Theory
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 called subordinate 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. In informal 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 whoseare 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 with whose:
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 apreposition (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)
Exercise
Fill in the blanks with Adjective
Clause sentences!
Example
- She gave the man an injection.
It made him go to sleep.
She
gave the man an injection, which made him go to sleep.
1.
The man was sick. He looked very pale.
The man,( who )looked very pale, was sick.
2.
He was sitting in the emergency room. It was very crowded.
He was sitting in the emergency room,( which ) was very crowded.
3.
A nurse was nearby. He called to her.
He called to a nurse,( who )was
nearby.
4.
The nurse called a doctor. He came quickly.
The nurse called a doctor,( who )
came quickly.
5.
The doctor asked him to lie down. She looked very worried.
The doctor, (who ) looked very worried, asked him to lie
down.
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