Theories About Adjective Clauses
A relative
clause is another name for an adjective clause. This is because both
perform a function similar to an adjective in a sentence--they add
information to a noun.
There are two types of relative/adjective clauses: restrictive and nonrestrictive
1. Restrictive Clauses
"I want a bag that is green."
In this
sentence, the relative clause "that is green" answers the question,
"Which bag do you want?" or "What kind of bag do you want?"
Because it answers
this question, it is a restrictive relative clause.
2. Nonrestrictive Clause
"My father, who lives in Chicago City, is 45."
In this
sentence, the relative clause "who lives in Chicago City" does not answer
the question, "Which one?".
Instead, it gives extra information.
Because it gives extra information, it is a nonrestrictive relative
clause.
Recognize an adjective clause when you see one
An adjective clause—also called an adjectival or relative clause—will meet three requirements:
- First, it will contain a subject and verb.
- Next, it will begin with a relative pronoun [who, whom, whose, that, or which] or arelative adverb [when, where, or why].
- Finally, it will function as an adjective, answering the questions What kind? How many? or Which one?
The adjective clause will follow one of these two patterns:
" Relative Pronoun or Adverb + Subject + Verb "
" Relative Pronoun as Subject + Verb "
Here are some examples Relative Pronoun :
- Where : used for places (Liaison word that is used to place)
- Whose : used for humans, animalsi or objects to give information about their possessions
Whose = relative pronoun; eyes = subject; pleaded = verb.
- Who : used for humans in subject position
Who = relative pronoun functioning as subject; hiccupped = verb.
- When : used for time (Liaison word used to describe the time)
- This is the year whenthe Olympic Games are held.
- Which : used for things and animals in subject or object position (objects of verbs and prepositions)
- The chair which he broke is being repaired.(verb object)
- She was wearing the coat for which she had paid $2,00.(preposition
object).
- Why
Why Fred cannot stand sitting across from his sister Melanie
Why = relative adverb; Fred = subject; can stand = verb [not, an adverb,
is not officially part of the verb].
is not officially part of the verb].
- Whom : used for humans in object position (Object and verb object preposition)
- He paid the man whom/that he had hired. (verb object)
- He paid the man from whom he had borrowed the money. (preposition
object)
- That : used for humans, animals and things, in subject or object position
That = relative pronoun functioning as subject; bounced = verb.
Example Adjective Clause
Adjectives
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.
Here are several examples of sentences with the adjective clauses underlined :
- Donuts, which most people love, is not very healthy.
- The people whose names are on the list will go to camp.
- Grandpa remembers the old days when there was no television.
- Fruit that is grown organically is expensive.
- Students who are intelligent get good grades.
- Eco-friendly cars that run on electricity save gas.
The Article Containing the Adjective Clause (Underline)
Once upon a time there was a prosperous village in a far away island called Sumatra. In northern part of the island, lived a farmer whose name was Toba.
He lived alone in a hut by a small forest. He worked on his farmland to
grow rice and vegetables that he sells to local market. Once day he
wanted to catch some fish so he went to a river and fished there. He was very surprised when he got a big fish.
The fish was as big as human being. Soon he went home and put the fish
in his kitchen. He planned to cook the fish for his dinner that night. When he got to his house that afternoon he took a bath. Then as he walked into his bedroom after taking a bath Toba was very shocked. Do you want to know what happened?
There
stood in his living room a very beautiful girl. The girl greeted him
nicely. For a moment Toba was speechless. When he could control his
emotion he asked her.
‘Who are you? What’s your name? Why suddenly you are here in my house?’
‘Pardon
me if I surprised you Mr. Toba, but you took me here. I was the fish
that you caught in the river. Now that I become a human being again, I
would like to thank you and I will be your servant to express my
thankfulness’
‘Were you the fish?’
‘Yes, I was the fish. Look at your kitchen’.
Toba immediately rushed to his kitchen and the fish was nowhere to be seen. He saw some gold coins instead.
‘Whose coins are these? Why there are some coins here?’
‘Those coins are mine. As I changed into human being my scales changed into gold coins’
‘Ok you can live here and work for me. Your room is over there’
‘Thank you very much Mr. Toba’
Since that day the beautiful girl lived in Toba’s house.
Since she was very beautiful Toba fell in love with her and not long
after that they got married. The girl married to Toba on one condition
that he would never tell anybody about her past. Toba agreed to the
condition. Several months later Toba’s wife delivered to a baby boy.
Their son was healthy. Soon he grew up into a handsome boy. Toba named
him Samosir. Unfortunately Samosir was a lazy boy. He did not want to
work at all. When his father worked hard in his rice field and farm,
Samosir just slept. When he was awake he talked a lot and he ate a lot. Toba was very disappointed with his son’s nature. He hoped that one day Samosir would change into a diligent boy. Day in and day out but Samosir never changed.
Toba
used to go to his farm and rice field early in the morning. Then at
midday his wife would bring him food. They used to eat lunch at their
farm. As he was a teenager Toba and his wife tried to change his
behavior. They ordered Samosir to bring food for his father for lunch
while her mother stayed at home to do household chores. But Samosir
never did his duty well. He always woke up very late. He woke up after
midday. Then one day his mother forced him to bring the food.
‘Sam, wake up. Go to the farm and bring the food for your father. He must be very tired and hungry now’.
But Mom, I am tired and hungry too’
‘What makes you tired? You just wake up. Go now. You father needs the food’
Toba
reluctantly went to the farm. But he did not go to the farm
immediately. He stopped somewhere in the street and ate the food. It was
already late afternoon when he got to the farm. His father was
disappointed. Then he was angry as he realized that his son had eaten
his food. He said sarcastically.
‘O, you are stupid lazy boy. You are son of a fish!’
Samosir
was hurt. He went home right away and as he got home he told his mother
about his father’s words. Samosir’s mother was shocked. She was also
deeply hurt.
‘O
Toba. You break your promise so I cannot live with you here anymore.
Now you have to accept to consequence of what you did. Samosir, now go
to the hill, find the tallest tree and climb it’
‘Why mom? What will happen?’
‘Just do it, never ask any question. Good bye’
As
soon as she finished saying that suddenly the weather changed. Sunny
day suddenly turned into cloudy day. Not long after that the rain poured
heavily. The rain last for several days. Consequently the area was
flooded. The whole area became a big lake. Then it was called Lake Toba
and in the middle of the lake there is an island called Samosir Island.
Meanwhile Toba’s wife disappeared.
Lake Toba is located in the province of North Sumatra, Indonesia. Today it becomes a tourist destination
Exercises
Q : I talked to the woman she was sitting next to me
A : I talked to the woman who was sitting next to me
Q : I have a class it begins at 08.00 Am
A : I have a class which begins at 08.00 Am
Q : The man called the police his car was stolen
A : The man whose car was stolen called the police
Q : The building is very old he lives there
A : The building where he lives is very old
Q : The woman was ms Silvy I saw her
A : The woman whom I saw was ms Silvy
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