Adjective Clause

Adjective Clause

 

       First, adjectives clauses will contain a subject and verb. It have a subject and a verb (or predicate). They will start with a relative pronoun, like: that, who, whom, whose, or which, or a relative adverb, like why, where, or when. 

       Adjective clauses function as an adjective and modify nouns and pronouns. They are also called relative clauses.  

      Just as the other dependent clauses, the adjective clause does not express a complete thought. It does not need commas separating it from the rest of the sentence if it has essential information in it; that is if you need the information it provides. If it gives additional information, then you use commas. A good way to test for this is to leave out the clause, read the sentence, and see if the meaning of the two sentences is different.

The adjective clause will follow one of these two patterns:

1. relative pronoun or adverb + subject + verb
2. relative pronoun as subject + verb

Here are some examples of adjective clauses.

1. Whose big, brown eyes pleaded for another cookie
   Whose = relative pronoun; eyes = subject; pleaded = verb.
2. 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].
3. Who hiccupped for seven hours afterward
   Who = relative pronoun functioning as subject; hiccupped = verb.
4. That bounced across the kitchen floor
   That = relative pronoun functioning as subject; bounced = verb.
5. Chocolate, which many of us adore, is fattening.
6. People who are smart follow the rules.
7. I can remember the time when there were no computers.
8. Charlie has a friend whose daughter lives in China.
9. Wine that is produced in Tuscany is not cheap.

Avoid writing a sentence fragment.

An adjective clause does not express a complete thought, so it cannot stand alone as a sentence. To avoid writing a fragment, you must connect each adjective clause to a main clause. Read the examples below. Notice that the adjective clause follows the word that it describes.

1. Diane felt manipulated by her beagle Santana, whose big, brown eyes pleaded for another cookie.
2. Chewing with her mouth open is one reason why Fred cannot stand sitting across from his sister Melanie.
3. Growling ferociously, Oreo and Skeeter, Madison's two dogs, competed for the hard boiled egg that bounced across the kitchen floor.
4. Laughter erupted from Annamarie, who hiccupped for seven hours afterward.

Adjectives

     Since adjective clauses act like adjectives, you may want more information about adjectives. Some adjectives express the writer’s opinion of a noun or pronoun, like silly, lovely, awful, and outrageous. These are called opinion adjectives.

     Some adjectives are descriptive, telling about the physical characteristics of size, shape, color, or age. Examples include: huge, wee, rectangular, oval, bluish, purple, new, and ancient.

     An origin adjective tells where an object originated or where is came from. These are adjectives like: eastern, lunar, Egyptian, or German.

     The composition of a noun or pronoun will be described by a material adjective.  Examples are: woolen, plastic, metal, or silk.

     Some adjectives tell what purpose an object is used for. These many times end with an “ing.” Some examples include: baking, fishing, testing, or hunting. 

     Lastly, some adjectives compare and have levels of comparison. These are words like: “good, better, best”, “dry, drier, driest”, and “beautiful, more beautiful, and most beautiful." Other adjectives compare but only on one level, like: unique, main, impossible, final, and inevitable.