ADJECTIVE CLAUSE

DEFINITION: An adjective clause is used to describe a noun, and it is usually introduced by a relative pronoun.
The car, which was red, belonged to Young-Hee.
There are two main kinds of adjective clause:
1. Non-defining clauses give extra information about the noun, but they are not essential
The desk in the corner, which is covered in books, is mine.
2. Defining clauses give essential information about the noun
The package that arrived this morning is on the desk.
Adjective clauses are introduced by:
That/who
People
1. A relative pronoun
Whose
Owners
a. Who: used for humans in subject position. Hans, who is an architect, lives in Berlin.
That/which Things
b. Whom: used for humans in object position. Marike, whom Hans knows well, is an
where
places
interior decorator.
When
time
c. That: used for humans, animals and things, in subject or object position. Marike is
decorating a house that Hans designed.
d. Which: used for things and animals in subject or object position. Marike has a dog which follows her everywhere.
2. A relative adverb:
a. Where: used for places. The building where he works is new
b. When: used for time. I will never forget the day when I graduated
The relative is omitted when it is a complement the book (that) I bought
The relative is omitted when it has a preposition the place (that) we went to
With that the preposition is placed at the end I bought the book that you told me about
EXERCISES
I. CHOOSE THE CORRECT RELATIVE PRONOUN TO INTRODUCE THE ADJECTIVE CLAUSE
1. The cougar is a member of the cat family ______ grows to around 8 feet in length.
a who b which c whom d that
2. The cougar lives in deserts, forests, plains and mountains, but according to scientists
a who b which c whom d whose
________ have studied the animal, it is becoming endangered in some areas.
3. The cougar has powerful legs, ________ it uses to climb and to jump into trees.
a who b which c whom d whose
4. Cougars sometimes prey on sheep and goats, so they may be killed by the farmers
a who b which c whom d whose
________ animals they attack.
5. However, cougars very rarely attack humans, of ________ they are usually afraid.
a who b whom c which d that
II. COMBINE THE TWO SENTENCES USING ADJECTIVE CLAUSES
The man was sick.
1.
He looked very pale.
He was sitting in the emergency room.
2.
It was very crowded.
A nurse was nearby.
3.
He called to her.
The nurse called a doctor.
4.
He came quickly.
The doctor asked him to lie down.
5.
He looked very worried.
She gave the man an injection.
6.
It made him go to sleep.
I rent a house.
7.
It is very small.
The car was stolen.
8.
It was a BMW.
The man smoked forty cigarettes a day.
9.
He died of a heart attack.
That's the building.
10.
I work there.

Material de apoyo elaborado por la Prof. Mara Da Graca en marzo 2013 y revisado en julio 2014

ADVERB CLAUSE
DEFINITION:
It is a dependent clause that functions as an adverb; that is, the entire clause modifies a verb, an adjective, or another
adverb. As with all clauses it contains a subject and predicate, although the subject as well as the (predicate) verb may
sometimes be omitted and implied. It is usually, but not always, fronted by a subordinate conjunctionsometimes called a
trigger word.
TYPES:
Adverbial clauses are divided into several groups according to the actions or senses of their conjunctions
Type of
Common Conjunctions
Function
Example
Clause
Conjunctions answering the
These clauses say when
Her goldfish died when she was young.
Time
question "when?", such as:
something happens by referring
when, before, after, since, while, as, to a period or point of time, or He came after night had fallen.
as long as, till, until, etc.;
to another event.
We barely had gotten there when
or the paired (correlative)
mighty Casey struck out.
conjunctions: hardly...when,
scarcely...when, barely...when, no
sooner...than
if, unless, lest
Talk about a possible or
If they lose weight during an illness,
Condition
counterfactual situation and its they soon regain it afterwards.
consequences.
in order to, so that, in order that
Indicate the purpose of an
They had to take some of his land so
Purpose
action.
that they could extend the chuch yard.
because, since, as, given
Indicate the reason for
I couldn't feel anger against
Reason
something.
him because I liked him too much.
although, though, while
Make two statements, one of I used to read a lot although I don't get
Concession
which contrasts with the other much time for books now.
or makes it seem surprising.
Answering the question "where?": Talk about the location or
He said he was happy where he was.
Place
where, wherever, anywhere,
position of something.
everywhere, etc.
State comparison of a skill, size Johan can speak English as fluently as
Comparison as...as, than, as
or amount, etc.
his teacher.
She is a better cook than I.
Answering the question, "how"?: as, Talk about someone's behavior I was never allowed to do things as I
Manner
like, the way
or the way something is done. wanted to do them.
so...that, such...that
Indicate the result(s) of an act My suitcase had become so damaged
Result
or event.
that the lid would not stay closed.
EXERCISES
FILL IN THE BLANK WITH THE PROPER WORD
1. The lady likes to go ________ she used to live.
a when
b where
c like
d since
2. The man will come ________he miss the flight.
a when
b unless
c where
d like
3. The woman will sing ________ to entertain the people. a how
b where
c when
d in order to
4. The boy exercises ________ it is sunny.
a like
b when
c where
d unless
5. The girl looks nice ________ she goes.
a when
b wherever c if
d like
6. ________ you stop crying, I'll buy you an ice cream.
a if
b since
c unless
d where
He doesn't understand __________ he doesn't speak
7.
a so
b because
c when
d where
French very well.
8. He spoke slowly __________ she would understand.
a because
b so that
c when
d like
You should say goodbye to your brother __________
9.
a like
b before
c since
d unless
you leave for Europe.
You should keep the milk in the refrigerator, __________
10.
a unless
b when
c so that
d since
it doesn't go bad.
Material de apoyo elaborado por la Prof. Mara Da Graca en marzo 2013 y revisado en julio 2014

NOUN CLAUSE OR NOMINAL CLAUSE

DEFINITION: It is a dependent clause that functions as a noun (that is, as a subject, object, or complement) within
a sentence.
TYPES:
1. THAT
To change a statement into a noun clause use that:
I know + Billy made a mistake = I know that Billy made a mistake.
2. IF / WHETHER
To change a yes/no question into a noun clause, use if or whether:
George wonders + Does Fred know how to cook? = George wonders if Fred knows how to cook.
3. WH-WORD
To change a wh-question into a noun clause, use the wh-word:
I dont know + Where is George? = I dont know where George is.
EXERCISES
I. COMPLETE EACH SENTENCE WITH A PROPERLY FORMED NOUN CLAUSE
1.
John asked me ________________.
a where was his wallet
b where his wallet was
2.
I couldn't tell him ________________.
a where was I
b where I was
3.
I don't know ________________.
a how many children he has
b how many children does he have
4.
________________ is not important.
a How close we are
b How close are we
5.
________________ was sad.
a What did she say
b What she said
6.
We are not responsible for
a what our children say
b what do our children say
_______________.
7.
Is it true ________________ about you?
a what did he say
b what he said
8.
I'm not going to tell you
a what should you do
b what you should do
________________.
9.
I wonder if ________________ from
a is he
b he is
Germany.
10.
The teacher told us ________________
a where we should leave
b where should we leave
our finished exams.
II. SELECT THE RESPONSE THAT BEST COMPLETES THE SENTENCE.
1. Last week, our cat gave birth
a is our cat
b our cat was
c our cat is
d was our cat
to a litter of kittens, but we
didn't know where ________.
2.

Now, our cat is home again,

and we can't believe how many
________.

a kittens does she

have

b kittens has she

c she has kittens

d kittens she has

3.

Can you imagine ________?

The kittens are so noisy that I
can hardly hear what
________.

b how cute are

they
b that you are
saying

c how they are

cute
c are saying you

d are they cute

4.

a how cute they

are
a are saying you

5.

My husband said _________

try to keep them all.
The cat belongs to my
daughter, so my husband
insisted that ________ them
for adoption. (give them
away)
He told us ________ sad, and
that it would be better for
everyone.

a don't we

b that shouldn't

d that we don't

a she offer

b she offers

c that we
shouldn't
c she will offer

a don't be

b doesn't be

c not be

d not to be

6.

7.

Material de apoyo elaborado por la Prof. Mara Da Graca en marzo 2013 y revisado en julio 2014

d you are saying

d she must offer

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.
15.

She needed to find new homes

for them, but she didn't know
whom ________.
She decided _____________
post some notices around the
neighborhood.
Neighbors dropped by just to
take a look. Everyone picked
out ____________.
One mother told her son,
"_______ is daily care. Can
you give that?"
"Adopting a kitten depends on
____________ the ability to
care for it."
Of course, the child agreed. Is
it possible __________ the
child would not agree?
__________ a good home is
important.
_________ happened. All but
two of the kittens were
adopted. (but except)

a should she ask

b she should ask

c she ask

d she asks

a that she

b what she

c what she would

d that she would

a which one he's

like

B which one he
likes

c which one he
liked

d which one they

liked

a That a pet needs

b What a pet
needs

c Which a pet
needs

d Whether a pet
needs

a have you

b whether you
have

c that have you

d if have you

a what

b that

d whether or not

a Should a pet get

b Does a pet get

c If a pet gets

a That we wanted

b What we
wanted

c Which we
wanted

if

Material de apoyo elaborado por la Prof. Mara Da Graca en marzo 2013 y revisado en julio 2014

d Whether a pet
gets
d What do we
want