Adjective Clause

Clauses
• A clause is a group of related words that contains a
subject and verb.
• Independent or main clauses are clauses that can stand
alone by itself.
• All basic sentences are main clauses.
• subordinate or dependent clauses are clauses that
cannot stand alone by itself.
who sits in front row.
when she came.
that the earth is round.
 Adjective Clause
• Adjective clause is a clause that perform the same function in
sentences that adjectives do, i.e. to modify nouns. It describes,
identifies, or gives further information about a noun.

Compare!
a. The teacher has a car. (Car is a noun.)
b. It’s a new car. (New is an adjective which modifies car.)
c. The car that she is driving is not hers.
(That she is driving is an adjective clause which modifies car.
It’s a clause because it has a subject (she) and a predicate (is
driving); it’s an adjective clause because it modifies a noun.)
• Note: adjectives usually precede the nouns they modify; adjective
clauses always follow the nouns they modify.
 Relative Pronouns
• Relative Pronouns are the connectors to begin an adjective
clauses.
• Kinds of relative pronouns in adjective clause:
- who,
- whom,
- that,
- which,
- whose,
- when,
- where.
 WHO
• Who replaces nouns and pronouns that refer
to people, not animals or things.
• Who replaces people as subject.
a. Professor Wilson is an excellent lecturer.
b. He teaches chemistry .
a+b = Professor Wilson who teaches chemistry is
an excellent lecturer.
a. Mr. Harrold is a scientist.
b. He defines specific gravity.
a+b=?
Mr. Harrold who defines specific gravity is a
scientist.
a. Mr. Harrold is a scientist.
b. The scientist defines specific gravity.
a+b=?
Mr. Harrold is a scientist who defines specific
gravity.
 WHOM
• Whom replaces nouns and pronouns that
refer to people, not animals or things.
• Whom replaces people as object of a verb or
preposition, not the subject of a verb.
a. The professor was away on holiday.
b. I wanted to see him.
a+b=?
The professor whom I wanted to see was away
on holiday.
a. The experts on AI are coming to the conference.
b. He wants to talk to them.
a+b=?
The experts on AI whom he wants to talk to are
coming to the conference.
The experts on AI to whom he wants to talk are
coming to the conference.
The experts on AI whom he wants to talk to are
coming to the conference.
 WHICH
• Which replaces nouns and pronouns that refer
to animals or things, not people.
• Which replaces animals or things as the
subject of a verb or the object of a verb or
preposition.
a. People will enjoy electric cars in the next few
years.
b. Electric cars are environmentally friendly.
a+b=?
People will enjoy electric cars which are
environmentally friendly in the next few years.
a. Electric cars produce zero emission.
b. People will enjoy them in the next few years.
a+b=?
Electric cars which people will enjoy in the next
few years produce zero emission.
 THAT
• That replaces nouns and pronouns that refer
to people, animals or things.
• It can be the subject of a verb.
• It can also be the object of a verb or
preposition
Note: that cannot follow a preposition; whom,
which, and whose are the only relative
pronouns that can follow a preposition).
The machine that was broken down has now
been repaired.
a= ?
The machine has now been repaired.
b= ?
The machine was broken down.
The machine that he just repaired yesterday is
now broken down.
a= ?
The machine is now broken down.
b= ?
He just repaired it yesterday.
 WHOSE
• Whose replaces possessive forms of nouns
and pronouns which can refer to people,
animals or things.
• It can be part of a subject or part of an object
of a verb or preposition, but it cannot be a
complete subject or object.
• Whose cannot be omitted.
a. The man is happy.
b. I found his wallet.

a+b =
The man whose wallet I found is happy.
a. The house is very famous and becomes the
city landmark.
b. Its design is unique and elegant.

a+b=?
The house whose design is unique and elegant is
very famous and becomes the city landmark
 WHEN
• When replaces a time (in + year, in + month,
on + day, ...).
• It cannot be a subject.
• It can be omitted.
a. I will never forget the day.
b. I graduated on that day.
= I will never forget the day when I graduated.

The same meaning can be expressed in other

ways:
• I will never forget the day on which I graduated.
• I will never forget the day that I graduated.
• I will never forget the day Ø I graduated.
 WHERE
• WHERE replaces a place (in + country, in + city,
at + school,...).
• It cannot be a subject.
• It can be omitted but a preposition (at, in, to)
usually must be added.
a. The building is new.
b. He works in the building.
= The building where he works is new.

The same meaning can be expressed in other

ways:
• The building in which he works is new.
• The building which he works in is new.
• The building that he works in is new.
• The building Ø he works in is new.
Done
 Adjective clauses can be restrictive or
nonrestrictive.
• A restrictive adjective clause contains information that is
necessary to identify the noun it modifies.
• If a restrictive adjective clause is removed from a sentence,
the meaning of the main clause changes.
• A restrictive adjective clause is not separated from the main
clause by a comma or commas.

Example: People who can’t swim should not jump into the
ocean.
Meaning: Not all people should not jump into the ocean. Only
people who can’t swim.
• A nonrestrictive adjective clause gives additional information
about the noun it modifies but is not necessary to identify
that noun.
• If a nonrestrictive adjective clause is removed from a
sentence, the meaning of the main clause does not change.
• A nonrestrictive adjective clause is separated from the main
clause by a comma or commas.
• The relative pronoun that cannot be used in nonrestrictive
adjective clauses.
• The relative pronoun cannot be omitted from a nonrestrictive
clause.
Example: There are many children at the beach. Some children,
who can’t swim, play the sand. The others swim in the sea.
Meaning: All the children who play the sand can’t swim.
Choose the correct answer to complete the
sentence.
1. The cougar is a member of the cat family
______ grows to around 8 feet in length.
–   that
–   whom
–   which
–   who
2. The cougar has powerful legs, ________ it us
es to climb and to jump into trees.
–   who
–   which
–   whom
–   whose
3. Cougars sometimes prey on sheep and goats,
so they may be killed by the farmers ________
animals they attack.
–   who
–   which
–   whose
–   whom
4. However, cougars very rarely attack humans,
of ________ they are usually afraid.
–   whom
–   which
–   that
–   who
  

Combine the sentences for each pair to be one

sentence.
• The man was sick. He looked very pale.
• He was sitting in the emergency room. It was very
crowded.
• A nurse was nearby. He called to her.
• The nurse called a doctor. She came quickly.
• The doctor asked him to lie down. She looked very
worried.
• She gave the man an injection. It made him go to
sleep.