Download adjective clauses

6
Adjective Clauses with
Subject Relative
Pronouns
Famous Faces
and Places
Focus on Grammar 4
Part VI, Unit 13
By Ruth Luman, Gabriele Steiner, and BJ Wells
Copyright © 2006. Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
History 101
Okay, who
let’s
start studying for our
a She’s
scientist
whose
Oh,
She
IShe’s
know.
discovered
the
a woman
element
of
Wow.
GoodI’llanswers.
Okay, next
history
exam.
ask
a
question,
and
discoveries
have
greatly
affected
What
did
she
discover?
radium,
won the
which
Nobel
isPrize
usedin
inquestion.
1903.
X-rays.
Who
was
Gandhi?
Who
is
Marie
Curie?
you
tell
me
the
answer.
the medical field .
Adjective Clauses 1
Use adjective clauses to identify or give additional
information about nouns (people, places, or things).
He lived in the state of Gujarat,
Gandhi was a man who worked for peace.
which is in Western India.
The clause
The clause
who worked for peace
which is in Western India
identifies the man we are
gives additional
talking about.
information about Gujarat.
Adjective Clauses 2
Adjective clauses can also identify or describe indefinite
pronouns such as one, someone, somebody,
something, another, and other(s).
someone
George Washington Carver is someone
who was a famous botanist.
The adjective clause directly
follows the noun (or pronoun)
it is identifying.
Adjective Clauses 3
Sentences with adjective clauses can be
seen as a combination of two sentences.
Florence Nightingale was a nurse.
Beethoven was a composer.
+
+
=
=
She developed
His music is still enjoyed
by many modern
people. healthcare methods.
Beethoven was aFlorence
composer
Nightingale
whose
was a nurse who
music is still enjoyed
developed
by many
modern
people.
healthcare methods.
Relative Pronouns 1
Adjective clauses begin with relative pronouns.
Subject relative pronouns can be who, that, which,
and whose.
Use whose
refer
to
Abraham
Lincoln
an American
ThetoMona
Lisa iswas
a painting
which
people’s
possessions.
president
who fought against slavery.
is known throughout the world.
OR
Thomas Edison, whose inventions
The Mona
Lisa iswas
a painting
that
Abraham
Lincoln
an American
changed the world, was born in 1847.
is knownthat
throughout
the world.
president
fought against
slavery.
That
is
Use
Use
who
which
orless
that
or formal
that
to to than
refer to
whotoplaces
and
which
and used
refer
people.
or things.
more in conversation.
Be Careful!
Do not use a subject pronoun (I, you, he, she, it, we,
they) and a subject relative pronoun in the same
adjective clause.
William Shakespeare is an Englishman
who he wrote many well-known plays.
William Shakespeare is an Englishman
who wrote many well-known plays.
Practice 1
Combine the groups of sentences into
one sentence with an adjective
clause. Use the appropriate relative
pronouns.
Example: a) Albert
Example:
AlbertEinstein
Einsteinwas
wasaaphysicist.
physicist who/that
won
thethe
Nobel
Prize
in Physics
in in
1921.
b) He
won
Nobel
Prize
in Physics
1921.
1. a)Ang
AngSan
SanSu
SuKyi
KyiisisaaBurmese
Burmesepeace
peaceactivist
activistin
in Myanmar
Myanmar.
Albert Einstein was a physicist who won
is a country
located
in Southeast
Asia.
Nobel
Prize
in Southeast
Physics
inAsia.
1921.
b)which
Myanmar
is a the
country
located
in
OR
2. a)Diego
DiegoRivera
Riverawas
wasa aMexican
Mexicanpainter
painter.
whose work is
Albert
Einstein
was
a physicist
that won
famous
museums.
b)displayed
His workin
is many
displayed
in many
famous
museums.
the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.
3. a) Mother Teresa was a Catholic nun.
Mother Teresa was a Catholic nun who/that devoted her
to the
poor.her life to the poor.
b)life
She
devoted
Relative Pronouns 2
Relative pronouns have the same form whether they
refer to singular or plural nouns, or to males or
females.
Ferdinand Magellan was the
man who led the first
expedition to sail around the
world.
Amelia Earhart was the woman
who was the first female pilot to
fly across the Atlantic.
Pioneers are people who do
things others think impossible.
Verbs in Adjective Clauses
The verb in the adjective clause is singular if the
subject relative pronoun refers to a singular noun. It is
plural if it refers to a plural noun.
singular verb
Copernicus was an astronomer who is
known for his theory that the world is round.
Plato and Aristotle are ancient Greek
men who are known for philosophies.
plural verb
Be Careful!
When whose + noun is the subject of an adjective
clause, the verb agrees with the subject of the
adjective clause.
Jane Austen was an English novelist
whose novels is read by many students.
Jane Austen was an English novelist
whose novels are read by many students.
subject
Two Kinds of Adjective Clauses
There are two kinds of adjective clauses,
identifying and nonidentifying.
The adjective clause
The
books which are on
identifies which books the
thesentence
table belong
to me.
talks about.
The adjective clause is not
The
books, which are on
necessary to identify the
the table,
to me.
which
booksbelong
are referred
to.
Commas
A nonidentifying adjective clause is separated from the rest
of the sentence by commas. Do not use commas with an
identifying adjective clause.
The map, which
is on
Nonidentifying
Adjective
the table,
is new.
Clause
Identifying
The map
which is on the
tableAdjective
is new. Clause
Be Careful!
Do not use that to introduce nonidentifying adjective
clauses. Use who for people and which for places
and things.
Athens, that is the birthplace
Marie Curie, that won the Nobel Prize,
of the Olympics, is in
discovered
Greece. radium.
Athens, which is theMarie
birthplace
Curie, who won the Nobel Prize,
of the Olympics, is in
Greece. radium.
discovered
Practice 2
Example:
Find and correct the errors in the
adjective clauses of the sentences.
Discuss your answers with a partner.
Italy, which
that is is
the
birthplace
ofof
opera,
is is
aa
the
birthplace
opera,
fascinating country.
1. Louis Armstrong was a famous American musician who he
made jazz popular.
recentlybecome
becomewellwell2. Frida Kahlo, whose paintings have
has recently
known, was a Mexican painter.
SouthAfrica,
Africa,fought
foughtagainst
against
3. Nelson Mandela, who lives
live ininSouth
apartheid.
4. Chinua Achebe is a Nigerian author which
writes
novels
who writes
novels
about village life.
5. Valentina Tereshkova ,who was the first woman to travel
into space, is Russian.
References
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education and
its licensors. All rights reserved.
Photo credit:
Gandhi: © Silvio Fiore / SuperStock