Adverbial Clauses

What is a Clause?
A clause is a group of words that has both a subject and a predicate. Every complete sentence
is made up of at least one clause.

Examples:
• I graduated last year. (One clause sentence)
• When I came here, I saw him. (Two clause sentence)
• When I came here, I saw him, and he greeted me. (Three clause sentence)

Types of Clause
Clauses are mainly of two types:
• Independent Clause
• Dependent Clause

Independent Clause
An independent clause (or main clause) makes sense by itself. It expresses a complete thought.

Minila bought a new computer.

(One independent clause)

Minila bought a new computer, but he still has the old one.
[Two independent clauses (Coordinating conjunctions don't count as part of the clause.)]

Although he still has his old one, Minila now has a new computer.
(Only the second clause is independent.)

More examples:
• He is a wise man.
• I like him.
• Can you do it?
• Do it please. (Subject you is hidden)
• I read the whole story.
• I want to buy a phone, but I don’t have enough money. (Two independent clauses)
• He went to London and visited the Lords. (Subject of the second clause is ‘he,' so “he
visited the Lords” is an independent clause.)

Dependent Clause
A dependent clause (or subordinate clause) does not make sense by itself. It does not express a
complete thought.

Although he still has his old one.

(Without the independent clause, a dependent clause is a sentence fragment.)

A dependent clause usually begins with a subordinating conjunction, a relative pronoun, or

some other word that causes it to become dependent.

A dependent clause will make sense only when attached to an independent clause.

Although he still has his old one. (Although is a subordinating conjunction.)

He still has his old one. (Without the conjunction, the clause becomes independent.)

Michael now has a new computer although he still has his old one.
(Combined with an independent clause, the dependent clause makes sense.)

More examples:
• When I was going to the university, I had an accident.
• I know the man who stole the watch.
• He bought a car which was too expensive.
• I know that he cannot do it.
• He does not know where he was born.
• If you don’t eat, I won’t go.
• He is a very talented player though he is out of form.

What is an Adverb?
An adverb is a word that describes or gives more information about a verb, an adjective,
another adverb, or even the entire sentence.

An adverb can describe a verb: She runs quickly.

An adverb can describe an adjective: She is so beautiful.

An adverb can describe another adverb: She smokes very rarely.

An adverb can describe an entire sentence: Finally, they got married.

Adverbs give more information about how an action was performed. In general, they answer
questions like, how, why, where and when.

What is an Adverbial Phrase?

An adverbial phrase is a group of words that functions as an adverb.

Jehan will sit in silence.

(The adverbial phrase "in silence" is functioning as an adverb of manner. It tells us how Jack
sat.)
Jehan will sit quietly.
(This is a normal adverb. This example has been included to prove that "in silence" is an
adverb.)

In the examples above, all the adverbs tell us how the person will sit. They are all adverbs of
manner.

What is an Adverb Clause?

Adverbial clauses or Adverb clauses are groups of words with a subject and a predicate that
function as adverbs in a sentence.

Just like adverbs, they answer the questions “when?”, “where?”, “how?”, “why?” to describe
time, place, manner, purpose, etc.:
• Before you leave, please turn off the lights.
• The show will start after the sun goes down.
• She acted like it was a joke.
• We canceled the trip because the weather has gotten worse.

Adverb Clause vs Adverb Phrase

When talking about clauses, it is important to know the difference between a clause and a
phrase.

An adverb clause always has a subject (who/what) and a predicate (what the subject does):
• If you are late...
• When I saw my friend…
• Before I go back to school…

An adverb phrase, on the other hand, does not have a subject and a predicate:
• Like a little kid
• In two days
• Quite well
Examples of Adverb Clauses in Sentences
As we discussed before, you can move adverb clauses in sentences fairly easily. You can put
adverb clauses in the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence.

Below are some examples of adverb clauses in different positions in sentences.

Adverb clauses at the beginning of a sentence:

• Before you leave, please turn off the lights.
• Although she hasn’t finished her work, she is watching a movie.
• Once they throw you out, you can’t go back.
• After the game had finished, everyone went to a pub.
• When they went to the zoo, she saw an elephant for the first time in her life.
• Because she loved him, she was extremely forgiving.

Adverb clauses in the middle of a sentence:

• Chocolate, because it melts at low temperatures, can be tricky to bake with.
• Bishan, after he bought his new boat, was rarely seen at home.
• My grandmother, when she was angry, was better left alone.
• Janith, although it was chilly, was only wearing a t-shirt.

Adverb clauses at the end of a sentence:

• I don’t think he needs much sleep because he calls me at all hours of the day.
• We canceled the trip because the weather has gotten worse.
• Turn the TV off so that we can eat our dinner.
• She acted like it was a joke.
• The show will start after the sun goes down.

Types of Adverb Clauses

• Adverb Clauses of Time
• Adverbial Clauses of Place
• Adverbial Clauses of Condition
• Adverbial Clauses of Manner
• Adverbial Clauses of Cause/Reason
• Adverbial Clauses of Effect
• Adverbial Clauses of Comparison
• Adverbial Clauses of Concession/Contrast
• Adverbial Clauses of Purpose

Adverb Clauses of Time

Adverb clauses of time tell us about when something happens.
We can use conjunctions like ‘when’, ‘whenever’, ‘before’, ‘after’, ‘as’, ‘while’ ‘until’, ‘as
soon as’, and ‘since’:

Examples:
• I stopped running when I saw my friend.
• Aruni gets excited whenever she sees a dog.
• I’ll do my homework before I go back to school.
• Harindu went home after the movie ended.
• I watched my mother as she prepared dinner.
• He washed the dishes while his girlfriend vacuumed the floor.
• I will come over as soon as I finish eating.
• Gihanga hasn’t stopped working since she arrived.

Adverbial Clauses of Place

Adverb clauses of place tell us about where something happens.

We can use the conjunctions ‘where’, ‘wherever’, and ‘everywhere’:

Examples:
• Wherever I go, I always see a McDonald’s restaurant.
• I’m not sure where she lives.
• We met kind people everywhere we went.
• Where there is a will, there is a way.
• He followed her wherever she went.
• That’s the town where I was born.

Adverbial Clauses of Cause/Reason

Clauses of cause are used to show why something happens. These clauses begin with the
conjunctions ‘because’, ‘since’, and ‘as’:

Examples:
• I listen to classical music because it sounds beautiful.
• Since you’re so kind to me, I will help you.
• As it was so sunny, he walked to the park.

Note: ‘because’ is more common in informal conversations than ‘since’ or ‘as.’