ENGLISH II

MEETING 4
ADJECTIVE CLAUSE

Table of Contents

Adjective clauses

- Leaving out the relative pronoun

- Adjective clause: where, when, why

- Adjective clause: whose, who, whom

- Adjective clause: which, that

- Identify a missing objective relative pronoun

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Adjective clauses

Leaving out the relative pronoun

You will meet a lot of adjective clauses (adjective clauses) without a relative
pronoun. For example, instead of:
O S V O S V
Tell us about the people that you saw and the food that you ate.

you will hear or read:

S V S V
Tell us about the people you saw and the food you ate.

However, we can do this if and only if the relative pronoun is an object pronoun.

Exercise

Read the diary and circle the six relative pronouns. If a relative pronoun can be
eliminated, draw aline through it.

Dear Diary,

Today was a very exciting day for me. It was my first day in high school, and I was

extremely excited. I signed up for the Spanish class which I had wanted for a long

time. Surprise! I get into the class! The teacher, who is from Malaga, Spain, is very

nice. I also got into a chemistry class. The lab, which is filled with all sorts of

scientific equipment, is a bit scary, but I think it will be interesting. Lunch time was

great because I got to see all the friends that I hadn’t seen all summer long. Overall,

I think this will be a wonderful year. There are so many interesting extracurricular

activities that I want to participate in, as well. Again, I think this is a year that will

keep me busy and happy!

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 Exercise

A. Make each of these pairs of simple sentences into one complex sentence by using
a relative pronoun.

Example: Fred Brown has a dog. It is called Jock.

Answer: Fred Brown has a dog that is called Jock.

1. This is the girl. She is going to sing a song.

2. Do you like the bicycle? My uncle gave it to me.

3. I have lost the pen. I bought it yesterday.

4. Richard lives in a house. It has a big garden.

5. I have finished the exercise. The teacher told us to do it.

6. These are the apples. They grew on my tree.

7. I saw the man. He won the prize.

8. They heard about the battle from a soldier. He had been wounded.

9. We had a friend. He was a famous writer.

10. The girl is going to sing a song. She is called Grace.

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 Exercise

Do the following five questions as the three examples show:

1. Underline the adjective clause in each sentence.
2. Show which noun the adjective clause qualifies.
3. show the functions of the relative pronoun.

a. The moment which is lost is lost forever.

(‘Which’ representing the noun ‘moment’, subject of verb ‘is lost’)

b. He could answer the question which I asked him.

(‘Which’ representing the noun ‘question’, object of t.v. ‘asked’)

c. He gave me everything that I asked for

(‘That’ representing the noun ‘everything’, object of the preposition ‘for’)

1. He that climbs too high is sure to fall.

2. I received the message which you sent me.

3. All the blessings that we enjoy come from god.

4. The boy behaved in good manners that his father was proud of.

5. The house that I live in belongs to my father.

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 Whatever, whoever, wherever, and whichever

Just as what means the thing(s) that, so:

Whatever = anything that

We shall eat whatever is left over from lunch. = We shall eat anything that is left over from
lunch.

Whoever = anybody that

Give it to whoever asks for it. = Give it to anybody that asks for it.

Wherever =in, at any place that

Put it wherever you like. = Put it in any place that you like.

Whichever = any one of several that

Choose whichever of the colours suits you.= Choose any one of the colours that suits you.

Exercise
Replace those parts of the following sentences in italics by one of the words, whatever,
whoever, etc.:

1. Put down that book in any place that you can find room for it.

2. Anyone that is sufficiently advanced can come to my class.

3. You see these books? You may choose any one of them that interests you.

4. Her dogs always follow her to any place that she goes.

5. Give it to anyone that wants it.

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 Exercise
The uses of relative pronouns – who, which, that, whoever

1. The manager wants to know wrote the inquiry letter to the supplier.
(A) whom (B) whose (C) who (D) which

2. To report lost or stolen traveler’s checks, contact the institution issued

thechecks.
(A) whose (B) that (C) it (D) where

3. Several bus lines have delayed until Friday the fare increases had been planned for
today.
(A) which (B) this (C) they (D) those

4. Salespeople travel more than three hundred miles per week are
entitledto drive a company car.
(A) who (B) whoever (C) whom (D) whose

5. Those trainees have successfully completed the six-week course will be

assigned tovarious positions throughout the company.
(A) who (B) what (C) their (D) they

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 Adjective Clause
Relative adverbs: where, when, why

(1) Mary bought a safe.She kept her jewels there.

(‘There’ is an adverb of place.)

Mary bought a safe [where she kept her jewels].

‘Where’ does two jobs:

1. linking the adjective clause ‘where she kept her jewels’ to the noun ‘safe’.
2. representing the adverb of place ‘there’ to modify the verb ‘kept’.
So, ‘where’ in the sentence is a relative adverb. ‘Relative adverb’ means ‘subordinate
conjunction +adverb’.

(2) The officer knows the time. Your train arrives then.

(‘Then’ is an adverb of time.)

The officer knows the time [when your train arrives].

‘When’ does two jobs:

1. linking the adjective clause ‘when your train arrives’ to the noun ‘time’.
2. representing the adverb of time ‘then’ to modify the verb

‘arrives’.So, ‘when’ is a 2nd relative adverb to form an

adjective clause.

(3) The principal wants to know the cause. The teacher punishes the boy reasonably.
(‘Reasonably’ is an adverb of reason.)
The principal wants to know the cause [why the teacher punishes the boy].

‘Why’ does two jobs:

1. linking the adjective clause ‘why the teacher punishes the boy’ to the noun ‘cause’.
2. representing the adverb of reason ‘reasonably’ to modify the verb
‘punishes’.So, ‘why’ is the third relative adverb to form an adjective
clause.

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More examples to show the use of relative adverbs:

The house [where the accident occurred] is nearby.

The time [when the new bridge is completed] is not
known.The reason [why he failed] is obvious to
everyone.

Exercise
Combine the following sentences with one of the four relative adverbs – where, when,
and why.

1. The time is not yet fixed. The boat leaves then.

2. This is the school. I was taught there.

3. Can you tell me the reason? You are not keeping your health.

4. Youth is the time. The seed of character are sown then.

5. Hard working is the cause. The boy gets a good result for that.

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Adjective clauses:
whose, who and whom

A special relative pronoun WHOSE (representing a possessive pronoun or a noun in

possessive case)
Example

People remember Presley. Presley’s songs are very popular.

People remember Presley [whose songs are very popular].

WHOSE does two jobs:

1. to be subordinate conjunction, joining the adjective clause ‘whose
songs are verypopular’ to the main clause.
2. to represent ‘Presley’s’ in possessive case to qualify the noun ‘song’.

Exercise
Try to combine the following sentences with WHOSE.

1. Joe bought a new car. Its color is red.

2. The boat sails along the river. Its banks are muddy.

3. These dogs have a leader. Their master is a female.

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The use of WHO (subject of a verb) and WHOM (object of a transitive verb or
preposition)

‘Who’ is the subject of a verb

He is a good friend. A good friend speaks well of us behind our backs.
S V
He is a good friend [who speaks well of us behind our backs].

‘Whom’ is the object of a verb

The people die young. The gods love the people.

O S V
The people [whom the gods love ] die young.

‘Whom’ is the object of a preposition

The boss came into the room. The staff paid attention to the boss.

O S V O
The boss [ ( to whom ) the staff paid attention] came into the room.
prep.

Exercise
Try to use WHO or WHOM to form an adjective clause.

1. The man learns nothing. He questions nothing.

2. No man can be a good ruler. A good ruler has first been ruled.

3. This is the man. I saw him in church yesterday.

4. The child is finally found. The parents have looked for him.

5. Here comes John. The teacher wants to speak to him.

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Exercise

Fill the blanks with the relative pronouns ‘who’ and ‘whom’, the relative adjective
‘whose’.

1. He [ marries] might be sorry; he [who does not] will be sorry.

2. Those [ the gods love] die young.

3. He [ marries for love without money] has good nights and sorry days.

4. Wealth is not his has it, but his enjoys it.

5. A triangle [ three sides are equal] is called an equilateral triangle.

6. He [ hesitates] is lost.

7. He [ laughs last] laughs best.

8. The sun, [ rays give life to the earth,] was regarded by the ancients as a
god.

9. This is the boy [ works hard.]

10. This is the boy [ exercise is done well.]

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Adjective clauses:
which and that

WHICH is (a) for animal, and (b) for thing :

(a) A mole is an animal.A mole lives underground.

A mole [which lives underground] is an animal.
A mole is an animal.The animal lives underground.
A mole is an animal [which lives underground].
(The underlined are adjective clauses, qualifying the preceding nouns.)

(b) This jungle track is not a road. The track is not for cars.
This jungle track [which is not for cars] is not a road.
This jungle track is not a road. The road is full of holes.
This jungle track is not a road [which is full of holes].

(The underlined are adjective clauses, qualifying the preceding nouns.)

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 THAT is (a) for people, (b) for animal, and (c) for thing :

(a) This doctor is a psychiatrist. The doctor treats mind-disorder.

This doctor [that treats mind-disorder] is a psychiatrist.
This doctor is a psychiatrist. A psychiatrist treats mind-disorder.
This doctor is a psychiatrist [that treats mind-disorder].

(b) The cat is catching a mouse. The cat belongs to my aunt.

The cat [that belongs to my aunt] is catching a mouse.
The cat is catching a mouse. The mouse runs into a hole.
The cat is catching a mouse [that runs into a hole].

(c) This book is a new publication. The book has many pictures.
This book [that has many pictures] is a new publication.
This book is a new publication. The new publication sells well.
This book is a new publication [that sells well].

(All the underlined relative clauses are adjective clauses, qualifying the preceding nouns)
(All the relative pronouns THAT and WHICH are used as subjects of theadjective clauses.)

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