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    The Adjective Clause

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    hansri
    The document discusses the three requirements for an adjective clause: 1) it contains a subject and verb, 2) it begins with a relative pronoun or adverb, and 3) it functions as an adjective. There are two patterns for an adjective clause: relative pronoun/adverb + subject + verb or relative pronoun as subject + verb. Adjective clauses do not express a complete thought so they cannot stand alone as sentences; they must be connected to a main clause. Adjective clauses can be essential or nonessential, with essential clauses requiring no commas and nonessential clauses requiring commas.

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    The Adjective Clause

    Uploaded by

    hansri
    200 views3 pages
    The document discusses the three requirements for an adjective clause: 1) it contains a subject and verb, 2) it begins with a relative pronoun or adverb, and 3) it functions as an adjective. There are two patterns for an adjective clause: relative pronoun/adverb + subject + verb or relative pronoun as subject + verb. Adjective clauses do not express a complete thought so they cannot stand alone as sentences; they must be connected to a main clause. Adjective clauses can be essential or nonessential, with essential clauses requiring no commas and nonessential clauses requiring commas.

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    The document discusses the three requirements for an adjective clause: 1) it contains a subject and verb, 2) it begins with a relative pronoun or adverb, and 3) it functions as an adjective. There are two patterns for an adjective clause: relative pronoun/adverb + subject + verb or relative pronoun as subject + verb. Adjective clauses do not express a complete thought so they cannot stand alone as sentences; they must be connected to a main clause. Adjective clauses can be essential or nonessential, with essential clauses requiring no commas and nonessential clauses requiring commas.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    200 views3 pages

    The Adjective Clause

    Uploaded by

    hansri
    The document discusses the three requirements for an adjective clause: 1) it contains a subject and verb, 2) it begins with a relative pronoun or adverb, and 3) it functions as an adjective. There are two patterns for an adjective clause: relative pronoun/adverb + subject + verb or relative pronoun as subject + verb. Adjective clauses do not express a complete thought so they cannot stand alone as sentences; they must be connected to a main clause. Adjective clauses can be essential or nonessential, with essential clauses requiring no commas and nonessential clauses requiring commas.

    Copyright:

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    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    of 3

    The Adjective Clause

    Recognize an adjective clause when you see one.


    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?

    The adjective clause will follow one of these two patterns:


    RELATIVE PRONOUN OR ADVERB + SUBJECT + VERB

    RELATIVE PRONOUN AS SUBJECT + VERB

    Here are some 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].

    That bounced across the kitchen floor

    That = relative pronoun functioning as subject; bounced = verb.


    Who hiccupped for seven hours afterward

    Who = relative pronoun functioning as subject; hiccupped = verb.

    Avoid writing a sentence fragment.


    An adjective clause does not express a complete thought, so it cannot
    stand alone as asentence. 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.

    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 .

    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.

    Punctuate an adjective clause correctly.


    Punctuating adjective clauses can be tricky. For each sentence, you will
    have to decide if the adjective clause is essential or nonessential and then
    use commas accordingly.

    Essential clauses do not require commas. An adjective clause is essential


    when you need the information it provides. Look at this example:

    The vegetables that people leave uneaten are often the most


    nutritious.
    Vegetables is nonspecific. To know which ones we are talking about, we
    must have the information in the adjective clause. Thus, the adjective
    clause is essential and requires no commas.

    If, however, we eliminate vegetables and choose a more specific noun


    instead, the adjective clause becomes nonessential and does require
    commas to separate it from the rest of the sentence. Read this revision:

    Broccoli, which people often leave uneaten,  is very nutritious.

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