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.)
This page
contains information about adjective clauses. Also see Adverb
Clauses and Noun
Clauses.
Adjective
clauses perform the same function in sentences that adjectives do: they modify
nouns.
The teacher has
a car. (Car is a noun.)
It’s a new car.
(New is an adjective which modifies car.)
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 clausebecause it modifies a noun.)
Note that
adjectives usually precede the nouns they modify; adjective
clauses always follow the nouns they modify.
B. A sentence
which contains one adjective clause and one independent clause is the result of
combining two clauses which contain a repeated noun. You can combine two
independent clauses to make one sentence containing an adjective clause by
following these steps:
1. You must
have two clauses which contain a repeated noun (or pronoun, or noun
and pronoun which refer to the same thing). Here are two examples:
The book is
on the table. + I like the book.
The man is
here. + The man wants the book.
2. Delete the
repeated noun and replace it with a relative pronoun in the
clause you want to make dependent. See C. below for information on
relative pronouns.
The book is on
the table. + I like which
The man is here.
+ who wants the book
3. Move the
relative pronoun to the beginning of its clause (if it is not already there). The
clause is now an adjective clause.
The book is on
the table. + which I like
The man is here.
+ who wants the book
4. Put the
adjective clause immediately after the noun phrase it modifies (the
repeated noun):
The book which
I like is on the table.
The man who
wants the book is here.
C. The
subordinators in adjective clauses are called relative pronouns.
1. These
are the most important relative pronouns: who, whom, that, which.
These relative
pronouns can be omitted when they are objects of verbs. When they are
objects of prepositions, they can be omitted when they do not follow the
preposition.
WHO replaces
nouns and pronouns that refer to people. It cannot replace nouns and
pronouns that refer to animals or things. It can be the subject of a
verb. In informal writing (but not in academic writing), it
can be used as the object of a verb.
WHOM replaces
nouns and pronouns that refer to people. It cannot replace nouns and
pronouns that refer to animals or things. It can be the object of a
verb or preposition. It cannot be the subject of a verb.
WHICH replaces
nouns and pronouns that refer to animals or things. It cannot replace
nouns and pronouns that refer to people. It can be the subject of a
verb. It can also be the object of a verb or preposition.
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 (but that cannot follow a preposition; whom,
which, and whose are the only relative pronouns that can follow
a preposition).
2. The
following words can also be used as relative pronouns: whose, when, where.
WHOSE replaces possessive forms
of nouns and pronouns (see WF11 and pro in Correction
Symbols Two). It 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. Here are examples with whose:
The man is happy.
+ I found the man’s wallet. =
The man whose wallet
I found is happy.
The girl is
excited. + Her mother won the lottery. =
The girl whose mother
won the lottery is excited.
WHEN replaces
a time (in + year, in + month, on + day,...). It cannot be a subject.
It can be omitted. Here is an example with when:
I will never
forget the day. + 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 I graduated.
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. Here is an example with where:
The building is
new. + 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 he works in is new.
D. Adjective
clauses can be restrictive or nonrestrictive.
1. 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.
Most adjective clauses are restrictive; all of the examples of adjective
clauses above are restrictive. Here is another example:
People who
can’t swim should not jump into the ocean.
2. 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.
Here is an example:
Billy, who
couldn’t swim, should not have jumped into the ocean.
E. Adjective
clauses can often be reduced to phrases. The relative pronoun (RP) must be
the subject of the verb in the adjective clause. Adjective clauses
can be reduced to phrases in two different ways depending on the verb in the
adjective clause.
1. RP + BE = 0
People who
are living in glass houses should not throw stones. (clause)
People living
in glass houses should not throw stones. (phrase)
Mary applied for
a job that was advertised in the paper. (clause)
Mary applied for
a job advertised in the paper. (phrase)
2. RP + OTHER
VERB (not BE) = OTHER VERB + ing
People who
live in glass houses should not throw stones.(clause)
People living
in glass houses should not throw stones. (phrase)
Students who
sit in the front row usually participate more. (clause)
Students sitting
in the front row usually participate more. (phrase)
