Adjective Clause, Noun Clause and Adverbial Clause

Adjective Clause, Noun Clause and Adverbial Clause

ADJECTIVE CLAUSE

Introduction

Clause is a group of words containing a subject and a verb. Independent clause is a complete sentence. It contains the main subject and verb of a

sentence. (It is also called “a main clause.”) Dependent clause is not a complete sentence. It must be connected to an independent

clause. Adjective clause is a dependent clause that modifies a noun. It describes, identifies, or

gives further information about a noun. (An adjective clause is also called “a relative clause.”)→The function of adjective clause: to modify a preceding noun or a pronoun. (The noun or pronoun being modified is called antecedent)

A. Relative PronounRelative pronoun is pronoun that connects a main noun with a word that modifies it. The conjunctions are who, whom, which, that, and whose.

1. Relative Pronoun as SubjectConjunction:a. Who : used for people

e.g. The man is friendly. He lives next to me.→ The man who lives next to me is friendly.→ The man that lives next to me is friendly.

b. Which : used for things / non peoplee.g. The book is mine. It is on the table.→ The book which is on the table is mine.→ The book that is on the table is mine.

2. Relative Pronoun as ObjectConjunction:a. Whom (who) : used for people

e.g. I met the man yesterday. He was Dr. John.→ The man whom (who) I met yesterday was Dr. John.→ The man that I met yesterday was Dr. John.

→ The man Ø I met yesterday was Dr. John.

b. Which : used for things / non peoplee.g. The movie wasn’t very good. We saw it last night.→ The movie which we saw last night was good.→ The movie that we saw last night was good.

→ The movie Ø we saw last night was good.

Page | 1


3. Relative Pronoun as Possessive AdjectiveConjunction: whose → used for all nounse.g. I know a girl. Her brother is my friend.→ I know a girl whose brother is my friend.

B. Relative AdverbRelative adverb is a clause that modifies a noun explaining about place or time.

1. Adverb of TimeConjunction: when, preposition + whiche.g. This market was renovated in 2005. My nephew was born in that year.→ This market was renovated in 2005 when my nephew was born.→ This market was renovated in 2005 in which my nephew was born.→ This market was renovated in 2005 that my nephew was born in.

→ This market was renovated in 2005 Ø my nephew was born in.

2. Adverb of PlaceConjunction: where, preposition + whiche.g. The building is very old. He lives there.→ The building where he lives is very old.→ The building in which he lives is very old.→ The building which he lives in is very old.→ The building that he lives in is very old.

→ The building Ø he lives in is very old.

C. The Punctuation of Adjective Clauses

General guideline for the punctuation of adjective clauses:1) Do not use commas if the adjective clause is necessary to identify the noun it modifies.2) Use commas if the adjective clause simply give additional information and is not necessary

to identify the noun it modifies.a) The professor who teaches Chemistry

101 is an excellent professor.b) Professor Wilson, who teaches

Chemistry 101, is an excellent professor.

In (a): No commas are used. The adjective clause is necessary to identify which professor is meant.In (b): Commas are used. The adjective clause is not necessary to identify Professor Wilson. We already know who he is: he has a name. The adjective clause simply gives additional information.

c) Hawaii, which consists of eight principal islands, is a favorite vacation spot.

Guideline: Use commas, as in (b), if an adjective clause modifies a proper noun. (A proper noun begins with a capital letter.)Note: A comma reflects a pause in speech.

d) The man {whom (who)/that/ Ø} I met teaches Chemistry.

e) Mr. Lee, whom I met yesterday, teaches Chemistry.

In (d): If no commas are used, any possible pronoun may be used in the adjective clause. Object pronouns may be omitted.In (e): When commas are necessary, the pronoun that may not be used (only who, whom, which, whose, where and when may be used), and object pronouns cannot be omitted.

Page | 2


COMPARE THE MEANINGf) We took some children on a picnic. The

children, who wanted to play soccer, ran to open field as soon as we arrived at the park.

g) We took some children on a picnic. The children who wanted to play soccer ran to open field as soon as we arrived at the park. The others played a different game.

In (f): The use of commas means that all of the children want to play soccer and all of the children ran to open field. The adjective clause is used only to give additional information about the children.In (g): The lack of commas means that only some of the children wanted to play soccer. The adjective clause is used to identify which children ran to the open field.

D. Changing An Adjective Clause to An Adjective Phrase1. Relative Pronoun as Subject – Verbal – Active

Tenses: All Present Tense, all Past Tense

Present Tense:e.g. Diana who visits me everyday is beautiful. (S. Present)→ Diana visiting me everyday is beautiful.e.g. The teacher who is teaching Grammar now is a good teacher. (Pr. Continuous)→ The teacher teaching Grammar now is a good teacher.e.g. The girl who will come here tomorrow is my sister. (Pr. Future)→ The girl coming here tomorrow is my sister.e.g. I met the man who has taught in this school since 1999. (Pr. Perfect)→ I met the man having taught in this school since 1999.e.g. I saw Andy who has been studying in the library for 15 minutes. (Pr. Perfect Cons.)→ I saw Andy having studied in the library for 15 minutes.

Past Tense:e.g. The boy who played soccer yesterday was my brother. (S. Past)→ The boy playing soccer yesterday was my brother.e.g. I call Meta who was watching TV at 7 o’clock last night. (Ps. Continuous)→ I call Meta watching TV at 7 o’clock last night.e.g. Jane who would come here yesterday was my best friend. (Ps. Future)→ Jane coming here yesterday was my best friend.e.g. I will meet Kent who had studied English last month. (Ps. Perfect)→ I will meet Kent having studied English last month.e.g. She will visit John who had been living in Amsterdam last year. (Ps. Perfect Cons.)→ She will visit John having lived in Amsterdam last year.

Page | 3


2. Relative Pronoun as Subject – Verbal – PassiveTenses: All Present Tense, all Past Tense

Present Tense:e.g. The men who are reported by Daniel are smart. (S. Present)→ The men reported by Daniel are smart.e.g. The radio which is being repaired now is small. (Pr. Continuous)→ The radio being repaired now is small.e.g. Betty who has just been promoted is my friend. (Pr. Perfect)→ Betty having just been promoted is my friend.e.g. I met Frank who has been being called by Prof. Clark. (Pr. Perfect Cons.)→ I met Frank having been called by Prof. Clark.

Past Tense:e.g. The girl who was visited by Jerry yesterday is my sister. (S. Past)→ The girl visited by Jerry yesterday is my sister.e.g. His house which was visited by us is beautiful. (Ps. Continuous)→ His house visited by us is beautiful.e.g. Laura who had just been seen by Mr. Brown is my classmate. (Ps. Perfect)→ Laura having just been seen by Mr. Brown is my classmate.e.g. The motor cycle which had been being ridden by Tom is mine. (Ps. Perfect Cons.)→ The motor cycle having been ridden by Tom is mine.

3. Relative Pronoun as Subject – Non Verbal / NominalTenses: All Present Tense, all Past Tense

Present Tense:e.g. They want to talk to my friend who is beside me. (S. Present)→ They want to talk to my friend beside me.e.g. He wants to call my sister who has been a doctor. (Pr. Perfect)→ He wants to call my sister having been a doctor.

Past Tense:e.g. I will visit Dian who was at home last night. (S. Past)→ I will visit Dian at home last night.e.g. Betty wants to know Prof. Wilson who had been new English lecturer. (Ps. Perfect)→ Betty wants to know Prof. Wilson having been new English lecturer.

Page | 4


NOUN CLAUSE

Noun clause is clause used to replace noun and or has a function as noun.As like noun, noun clause has a function as subject or object. Depend on kind of sentences, noun clause can be classified into four, they are:1. Statement2. Question3. Request4. Exclamation

Noun Clause Derived From:

Introductory Conjunction

Examples Function of Clause

1. A statementCoffee grows in Brazil.

- That - That coffee grows in Brazil is well known to all.

- It is well known that coffee grows in Brazil.

- My understanding is that coffee grows in Brazil.

- I know that coffee grows in Brazil.

- His belief that coffee grows in Brazil is correct.

- Subject

- Subject after “it”

- Subjective complement

- Object of verb- Appositive

*Omission of thatIn informal speaking, that is often omitted from object clause if the meaning is clear and understandable without that.e.g. I know that coffee grows in Brazil.→ I know coffee grows in Brazil.

2. A questiona. Expecting yes or

no answerWill he get the money?

b. Interrogative word questionHow will he get the money?

- Whether (or not)

- Only if

- Who- Whom- Whose - What- Which- When- Where- Why- How

- Whether (or not) he gets the money doesn’t concern me.

- The question is whether he will get the money.

- Do you know whether (or if) he will get the money?

- We were concerned about whether he would get the money.

- How he gets the money is his own affair.

- The question is how he will get the money.

- I don’t know how he would get the money.

- We were concerned about how he would get the money

- Subject


- Object of verb

- Object of preposition

- Subject


- Object of verb


3. A requestWrite the letter soon.

- That - He suggested that I write the letter soon.

- Subject of verb

4. An ExclamationWhat a pretty girl

- What- How

- I hadn’t realized what a pretty girl she was.

- Object of verb

Page | 5


she is! - We talk about how pretty girl she was.


The Difference between Adjective Clause and Noun Clause

Adjective Clause

→ There is a noun before conjunction.e.g. I don’t know the boy who often visits you.

Noun Conjunction

Adj. Clause

Noun Clause

→ There is no noun before conjunction.e.g. I don’t know who often visits you.

Conjunction

Noun Clause

ADVERBIAL CLAUSE

Adverbial clause is clause that has a function as adverb, it explains verb.The function of adverbial clause: to modify the verb of the main clause.

Kinds of adverbial clause:

1. Adverbial clause of Time2. Adverbial clause of Place3. Adverbial clause of Cause / Reason4. Adverbial clause of Effect / Result5. Adverbial clause of Purpose6. Adverbial clause of Condition7. Adverbial clause of Contrast

1. Adverbial Clause of TimeIt is clause that shows the time. The conjunctions are:

Examples:

Page | 6

- when - as - after - by the time

- while - since - before - as soon as


a. Shut the door before you go out!b. While he was walking home, he saw an accident.

2. Adverbial Clause of PlaceIt is clause that shows the place. The conjunctions are:

Examples:a. The guard stood where he was positioned.b. They sat down wherever they could find seats.

3. Adverbial Clause of Cause / ReasonIt is clause that shows the cause or reason. The conjunctions are:

Examples:a. Now that Billy doesn’t have money, he can’t buy anything.b. Sarah went to bed because she was sleepy.

4. Adverbial Clause of Effect / ResultIt is clause that shows the effect or result. The conjunctions are:

Examples:a. The soup tastes so good that everyone will ask for more.b. Ricky ran so fast that he broke the previous speed record.c. This is such an ugly chair that I am going to give it away.d. These are such ugly chairs that I am going to give them away.e. This is such ugly furniture that I am going to give it away.

Page | 7

- where - nowhere

- wherever - anywhere

- because - since

- as - now that

- so … that→ so + adjective + that→ so + adverb + that

- such (a) … that→ such a + adjective + singular countable noun + that→ such + adjective + plural countable noun + that→ such + adjective + uncountable noun + that

- so (that)


f. They spent their vacation at seashore, so (that) when they came home they were quite tan.

5. Adverbial Clause of PurposeIt is clause that shows the purpose or aim. The conjunctions are:

Examples:a. They went to the movie early in order to find the best seats.b. She bought a book so (that) she could learn English.

6. Adverbial Clause of ConditionIt is clause that shows the condition between two related events. The conjunctions are:

Example:a. If I see him, I will invite him to the party tomorrow.b. Unless it rains, we will go to the beach tomorrow.

(If it does not rain, we will go to the beach tomorrow.)c. We should be able to do the job for you quickly, provided (that) you give us all the

necessary informations.

7. Adverbial Clause of ContrastIt is clause that shows the contrast or conflict between two related events.

Examples:a. Although it rained a lot, we enjoyed our holiday.b. I didn’t get the job though I had all the necessary qualifications.c. Even if the weather is cold, I am going to go swimming.d. Mary is rich, whereas John is poor.e. We went out in spite of the rain.f. I couldn’t sleep despite being very tired.g. Even though the weather is hot, I went playing football.

Page | 8

- in order to - so (that) - after - to the end that

- in order that - in the hope that - before

- if - unless - provided (that)

- even if - in case - providing (that)

-if only - suppose (that) - in the event (that)

-whether

Note: Unless has the function and meaning as like if… not.

- although - even if - in spite of - despite

- though - whereas - even though


Page | 9


REFERENCE

Azar, Betty Schrampfer, Understanding and Using English Grammar, Third Edition, New York: Pearson Education, 1999.

Azar, Betty Schrampfer, Fundamentals of English Grammar, Third Edition, New York: Pearson Education, 1941

Murphy, Raymond, English Grammar in Use, Second Edition, United Kingdom: The Press Syndicate of The University of Cambridge, 1994.

Frank, Marcella, Modern English: A Practical Reference Guide, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Parrot, Martin, Grammar for English Language Teachers, United Kingdom: The Press Syndicate of The University of Cambridge, 2000.

Mas’ud, Fuad, Essentials of English Grammar: A Practical Guide, Third Edition, Yogyakarta: BPFE-Yogyakarta, 2005.

Page | 10

Documents

Adjective Clause, Noun Clause and Adverbial Clause