The Adjective Clause
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Transcript The Adjective Clause
Recognize an adjective clause when you see one.
Adjective Clause
An adjective clause—also called an adjectival or
relative clause—will meet three requirements:
First, it will contain a subject and verb
Next, it will begin with a relative pronoun [who, whom,
whose, that, or which] or a relative adverb [when, where,
or why].
Finally, it will function as an adjective, answering the
questions What kind? How many? or Which one?
Adjective Clause Formula
Examples
Whose big, brown eyes pleaded for another cookie
Whose = relative pronoun; eyes = subject; pleaded =
verb.
Why Fred cannot stand sitting across from his sister
Melanie
Why = relative adverb; Fred = subject; can stand = verb
[not, an adverb, is not officially part of the verb].
Adjective Phrases In Use
Diane felt manipulated by her beagle Santana, whose
big, brown eyes pleaded for another cookie.
Chewing with her mouth open is one reason why Fred
cannot stand sitting across from his sister Melanie.
Assessment
Growling ferociously, Oreo and Skeeter, Madison's two
dogs, competed for the hardboiled egg that bounced
across the kitchen floor.
Laughter erupted from Annamarie, who hiccupped for
seven hours afterward.
Answers
Growling ferociously, Oreo and Skeeter, Madison's two
dogs, competed for the hardboiled egg that bounced
across the kitchen floor.
Laughter erupted from Annamarie, who hiccupped
for seven hours afterward.
Recognize an adverb clause when you see one.
Adverb Clause
An adverb clause will meet three requirements.
First, it will contain a subject and verb.
You will also find a subordinate conjunction that keeps
the clause from expressing a complete thought.
Finally, you will notice that the clause answers one of
these three adverb questions: How? When? or Why?
Subordinate Conjunction
How, When, Why?
Tommy scrubbed the bathroom tile until his arms
ached.
How did Tommy scrub?
Until his arms ached = adverb clause.
Assessment
Underline the adverb clause. In your answers, include a
‘how’, ‘when’, or ‘why’ question. Ex.. “How did Tommy
scrub?”
1. Josephine's three cats bolted from the driveway once
they saw her car turn the corner.
2. After her appointment at the orthodontist, Danielle
cooked eggs for dinner because she could easily chew
an omelet.
Answer
Josephine's three cats bolted from the driveway once
they saw her car turn the corner.
When did the cats bolt? Once they saw her car turn the
corner, an adverb clause.
After her appointment at the orthodontist, Danielle
cooked eggs for dinner because she could easily chew
an omelet.
Why did Danielle cook eggs? Because she could easily
chew an omelet, an adverb clause.
Recognize an noun clause when you see one.
Overview (Of Everything)
A sentence which contains just one clause is called a
simple sentence.
A sentence which contains one independent clause
and one or more dependent clauses is called a
complex sentence. (Dependent clauses are also
called subordinate clauses.)
There are three basic types of dependent clauses:
adjective clauses, adverb clauses, and noun clauses.
(Adjective clauses are also called relative clauses.)
Noun clauses perform the same functions
in sentences that nouns do:
A noun clause can be a subject of a verb:
What Billy did shocked his friends.
A noun clause can be an object of a verb:
What Billy did shocked his friends.
A noun clause can be a subject complement:
Billy’s mistake was that he refused to take lessons.
A noun clause can be an object of a preposition:
Mary is not responsible for what Billy did.
A noun clause (but not a noun) can be an adjective
complement: Everybody is sad that Billy drowned.
Activity Part 1.
Finish these phrases with nouns
1. I don’t know _________________.
2. I love _________________.
3. I remember _____________.
4. _______________ is fun.
A noun clause REPLACES a noun. In other words, a
noun clause is a multi-word noun.
Replace the nouns from Activity Pt. 1 with a noun
clause.
1. I don’t know _________________.
2. I love _________________.
3. I remember _____________.
4. ______________ is fun.