Adjective Clause

Recognizing Adjective Clauses

Characteristics:

vAn adjective clause consists of a clause marker or a relative pronoun: who, whom, whose, which, that, where, when and why

vThese clause markers must have a function in the clause.

vIt is part of a Noun Phrase (Modifier)

vPosition of the clause is next to the noun it modifies (Antecedent).

e.g.  [The students who are lazy] never come to school on time.

vWho (People; Subject/Object)

Bora, who is a doctor, is smart.

The students who take no responsibility never succeed.

vWhom (People; Object)

The man whom I hit is my teacher.

The students whom I hate are sluggish students.

vWhich (Animals, things; Subject/Object)

The pen which is on the table is mine.

The crab which is crawling makes good food.

vThat (people, animals, things; Subject/Object)

The students that I loath are bad students.

The bird that is flying in the sky is singing.

vWhose (Possession, Before noun; Determiner)

The man whose wife was killed last night is a millionaire.

vWhere (After nouns denoting place)

School, hospital, village, house

The hotel where I stay is expensive.

The school where I study looks really old.

vWhen (Before noun denoting time)

Yesterday, Monday, February, time

The time when I was young is unforgettable.

 vWhy (before noun denoting reason)

The reason why I study English is it is really important for my future job.

vKinds of Adjective Clauses

Two kinds are detected:

Defining Adjective Clause vs.

Non-defining Adjective Clause

qDefining Adjective Clause (necessary to describe which noun it is or not known to the listener or reader and no commas used)

The students who are sitting by the window are outstanding.

qNon-defining Adjective Clause

(Not necessary to describe the noun; the listener or reader knows which noun it is and with commas used)

Bora, who is my brother, comes late all the time.