Adjective Clauses

What is an Adjective Clause? An adjective clause is a dependent clause that contains a subject and a verb. It describes, identifies, or gives further information about a noun. Students who are intelligent understand adjectives. (The adjective clause is underlined. It is an "adjective" clause because it describes the noun "students.") Students whom I admire want to become English teachers. (Again, the adjective clause is underlined and modifies the subject "students.") Adjective Clauses are introduced by the following words: who, whom, whose, which, that, where, or when. Clause Marker Use Who People (subject) People (object) People/Things (possessive) Things (subject/object) People/Things (subject/object) Place (adverb) Time (adverb) Example The tribes who lived in the Great Plains used smoke signals. The woman whom we met was called Lightning Cloud. I know the man whose bicycle was stolen. That is a story which interests me. (subject) The drumbeats which we heard sent a message. (object) The Apache is a tribe that lives in Arizona. (subject) The smoke that you see is from the hills. (object) That is the valley where the tribe lived. This is the day when we get the signal.

Whom Whose Which That Where When

Adjective clause is a dependent clause that modifies a noun. It describes, identifies, or gives further information about noun. And adjective clause is also called relative clause. 1. Adjective Clause using subject pronouns (Who, Which, That): a. Who (used for people) Example: - I thanked the woman who helped me. - I saw the man who closed the door - I love the teacher who taught me how to read arabic b. Which (used for things) Example: - The book which is on the table is mine - The dog which bite me was caught by animal preservers - The dog which you beat was caught by animal preservers c. That (used for both people and things) Examples: - I thank the woman that helped me - The book that is on the table is mine - I saw the man that closed the door 2. Adjective clause using object pronouns (whom, which, that) a. Whom (used for people) Examples: - The man whom I saw was Mr. Jones - I love the teacher whom you sent souvenir - I love the teacher whom you are talking about b. Which (used for things) Examples: - The movie which we saw last night wasnt very good - The book which I read was good - The music which we listened last night was good c. That (used for both people and things) Examples: - The man that I saw was Mr. Jones - The movie that we saw last night wasnt very good - The music that we listened last night was good

3. Adjective clause using whose Whose is used to show possession. It carries the same meaning as other possessive pronouns used as adjectives: his, her, its, and their. Like his, her, its, and their, whose is connected to a noun: - His bicycle whose bicycle - Her composition whose composition Both whose and the noun it is connected to are placed at the beginning of the adjective clause. Whose cannot be omitted. Whose usually modifies people, but it may also be used to modify things. Examples: - I know the man whose bicycle was stolen - The student whose composition I read writes well - Mr. Catt has a painting whose value is inestimable 4. Adjective clause using where Where is used in an adjective clause to modify a place (city, country, room, house, etc.). If where is used, a preposition is not included in the adjective clause. If where is not used, the preposition must be included. Examples: - The building where he lives is very old - The city where we spent our vacation was beautiful - The town where I grew up is small 5. Adjective clause using when When is used in an adjective clause to modify a noun of time (year, day, time, century, etc.). The use of a preposition in an adjective clause that modifies a noun of time is somewhat different from that in other adjective clauses: a preposition is used preceding which. Otherwise, the preposition is omitted. Examples: - I will never forget the day when I met you - July is the month when the weather is usually the hottest - Monday is the day when we will come 6. Using adjective clause to modify pronouns Adjective clauses can modify indefinite pronouns (someone, everybody, etc.). Object pronouns (whom, which, etc.) are usually omitted in the adjective clause. Adjective clauses are rarely modify personal pronouns. Examples: - There is someone I want you to meet - Everything he said was pure nonsense - Anybody who wants to come is welcome -

7. Punctuation of adjective clauses General guidelines for the punctuation of adjective clauses: a. Do not use commas if the adjective clause is necessary to identify the noun it modify. Examples: - The professor who teaches chemistry is an excellent lecturer - The man whom I met teaches chemistry b. Use commas if the adjective clause simply gives additional information and is not necessary to identify the noun it modifies. Examples: - Professor Wilson, who teaches chemistry, isan excellent lecturer - Mrs. Smith, who is a retired teacher, does volunteer work at the hospital. 8. Using expressions of quantity in adjective clause An adjective clause may contain an expression of quantity with of: some of, many of, most of, none of, etc. The expression of quantity precedes the pronoun. Only whom, which, and whose are used in this pattern. Adjective clause that begin with an expression of quantity are more common in writing than speaking. Commas are used. Examples: - In my class there are 30 students, most of whom are from north sumatera - He gave several reasons, only a few of which were valid - The teachers discussed Jim, one of whose problems was poor study habits.

An adjective clause is a dependent clause that modifies a noun. It is possible to combine the following two sentences to form one sentence containing an adjective clause: The children are going to visit the museum. They are on the bus. The children who are on the bus are going to visit the museum. | adjective clause | In the sentence above, there are two other ways to write the sentence correctly using the second sentence as the adjective clause. The children that are on the bus are going to visit the museum. The children on the bus are going to visit the museum.

Some other sentences can be combined into a sentence using adjective clauses in a variety of ways, and they are all correct. Note the variety of ways in which the following two sentences can be combined. The church is old. My grandparents were married there. The The The The The church church church church church where my grandparents were married is old. in which my grandparents were married is old. which my grandparents were married in is old. that my grandparents were married in is old. my grandparents were married in is old.

In the sentences above, the adjective clauses are underlined. All answers are correct. Note the use of the word "in" and how and where it is used.

Some adjective clauses need to be set off by commas and others dont.
Some adjective clauses are like gossip, they provide additional detail about someone (or something) whose identity we already know. Put commas around those. Examples: My English teacher, who wears old fashioned ties, is laughed at by the students. (The adjective clause is underlined. It doesnt identify the English teacher; it just provides a gossipy sort of detail about him. Set these off with commas.) My English book, which is a monument of boredom, is used mainly as a door stop. (Once again, the adjective clause is underlined. It doesnt identify the English book, it just provides a gossipy, editorial comment about it. Set this clause off with a comma.)

Now take a look at these: The English teachers that I like best forget to go to class. (This isnt pure gossip any longer. The writer doesnt like all English teachers equally well. The adjective clause identifies which ones he likes best. Because it helps identify, dont set if off with commas. )

Anyone who reads all of this will go away happier and wiser. (Once again, this clause identifies who will go away happier and wiser. Its not gossip, its essential information, so dont put commas around it.)

Adjective Phrases
An adjective phrase is a group of words that does the work of an adjective. An adjective phrase gives more information about a noun or pronoun. Some also modify noun phrases. A great way to understand adjective phases is to see them at work in a few sentences. Adjective phrases act just like adjectives. They modify, describe, or give more information about a noun or pronoun. Some examples are: without a penny, of great importance, devoid of life, covered with dirt, running in the park, and man of the hour. Some adjective phrases modify nouns or noun phrases. Following are some sentences with the phrases underlined:

The very small kitten jumped at the big dog. The cost of the car was way too high. The man covered with sweat, trudged his way home. Something in the corner was moving. The big bug under the blanket is moving towards me. Other adjective phrases modify the predicate of the sentence. Here are some examples: Extra buttons came with the coat. Gremlins cause mischief inside of machines. We were saddened by the news of his demise. The brownies smell deliciously sweet. I was delighted that he was chosen. Adjective phrases can also modify objects and will follow the word they are modifying. Examples are:

She wanted to paint her room lemony yellow. My new kitten makes me very happy. I sometimes pity people living in large cities. We are collecting money for children born with heart defects. They were proud of their team winning the championship. Famous Adjective Phrases Here are some famous adjective phrases from William Shakespeare.

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune And shining morning face, creeping like a snail unwillingly to school Eaten out of house and home Even at the turning of the tide How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child I will wear my heart upon my sleeve Understanding Basic Adjectives To better understand the adjective phrase, it might help you if you understand the basic functions of adjectives. Here are the basic categories of adjectives with a few examples:

Quantity - Adjectives can tell the quantity, like any, few, every, some, all, twenty, none, each, and several. Opinion - Adjectives that are based on opinion include: gorgeous, hideous, evil, angelic, amazing, and important. Descriptive - There are many descriptive adjectives that tell the size, age, shape, and color of a noun or pronoun. Some examples are: tiny, gigantic, svelte, huge, antique, youthful, modern, recent, bumpy, smooth, oblong, round, pale, tanned, blue, and yellowish. Origin - Where an object came from or where it is located would be an adjective of origin, like: polar, northern, Mexican, or Swiss. Composition - Words to describe the purpose and composition of an object would include: hunting, cooking, racing, wooden, silk, or plastic. Comparison - Some adjectives compare words like curlier, curliest, best, worse, least, most beautiful, and less worrisome. Other adjectives like those that do not have two levels of comparison and examples of these include: total, ideal, unique, fatal, chief, and unbroken.

Articles - The articles a, an, and the are adjectives. Possessive - Adjectives can be possessive, like your, mine, or their; demonstrative, like that, this, or those; and interrogative, like which or what. Remember, the purpose of an adjective or an adjective phrase is to change the meaning of a noun or pronoun or to describe it. In an ADJECTIVE PHRASE (AP), the Head word is an adjective. Here are some examples: Susan is [AP clever] The doctor is [AP very late] My sister is [AP fond of animals] The pre-Head string in an AP is most commonly an adverb phrase such as very or extremely. Adjective Heads may be followed by a post-Head string: [AP happy to meet you] [AP ready to go] [AP afraid of the dark] A small number of adjective Heads must be followed by a post-Head string. The adjective Head fond is one of these. Sometimes a group of words does the work of an adjective. Study the following examples.

The mayor was a wealthy man. The mayor was a man of great wealth.

In sentence 1, the adjective wealthy says what sort of man the mayor was. In sentence 2, the group of words of great wealth also says the same thing. It qualifies the noun man as an adjective does. It therefore does the work of an adjective and is called an adjective phrase. Another example:

The magistrate was a kind man. (Here the adjective kind modifies the noun man.) The magistrate was a man with a kind heart. (Here the adjective phrase with a kind heart modifies the noun man.) They lived in a stone house. They lived in a house built of stone. The workers belonged to a hill tribe.

The workers belonged to a tribe dwelling in the hills.

Study the following adjectives and the adjective phrases that are equivalent to them.

A golden necklace a necklace made of gold A white coat a coat of white color A jungle track a track through the jungle A deserted city a city with no inhabitants The French flag the flag of France A wooden hut a hut built of wood A blank page a page with no writing on it

9. Changing an adjective clause to an adjective phrase Adjective phrase is a reduction of an adjective clause. It modifies a noun. It does not contain a subject and a verb. Only adjective clause that have a subject pronoun who, which, or that are reduced to modifying adjective phrase. Examples: 10. Clause: The man who is talking to John is from Korea Phrase: The man talking to John is from Korea

Phrase: The boy playing the piano is Ben 11. Clause: Ann is the woman who is responsible for preparing the budget Phrase: Ann is the woman responsible for preparing the budget 12. Clause: English has an alphabet that consist of 26 letters Phrase: English has an alphabet consisting of 26 letters 13. Clause: anyone who wants to come with us is welcome Phrase: anyone wanting to come with us is welcome

Headphones up risk of hearing loss

NEW YORK, Jan 06 (Reuters Health) -- Young people who suffered from frequent ear infections as children may risk hearing loss if they use personal stereo headphones, according to a study published in The Lancet. Previous studies have shown that regular listening to loud music using stereo headphones is a risk factor for hearing loss in young people. However, in the new study of more than 1,000 young men entering the army in France, it appeared that those who suffered hearing loss not only used personal stereos but also had a history of repeated episodes of middle ear inflammation, or otitis media, in infancy or childhood. The study analyzed the hearing ability of men who went to rock concerts and discos twice a month or more, men who worked in noisy occupations, and men who listened to personal stereos. While concerts and loud workplace noise did appear to affect hearing, indicated that the harmful effect of the headphone usage was "strongly dependent on the presence (or) absence of repeated episodes of otitis media in infancy or childhood,'' according to the report. The researchers note that previous studies showed that regular personal stereo use was linked to an average hearing loss of about 3 decibels, a level of "limited clinical importance.'' But in those men who had a history of ear infections, the use of personal stereos "was associated with a mean extra hearing loss of 11 (decibels) relative hearing loss.'' The team also reports an increased risk of acute acoustic trauma and frequent tinnitus in this group of men. They conclude that their results "show the importance of curing otitis in childhood,'' and recommend that young people who have a history of recurrent ear infections "be warned that personal stereo use is a risk factor for

the researchers found that the major deafness.'' factor influencing hearing loss in this group of men was use of SOURCE: The Lancet 1999;353:35. personal stereos. And analysis of the men's medical histories Article Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. Lesson 1999 English To Go limited