The Adjective Clause

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The Adjective Clause

• which one? -or- what kind?

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Adjectives ModifyNOUNS and PRONOUNS

• An adjective phrase modifies a NOUN or PRONOUN
• and
• An adjective clause also modifies a NOUN or
  PRONOUN

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Where can you find adjectives?

• You can find adjectives before the noun or
  pronoun that they modify
• It comes before the noun and after the article.
• The blue dog is a sight to behold.
• A large slice of watermelon is delicious in the
  summer.
• The pattern

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Adjectives can come after linking verbs(This
is called a PREDICATE ADJECTIVE)

• She is nice.
• A large slice of watermelon is delicious in the
  summer.
• A possible pattern

l.v.
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An Adjective Phrase always follows the NOUN or
PRONOUN it modifies

• The woman in the large hat is famous.
• The man with the moustache is my father.
• The one in the blue shirt just laughed.
• A possible pattern

OP
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LikewiseAn Adjective Clause usually follows
the word (noun) or words (noun modifiers) it
modifies

• Definition
• An adjective clause is a subordinate
  (dependent) clause that modifies a NOUN or a
  PRONOUN.
• Adjective clauses tell which one?
• or what kind?

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REMEMBER!!

• Clauses MUST contain both
• a SUBJECT and a VERB.

verb
subject
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Adjective Clauses

• Ms. Bandrowski showed us a PowerPoint that she
  made last night.
• The Natchez is a paddleboat that Mark Twain often
  wrote about.
• That one, which is my favorite, was bought in
  Bangkok.
• Pablo Picasso was the artist who painted A Girl
  with a Ponytail.

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An Adjective Clause is usually introduced by a
relative pronoun.

• Some common relative pronouns
• that which who whom whose

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NOTE

• The relative pronoun that can be used to refer
  both to people and to things.
• that or
• The relative pronoun which is used to refer to
  things only.
• which

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also note

• Sometimes a relative pronoun is preceded by a
  preposition that is part of the adjective clause.
• For example
• Have you read the book on which the movie is
  based?
• The actor to whom I am referring is Johnny Depp.

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In addition to relating a subordinate clause to
the rest of the sentence, a relative pronoun
often has a grammatical function in the
subordinate clause.

• Usually it is either the SUBJECT of the clause
• or
• the OBJECT OF THE PREPOSITION.

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Examples

• Is this game the one that is on sale?
• (That is also the subject of the subordinate
  clause.)
• The jeweler to whom I took the broken bracelet
  repaired it quickly.
• (Whom also functions as the object of the
  preposition to.)

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Relative Adverbs

• To modify a place or a time, an adjective clause
  may be introduced by when or where. When used to
  introduce adjective clauses, these words are
  called relative adverbs.
• This is the spot where we caught most of the
  fish.
• Ms. Mason looks forward to Saturday afternoons,
  when she works in her garden.

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last detail

• In some cases, the relative pronoun or relative
  adverb can be omitted.
• We havent seen the mask that she brought back
  from Venice.
• Do you remember the time when or that the dog
  caught the skunk?
• A boy whom or that I know is a nationally
  ranked tennis player.

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Writing advice

• Adjective clauses can bring clarity and good
  description to your writing. Be careful, though,
  not to use too many adjective clauses. Overusing
  adjective clauses can make your writing wordy.
  You might want to replace some of them with
  adjectives or brief phrases.

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Examples

• WORDY
• They live in the apartment building that is made
  of brick and that is located next to the fire
  station.
• BETTER
• They live in the brick apartment building next to
  the fire station.