Recognize an adjective clause when you see one.
An adjective clause—also called an adjectival or relativeclause—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 a sentence. To avoid writing afragment,
you must connect each adjective clause to amain clause.
Read the examples below. Notice that the adjective clausefollows 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.
Snarling and skidding on the smooth tile, 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 isessential or nonessential and then use commasaccordingly.
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
becomesnonessential 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.
