Adverbial subordinate

clauses
prof: Jennifer June Evans
Prepared by:

Brahim MEZGAZR
 Contents
Introduction

I- adverbial clauses with subordinators

1- Form

2- Meaning

A- clauses of time (temporal clauses)

- participles after subnordinators

B- clauses of manner

C- clauses of cause

- clauses of purpose

purpose clauses of avoidance

- clauses of reason

D- clauses of result

E- clauses of concession
 Contents (continue)
II- Free adjuncts

1- Form

2- Meaning

A- Time Relationship

- Concurrent Action

- Sequential Action

B- Reason Relationship

C- Instrumental Relationship

D- Conditional Relationship

3- Use

A- In Sentence-Initial Position

B- After Main Clause Position

III- problems ESL/EFL students have with adverbial subordinate clauses

 introduction
Adverbial subordinate clauses are subordinate clauses that have an adverbial function
(i.e., like adverbs, they answer questions such as How? When? And Why?).

They are introduced by specific words called subordinators like as soon

as, after, because, in order ………..

Subordinators include:

 single words: when, since, while, after, because…………

 multiword memebers: as soon as, as if, in order ……

These subordinators establish the relation between the events or conditions in the
subordinate clause and those in the main clause.
 I- ADVERBIAL SUBORDINATE CLAUSES
WITH SUBORDINATORS
1- Form:
Adverbial subordinate clauses usually have an overt subject and a verb with
tense or a modal. Overt Verb with
subject tense
eg: - She called him after she had finished her dinner.
main clause adverbial subordinate clause

Most Adverbial subordinate clauses may also precede a main clause.

eg: - After she had finished her dinner, she called him.
Adverbial subordinate clause main clause

However,
In addition to these finite clauses, we find adverbial subordinate clauses that
have an infinitive or a past or present participal instead of a tensed verb, and
that luck overt subjects (it is an implied subject- the subject of the main clause).

eg 1: - Although complained about lot of assignments, master students can still manage
the situation. Past participal

eg 2: - We must study hard in order to succeed in the exam.

infinitive
eg 3: - When riding a motorcycle, Ikram must be cautious.
Present participal

2- Meaning:
 Adverbial subordinate clauses are usually classified into groups
according to the relationship expressed by their subordinator.

 The main types of adverbial subordinate clauses are clauses of time,

manner, cause (purpose, reason), result, concession (For clauses of
condition , see chapter 19).
A-Clauses of time (temporal clauses):
 They are introduced by the following subordinators: after, as, as
soon as, before, once, since, until, when, whenever, and while.
 These subordinators establish time sequence relationship between
the events or conditions in the main and the subordinate clauses. In
the following, each case will be considered;

 After: the action in an adverbial clause introduced by after will occur

prior to the action in the main clause.
Eg: - The students started to complain after the teacher had left the classroom.

 AS: adverbial clauses introduced by as describe actions that are in

progress at the time that the event in the main clause occurs or occur
simultaneously with it.

Eg: - She called as I was leaving.

- As she entered the classroom, the teacher walked fast .

 As soon as/Once: adverbial clauses introduced by as soon as specify an
action that occurs right before the main clause action is carried out.

Eg: - The audiance applauded as soon as Ikram announced to be the winner.

 The subordinator once marks an action that occurs prior the main
clause action. It is basically interchangeable with as soon as.
once
Eg: - The jury announced the winners the competition had finished.

As soon as
If once is followed by be and a prepositional phrase, the clause subject and
be can be deleted to produce a shortened clause.

Eg: - Once he was at home, he took a hot shower.

- Once at home, he took a hot shower.

Before: the action in an adverbial clause introduced by before occurs

after the action in the main clause . ( before is also preposition as in before
five p.m)

Eg: - He voted before he came to work.

 Since: clauses introduced by since mark the begining of a time during
which the main clause action occured- the action occurs during a span of
time that starts with the point in the adverbial clause. (since is also a
preposition as in I have been a master program student since 2012.)
Eg: - I decided to enter a master program since I got my Bacalaureate.

 Until: clauses introduced by until designate the end point of an action

described in the main clause. ( until is also a preposition as in they danced until
midnight.)

Eg: - Brahim walked until he could not walk anymore.

 When/ while: the subordinators when and while can both introduce a clause
that specifies a period during which the action in the main clause
occured.
Eg: - I slept when/while the teacher was explaining the poem.

However,

 If the action of the verb in the adverbial clause has a very short
duration, when means „simultaneously, right after‟. While, which only
introduces clauses that have duration, cannot be used.

Eg: - When he woke up, he found himself trembling.

- While he woke up, he found himself trembling.* (ungrammatical)

Notice: when can also be a relative adverb modifying an NP as in the

first following example and introducing definite free relatives as in
the second example. (see chapter 18).

Eg 1: - I can still remember the day when Ahlam joined the master
program.

Eg 2: - She hates when he snoors.

 Whenever: the subordinator whenever means « regardless of/
irrespective of the time, no matter what time. »
Eg: - I was pointed to be the speaker, whenever the meeting is held.

- I was pointed to be the speaker, no matter/regardless of what time the meeting is

scheduled to occur.

Notice: whenever can also be relative adverb in indifinite relative

clauses. (in this case , whenever means „every time.‟ (see chapter 18)

Eg: - Brahim blushes whenever he sees the queen.

•The distinction between the meaning of whenever in adverbial

subordinate clauses and its meaning in indefinite free relatives is sutable
but significant and may not be recognized by ESL teachers and their
students
Participles after subordinators :

 Adverbial clauses of time that are introduced by while or when and have
be plus a present or past participal have short forms in which the
subject and be are omitted.

Eg 1: - While he was explaining the play, he became boring.

short form While explaining the play, he became boring.

Eg 2: - When he was asked to postpone the assignments, he agreed.

short form When asked to postpone the assignments, he agreed.

NOTICE
.
Notice: although the clauses that start with after, befor, and since and have a
present participal and no overt subject seem to be short forms of
adverbial clauses, they actually have a structure that is much closer
to that of a prepositional phrase.
Eg: - After studying for 13 hours, he collapsed.

 In this example ,The clause started by after does not mean that it is a
shortened form of an adverbial clause although after has a present
participal and no overt subject. In fact, it does not seem to
correspond to longer versions with subject and be omitted.
Therfore, the following example is ungrammatical.
Eg: - After he was studying for 13 hours, he callapsed.*

Notice, too, that we can substitute an NP for the words following

after, before, and since as these following examples show.
Eg 1: - After studying for 13 hours , he collapsed.

After the exame, he collapsed.

Eg 2: - Since graduating in professional BA, I have never seen him anymore.

Since the professional BA, I have never seen him anymore.

 However,
 In adverbial clauses introduced by subordinators such as as soon as,
when, and while, words following the subordinator cannot be replaced by
an NP.
Eg: - While waiting for the bus, he read the newspaper.

- While the wait he read the newspaper.* ( ungrammatical)

Therefore,
 This substitution test indicates that after in the example “ After studying
for 13 hours, he collapsed.” , since, and before in such a case are
prepositions.
 On/upon: the prepositions on/upon can introduce time clauses that have
essentially the same meaning as clauses introduced by when.
Eg: - On hearing of his death, she suffered a nervous breakdown.

- When hearing of his death, she suffered a nervous breakdown.

However,
 On can introduce only clauses that have a present participal and do
not have an overt subject.

 Corresponding finite clauses with a subject and a tensed verb are

ungrammatical.

Eg: - On she heard of his death, she suffered a nervous breakdown.*

B- Clauses of Manner
 Adverbial subordinate clauses of manner are introduced by the
compound subordinator as if and as though . They answer questions
posed by how.
as if
Eg: - We are seen we are literature specialists.
as though
 Inserting a pronoun that matches the main clause subject and would
between as and if brings out the “in the manner” meaning that these
subordinators have.

Eg: - We were seen as we would be if we were literature specialists.

 The preposition like, which means “similar to” is often substituted for
the subordinator as if, especially in spoken American English.

Eg:- We were seen like we were literature specialists.

C- Clauses of Cause:
 clauses of cause answer a why question. Most
grammarians recognise two kinds of causes -purpose
and reason. Clauses of purpose usually imply some
intention or plan by the subject of the main clause.
Eg: - I arrived early so I would prepare for the presentation. (purpose)

By contrast, clauses of reason do not imply

some intention or plan by the subject of the
main clause.
Eg: - I arrived early because the road was not crowded. (reason)
Clauses of Cause- Clauses of purpose (continue):
 the main subordinators that introduce purpose clauses are so and in
order.

 The subordinator in order is followed by an infinitive. Therefore, it can

be omitted, yielding what is called an adjunct of purpose as shown in
the following example. (see chapter 21 for more information)
Eg: - I arrived early in order to prepare for the presentation.

- I arrived early to prepare for the presentation.

 In order can also introduce purpose clauses followed by that and,

generally, a modal plus a bare infinitive.
Eg: - The teacher decided to postpone the exam in order that students can attend the MATE
conference.

 The subordinator so is often optionally followed by that.

Eg: - I got up early so I would not be late.

- I got up early so that I would not be late.

Clauses of purpose:(continue)

 Such this finite clause with so (that) often have a model such as can
and could.

Eg: - The teacher sent everyone an e-mail so (that) we could be sure of his absence.

 Alternatively, so can be followed by as and introduce an infinitive

purpose clause.

Eg: - The teacher sent everyone an e-mail so as to be sure of his absence.

Purpose clauses of avoidance

 They are a special class of purpose clauses, which express the idea
that an action in the main clause has the purpose of avoiding a
possible undesirable outcome in the adverbial clause.

Eg: - Step away from the machine before you get hurt.

notice: as mentioned earlier, the subordinator before

indroduces also adverbial clauses of time to mention an
action that occurs after the action of the main clause.
Purpose clauses of avoidance (continue)

 Clauses introduced by lest also convey the idea of avoidance. They

generally contain a bare infinitive. This particular subordinator is
viewed as rather antiquated by most native speakers, so it is seldom
heard.
Eg: - when he heard the guared coming, he quickly ejected the CD and turned the computer
off, lest they discover that he had been trying to break into their data bank.

 The idiomatic expression for fear also introduces clauses that imply
avoidance. It is followed optionally by that, which often include a
modal, or is followed by of and a present participle.

Eg 1: - He never joined in their games for fear (that )he would be ridiculed as an unathletic
nerd who could not catch a football.

Eg 2: - He never joined in their games for fear of being ridiculed as an unathletic nerd who
could not catch a football.

 In contrast to other purpose clauses , purpose clauses of avoidance

are usually not included in ESL/EFL grammar textbooks.
C- Clauses of Cause- clauses of reason:
 The main subordinators that introduce reason clause are because, for,
inasmuch as, seeing as/that, and since.
Eg: a) Brahim did not win the competition because he did not prepare a good poster.

c) She kept quiet, for she was afraid of annoying him.

d) Inasmach as you have apologized, I will consider the matter closed.

e) seeing as/that you have already done a lot of work on this project, you might as well finish
it.

f) since they know we will have a holiday, our teachers assigned us a lot of homeworks.

 Clauses introduced by for, must appear after the main clause.

 But clauses with all of the other reason subordinators can appear before
or after the main clause

 Seeing may occur alone or with that or as with dialect possibly affecting the
choice.
D- Clauses of Result:

 Clause of result are introduced by either the conjunction so or the

idiomatic expression with the result. The former may or may not be
followed by that, the latter must be.

Eg: - It had rained heavily the night before, so (that) the track was covered with water.

- He has lived a very frugal life, with the result that he now has a lot of money.

NOTICE
 Notice: Although, as we saw earlier, so that can also introduce purpose
clauses, the result and purpose uses can be distinguished on the
basis of syntactic tests and intonation.

 A result clause with so that cannot preced the main clause because
this places the result before the cause.

Eg: - It rained last night, so (that) the track was covered with water.

- So that the track was covered with water, it rained last night.*

 In contrast, purpose clauses with so that can preced the main clause.
Eg: - He got up earlier so that he would not be late for work on his first day.

- So that he would not be late for work on his first day, he got up early.

 Result clauses with so (that) also have falling intonation and a small
pose before the so, but this does not occur with so that purpose clause.

Eg 1: - He has just cashed his paycheck pause , so he had more then enough money to pay the
bell. (Result)

Eg 2: - He had cashed his paycheck so that he could pay the bell. ( purpose)
E- Clauses of Concession:
 Clause of concession, or concessive clauses, express a contrast with
the main clause. They are usually referred to a contrast clause in
ESL/EFL textbooks.

 The main subordinators introducing clauses of concession are

although, even (though), wheras, and while.
Eg: - Master students still complain although the teacher reduced and postponed the
assignments.

 In the light of the content of the clause introduced by although, the

statement in the main clause is unexpected. A key feature of
concessive meaning is that the truth of the concessive clause would
lead a person to expect that the main clause would be false.

 Concessive clauses can appear sentence initially, as the following

example, as well as finally as the example above.
Eg: - Although the teacher raduced and postponed the assignments, master students still
complain.
E- Clauses of Concession (continue):

 The subordinator though alternates with although, with some native

speakers considring though more formal.

 When though is preceded by even, the statement in the main clause is

made to seem yet more surprising or unexpected.

Eg: - Even though I had a lot of time, I could not finish preparing the presentation by the
scheduled deadline.

 While, primarily a temporal subordinator, and wheras also introduce

contrasting clauses.
 Eg: - While/Whereas many Moroccans speak Arabic, hardly any can speak Tamazight.

 While and whereas differ from although and (even) though clauses in one way:
they do not suggest that the main clause might be expected to be
false; they simply express the contrast. Therefore, whereas, in
particular, cannot always replace although.
Eg: - Wheras the teacher postponed the assignments, master students still complain.*
E- Clauses of Concession (continue):

 Clauses with although, though, or while that have be can sometimes be

shortened by omtting the subject and be.
Eg: - Although/Though/While it was expensive, it was not particularly well made.

Shortned form: - Although/Though/While expensive, it was not particularly well made.

 The meaning conveyed by the adverbial clauses of concession can

also be conveyed by the preposition despite or the prepositional
collocation in spite of followed by the fact and a that clause.
Eg:- In spite of/ Despite the fact that she grew in Souss, she does not speak Tassoussit.

 Despite and in spite of also introduce clauses beginig with a present

participle.

Eg: in spite of/despite having grown up in Souss, she does not speak Tassoussit.
 II-free adjuncts
 Free adjuncts, sometimes called suplimentive clauses, are adverbial
subordinate clauses that are loosely tied to the main clause in that
they are not introduced by a subordinator.

 The looseness of the tie is semantic since as we have seen,

subordinators clarify the relationship between the main clause and
subordinate clause.

Eg: - Waiting for the bus, he read a newspaper.

Free adjunct Main clause

 Free adjuncts are used almost exclusively in written English.

1- Form:
 In terms of form, free adjuncts have the following characteristics:
 They are not introduced by subordinators as are regular subordinate clauses.

 They contain a present participal.

 II-free adjuncts
1- Form (continue):
 They have no overt subject, but in most cases the missing subject is felt to be
identical to the main clause subject.

 They can precede or follow the main clause and are set off from it by falling
intonation and a pause, represented by a comma in writing.

 The following examples encompass all these charcterestics;

Eg: - Backing out of the parking space, he bumped into a passing car.

- the train stopped suddenly, throwing some of the passengers out of their seats.
 II-free adjuncts
2- Meaning:
 Like regular adverbial subordinate clauses, the adjuncts answer how,
when, or why questions about the main clause.

 It is sometimes possible to paraphrase a sentence with a free adjunct

with more than one subordinator. However,often the possible
meanings of a specific adjunct in its context are fairly restricted.

 The types of adverbial relationships that free adjuncts have to main

clauses can be usefully divided into time relationships and several
other types like reason and conditional.

 Native speakers‟ interpretations of the relationship of a free adjunct

to its main clause are often significantly influenced by the lexical
aspects of the verbs in both clauses.

 The position of the free adjunct in relation to the main clause also
plays a role in how free adjuncts are used and understood.
 II-free adjuncts
2- Meaning (continue):
A- Time Relationships:
 Many free adjuncts constitute a possible answer to a when question
posed about the main clause.

 That is, the action in the main clause occurs at a time relative to the
event that is in the free adjunct.

 Two kinds of temporal relationships can be recognized; concurrent action

and sequential action.

Concurrent Action:

 The concurrent action relationship between clauses occurs when the

main clause action goes on while the action in the adjunct is
happening.
Eg: - Driving through the countryside, Alvin gazed upon countless fruit trees that were in full
bloom.
 II-free adjuncts
A- Time Relationships: -Concurrent Action (continue):

 In the above example, notice that both verbs , drive and gaze, are
activity verbs; they have inherent duration that potentially can go on
indefinitely.

 The main clause action, gazing, is going on concurrently to the action

of driving.

 The free adjunct answers the question when did Alvin gaze upon the
countless fruit trees?

 Notice: As we saw earlier, while and as are subortdinators of ongoing

action, so the relationship of the free adjunct to the main clause in the
above example can be paraphrased in a sentence with either of these
two subordinators.
Eg: - While/As (he was) driving through the countryside, Alvin gazed upon countless fruit
trees that were in full bloom.
 II-free adjuncts
A- Time Relationships: -Concurrent Action (continue):

 Concurrent action may also be expressed if the adjunct contains a

stative verb, since states, too have inherent duration.

Eg: - Lying between the satain sheets of her bed, Vironica reflected on the joys of being
fabulously wealthy.

 In this example, the free adjunct has the stative verb lie and the main
clause has an activity verb, namely, reflect. The action of reflecting
occurs during the state denoted in the free adjunct.

 A paraphrase with while or as is again possible as the following;

Eg: - While/As she lay between the satain sheets of her bed, Vironica reflected on the joyes of
being fabulously wealthy.

Thus,
•When a free adjunct has a staive or activity verb and the main clause has an activity verb,
The free adjunct tells what the main clause activity was concurrent with.
 II-free adjuncts
A- Time Relationships: -Sequential Action:
 The sequential action time relationship occurs when the main clause
action closely follows the action in the free adjunct.

 In sentences with a sequential action relationship, typically the free

adjunct and the main clause contain achievement or accomplishment
verbs.

 Since both types imply an action with an end point , the action in the
main clause is seen as the second of two actions that occur in
succession.

Eg: - Opening the drawer, he took the manuscript.

 Various paraphrases express the idea of successive actions; the

coordinate conjunction and optionally followed by (then) is the most
basic of these.

Eg: - He opened the drawer and then took out the manuscript.
 II-free adjuncts
A- Time Relationships: -Sequential Action (continue) :
 Sentences with a sequential action relationship can also be
paraphrased using as soon as, when, and (up) on in addition to and then to
express the idea of successive actions. This is because these
subordinators are appropriate with an achievement verb that involves
longer duration prior to the end point.
Eg: - Reaching the river, they pitched camp for the night.

As soon as they reached

when they reached the river, they pitched camp for the night.

upon reaching

- They reached the river, and then pitched camp for the night.
 II-free adjuncts
A- Time Relationships: -Sequential Action (continue) :
 A sequential action interpretation also occurs with a common type of
free adjunct begining with having + past participal.

Eg: - Having considered the entrances and escape routes, Kurtz decided he must rent the lower
flat too…

 Because the verb in the above example is in the perfect form, free
adjunct denotes an action that occured before the main clause action.

 Paraphrases with the subordinators After and as soon as are possible to

express the relationship between the free adjunct and the main
clause. Therefore, the above example can be paraphrased as:
After
Eg: - he had considered the entrances and escape routes, Kurtz decided he must….
As soon as
 II-free adjuncts
B- Reason Relationship:
 Free adjuncts can also be interpreted as expressing a reason for the
main clause action.

 Such an interpretation is common when free adjuncts have stative

verbs of cognition such as believe, desire, dislike, doubt, feel, guess, know, prefer, see,
suppose, think, and understand or stative verbs of desire such as desire, want,
and wish.

 In these cases, the adjunct answers a why question posed about the
main clause, and can be paraphrased with adverbial subordinators of
reason such as because and since.

Eg: - Believing that Susan would be late as usual, Tom took his time getting ready for their date.

- Since/Because he believed that susan would be late as usual,Tom took his time getting ready
for their date.
 II-free adjuncts
C- Instrumental Relationship:
 An instrumental relationship between the clauses occurs when the
free adjunct expresses the means for the action in the main clause.

 The verb in the free adjunct denotes an action to bring about a result
described in the main clause.

Eg: - Collaborating with his classmates, he succeeded to improve his learning outcomes.

 The free adjunct is thus the answer to a how question posed about the
main clause.

 The instrumental relationship is facilitated by main clause verbs that

denote accomplishment.

 The subordinator that brings out this interpretation is by as in the

following example;

Eg: - By collaborating with his classmates, he succeded to improve his learning outcomes.
 II-free adjuncts
D- Conditional Relationship:
 With free adjuncts introduced by a few verbs (e.g., assume, consider, grant,
and, possibily, suppose), we can have a conditional relationship between
the clauses;

 That is, the truth of the content of the main clause is expressed as
having the condiotion given in the free adjunct.

Eg: - Assuming that newspaper accounts are an accurate reflection of public opinion, Chicagoans
must have been alarmed at the rise of property-related crimes over the past year.

 When clauses have conditional relationship, the sentence can be

paraphrased with the subordinator if,
Eg: - if one/we assume(s) that newspaper accounts are an accurate reflection of public opinion,
Chicagoans must have been alarmed at the rise of property-related crimes over the
past year.

 As the paraphrase reveals, with these conditional relationship

sentences, the missing subject is one or we, rather than the main clause
subject, as in other free adjuncts.
 II-free adjuncts
3- Use:
 As already mentioned, free adjuncts are used exclusively in writing.

 The effects to which writers use them are dependent in large part
upon the position of the adjunct in relation to the main clause.

A- In sentence-Initial Position:

 In sentences that begin the first paragraph of an article, an initial free

adjunct can draw the reader in by vividly setting the scene in a
sentence that is introducing a topic.

Eg: - Rising out of the central plateau in a jumble of dusty apartment blocks and crowded roads, this
is an unremarkable city in every respect but one – the caverns beneat it house hundreds
of barrels of highly radioactive fuel rods.

 In this example, the free adjunct evokes a vivid image that further
gains effectiveness by contrasting with the shocking fact that
revealed following the main clause.
 II-free adjuncts
3- Use: In sentence-Initial Position (continue):
 That is, the adjunct vividly and concretely conveys the
unremarkableness of the city, and this unremarkableness contrasts
with the dangerous radioactive material stored beneath, the topic of
the article, which is thereby introduced as the above example.

 In sentences that start later paragraphs in a text, initial free adjuncts

are often used to link to information in the previous paragraph while
introducing a topic shift.

Eg: - Hoping to get a better handle on the hunt, agencies and hunting groups in 1999 embarked
in a cooperative program called community-based management.

 This sentence begins a new paragraph linked to a previous paragraph about the
suspections that the narwhal, a species of whale, population was becoming reduced by
the annual hunt to a point where the species was becoming endangered. Thus the free
adjunct shifts the topic to a new initiative, which will hopefully provide more accurate
information about how many narwhals are killed. …


 II-free adjuncts
3- Use: B- After the Main Clause:
 Free adjuncts that follow main clauses have the same types of
adverbial relationships as adjuncts that preced main clauss.

 In terms of use, free adjuncts following the main clause serve

purposes that have been labeled addition and elaboration.

 That is , the free adjunct is used to add to the meaning of the main
clause or to expand it in some way.

Eg: - He answered their questions, smiling, frowning, and occasionally laughing heartily.

 In this sentence, the free adjunct provides further information about

the action in the main clause. The information in the adjunct is about
manner, it answers the question how did he answer their questions?
III-problems that esl/efl students have
with adverbial subordinate clauses
1- Connection to Main Clause:
 Students sometimes produce sentences with a grammatically correct
subordinate clause but a faulty connection between subordinate and main
clause.

Eg: - Because I was not prepared when i arrived to UIUC it is why the low temperatures in october
began to make effect on me.*

2-Subordinator Choice
 Students sometimes choose the wrong subordinator or even confuse
subordinators with other words. As the following sentence show, the
writer uses while instead of when.

Eg: - While you select one track in the engineering market, you are also missing the rest of the other
possibilities you may have.*
 Please make sure you revise this chapter because it is included in the final exam as prof.
Jennefer mentioned in the FB page.

 Also, because we will have an activity before the exam regarding this chapter.

 Drills for today : Adverb Clauses

1. __________ getting the highest result in the class, John still had problems with
the teacher.
(A) Despite of
... (B) In spite of
(C) Even though
(D) Nonetheless

 Good luck