun is a thing in object position, use that,  which, ornothing.	we visited that yesterday we visited which in yesterday we visited yesterday
Move the relative pronoun (whom, who, that) to the beginning of the adjective clause.	that we visited yesterday which we visited yesterday we visited yesterday
Put the adjective clause directly after the noun (or noun phrase) that you are describing.	The building that we visited yesterday burned down. The building which we visited yesterday burned down. The building we visited yesterday burned down.	3 possibilities to give the same meaning

Adjective Clause:  Objects with Prepositions

The pen ran out of ink.

I signed the document with the pen.

Which two nouns are the same in each of the sentences?	the pen	the pen
Is the noun in the second sentence in the subject or object position of the sentence?	The noun ( pen) is in the object position of the second sentence.
Is the noun or pronoun a person, thing, possessive, place, or time?	"Pen" is a thing.
Is the noun in the second sentence after a preposition?	Yes, the noun in the second sentence is after the preposition with .	Remember prepositions are small words such as: to, in, at, by, for, to, of, with, etc.
Decide if you want to move the preposition with the relative pronoun.  If you move the preposition, use preposition + which. Move the preposition + which to the beginning of the adjective clause.	with which I signed the document	You can't use "that" with a preposition. Wrong: that which I signed the document
Put the adjective clause directly after the noun (or noun phrase) that you are describing.	1. The pen with which I signed the document ran out of ink.	When you move the preposition to the beginning of the adjective clause, this is usually more formal.
If you don't move the preposition, then use that, which, ornothing. Leave the preposition at the end of the adjective clause.	2. The pen which I signed the document with ran out of ink. 3. The pen that I signed the document with ran out of ink. 4. The pen I signed the document with ran out of ink.	4 possibilities to give the same meaning

Adjective Clause:  Object (Preposition + Person) - 5 possibilities

The person is a liar.

You are speaking about him/her.

Which two nouns are the same in each of the sentences?	the person	him/her
Is the noun in the second sentence in the subject or object position of the sentence?	The pronoun ( him/her) is in the object position of the second sentence.
Is the noun or pronoun a person, thing, possessive, place, or time?	"him/her" is a person.
Is the noun in the second sentence after a preposition?	Yes, the noun in the second sentence is after the preposition about.	Remember prepositions are small words such as: to, in, at, by, for, to, of, with, etc.
Decide if you want to move the preposition with the relative pronoun.  If you move the preposition, use preposition + whom. Move the preposition + whom to the beginning of the adjective clause.	about whom you are speaking	You can't use "that" with a preposition and you can't use "who" after a preposition. Wrong: that whom you are speaking Wrong: about who you are speaking
Put the adjective clause directly after the noun (or noun phrase) that you are describing.	1. The person about whom you are speaking is a liar.	When you move the preposition to the beginning of the adjective clause, this is usually more formal.
If you don't move the preposition, then use whom, who, that, ornothing.. Leave the preposition at the end of the adjective clause.	2. The person whom you are speaking about is a liar. 3. The person who you are speaking about is a liar. (less formal) 4. The person that you are speaking about is a liar. 5. The person you are speaking about is a liar.	5 possibilities to give the same meaning

Adjective Clause:  Possessive

Possessives:  Dan's class, the people's choice, the boy's parents, the boys' parents, my, his, her, its, our, your, their
Remember:  "It's" is not a possessive.  It's = it is.
                     Its = possessive adjective
                    What are the school's requirements?
                    What are its requirements?

The woman is crying.

Her dog is dying.

What does "her" mean in the second sentence?	the woman's
What two nouns are the same?	the woman	the woman's (her)
Is the second noun in subject or object position?	It is in subject position.
Is the noun person, thing, or possessive?	It is possessive.
If possessive, use whose + noun	The woman whose dog is dying is crying.	1 possibility There is no other possibility. You must always keep the "whose."

The girl fainted.

The photographer took her picture.

What does "her" mean in the second sentence?	the woman's
What two nouns are the same?	the girl's	the girl's (her)
Is the second noun in subject or object position?	It is in object position.
Is the noun person, thing, or possessive?	It is possessive.
If possessive, use whose + noun Put the adjective clause next to the noun it describes.	The girl whose picture the photographer took fainted.	1 possibility There is no other possibility. You must always keep the "whose."

Example with "its"

Get me the book.

Its title is Gone with the Wind. (The book's title)

Get me the book whose title is Gone with the Wind.

Adjective Clause:  Time

The day was dark and rainy.

I left my country then.

What does the "then" mean in the second sentence?  It means on that day.
    I left my country on that day.

Which two nouns are the same in each of the sentences?	the day	that day
Is there a preposition in front of the noun?	Yes, on that day.	The word "on" is a preposition.
Is the noun or pronoun a person, thing, possessive, place, or time?	"Day" is a thing.	Use "which" for things.
Move the preposition + which in front of the adjective clause.	1. The day on which I left my country was dark and rainy.
Notice that you do not keep the preposition in these other possibilities.	2.  The day which I left my country was dark and rainy. 3.  The day that I left my country was dark and rainy. 4.  The day I left my country was dark and rainy. 5.  The day when I left my country was dark and rainy.
Prepositions of time:  at, in, on Try to memorize these preposition + which combinations: The day on which... The year in which... The month in which... The time at which... (clock time)

Adjective Clause:  Place

The city is beautiful.

I live there.

What does "there" mean?  It means in the city.

Prepositions of Place:  at, in, on, under, below, above, around, from, by, next to,

Which two nouns are the same in each of the sentences?	the city	the city
Is there a preposition in front of the noun in the second sentence?	Yes,  in the city
Is the noun or pronoun a person, thing, possessive?	It is a thing. A city is a thing.
What relative pronoun do you use for things?	which
If you move the preposition, use preposition + which. Move the preposition + which to the beginning of the adjective clause and place the adjective clause next to the noun that you are describing..	1. The city in which I live is beautiful.
Notice that with place, you must keep the preposition of place at the end of the adjective clause.	2.  The city which I live in is beautiful. 3.  The city that I live in is beautiful. 4.  The city I live in is beautiful.	When you move the preposition to the beginning of the adjective clause, this is usually more formal.
However, if you do not keep the preposition, the only choice is to use where.	5. The city where I live is beautiful. The city where I live in is beautiful.	5 possibilities with place Do not use a preposition with where.

Another Example of Adjective Clause of Place

The street is very narrow.

I live there.

5 Possibilities

1.  The street on which I live is very narrow.
2.  The street which I live on is very narrow.
3.  The street that I live on is very narrow.
4.  The street I live on is very narrow.
5.  The street where I live is very narrow.

Adjective Clauses

Take a look at this sentence:

The happy woman danced across the street.

Happy is an adjective modifying the noun woman.

It is telling us which woman.

Do you remember that which one is one of the adjective questions?

Which woman? The happy woman.

Now, look at this sentence.

The woman who looks happy danced across the street.

This time, a whole clause is modifying the noun woman!

The clause is still telling us which woman.

Which woman? The woman who looks happy.

This clause is an adjective clause. It is a group of words with a subject and a verb, and it is acting as one part of speech - an adjective.

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Most of the time, relative clauses are introduced by relative pronouns.

There are only five relative pronouns.

who, whom, whose, that, which

Here are examples using these relative pronouns:

·         The person who made the mess needs to clean it. (modifyingperson)

·         The girl whom you teach is my sister. (modifying girl)

·         People whose cats shed need to vacuum often. (modifying people)

·         This is the house that Jack built. (modifying house)

·         The book which I had not read fell on my head. (modifying book)

Relative pronouns link the clause with the word that the clause is modifying.

Did you notice that the noun that comes directly before the clause is the noun that the clause is modifying?

The cool thing about relative pronouns is that they also act as the subject, object, or some kind of modifier within the adjective clause.

Let's use this sentence as an example.

This is the house that Jack built.

The independent clause is This is the house. The relative clause is that Jack built. Notice that both clauses have a subject and a verb.

That is introducing the realtive clause. It is linking the word house with the whole clause.

That is also acting as the direct object within the clause.

Jack = subject built = verb that = direct object

Look at the sentence diagram, and it will help you see what I mean.

You'll find more information and sentence diagrams on the relative pronouns page.

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No Relative Pronoun?

Sometimes the relative pronoun is missing from the relative clause.

Don't fret!

You can still have an adjective clause without the relative pronoun.

Here is an example of a sentence with the relative pronoun that.

·         The instrument that I love is the piano.

The adjective clause is that I love.

Can you think of how you could express that same idea without the relative pronoun?

·         The instrument I love is the piano.

Now the adjective clause is just the words I love, but the word that is implied. It's as if the sentence says:

·         The instrument (that) I love is the piano.

Whenever words are implied in a sentence, it is called an elliptical.

The technical name for a missing relative pronoun is an elliptical relative pronoun.

If you want to diagram the sentence, diagram the implied relative pronoun in parenthesis.

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Relative Adverbs

While most of the time relative clauses are introduced by relative pronouns, sometimes they are introduced by relative adverbs (where, when, why).

Here are some examples. Notice that the clause is still modifying a noun.

·         This is the park where we played.

·         Tuesday is the day when we have pizza for dinner.

·         Our teacher told us the reason why we study grammar.