Unit
11 Modifying
Nouns with Adjective Clauses
Download Word File
Adjective Clauses (Sample Paragraphs)
Read the next two paragraphs and
underline the additions in the second
Most people are unaware that Elizabeth Borden was a
fine woodcarver. Elizabeth could make the most wonderful wood carvings with a
two-edged wood carving tool. Using this implement she made lovely portraits of
friends and relatives in wood. On father's day, she sculpted a truly remarkable
bust of her father. When neighbors would pass the Borden house they would often
hear the sound of this early American artist furiously working away at her
passion. Even when Elizabeth lived away from home temporarily, she continued to
busy herself with her woodcarving hobby. She made two beautifully-fitted and
embellished boxes for her parents. Elizabeth finally moved for good from the
small, simple country home of her birth to live in the city.
Most people are unaware that Elizabeth Borden, who is
now generally believed to have been responsible for the deaths of her mother
and father, was a fine woodcarver. Elizabeth, whom all her friends and
neighbors affectionately called Lizzy, could make the most wonderful wood
carvings with a two-edged wood carving tool that some have claimed to be
similar in size and shape to a battle axe. Using this implement, with which she
reportedly gave her mother forty whacks, she made lovely portraits of friends
and relatives in wood. On father's day, she sculpted a truly remarkable bust of
her father to whom legend has it she gave forty-one whacks. When neighbors
would pass the Borden house where bloodcurdling screams were sometimes heard,
they would often hear the sound of this early American artist furiously working
away at her passion. Even when Elizabeth, who was indicted for two counts of
murder, lived away from home temporarily, she continued to busy herself with
her woodcarving hobby. She made two beautifully-fitted and embellished boxes
for her parents in which they were finally laid to rest. Elizabeth, whose
acquittal made front page headlines, finally moved for good from the small,
simple country home of her birth to live in the city.
If you have underlined the differences carefully, you will find that the underlined portions of the sentences are adjectives clauses beginning with an adjective clause subordinating conjunction.
Adjective Clauses
In this unit, you will again be
working with structures that modify nouns—adjective clauses. Like appositives,
adjective clauses are a good way to add descriptive details to nouns. The
following sentences contain adjective clauses:
The student who aced his exam was happy.
The exam, which covered six chapters of
trigonometry, determined the final course grade.
We call the
underlined structures "adjective clauses" because, like simple adjectives,
they describe nouns. In the above sentences, the adjective clause, who aced
his exam, describes student, and the adjective clause, which
covered six chapters of trigonometry, describes exam.
We call the
underlined structures "clauses" because they are made up of a
subject—who, that, or which—and a verb.
But they are dependent clauses, so they can't be sentences by themselves. And
like other modifiers of more than one word, they come after the nouns they
modify.
Adjective
clauses are clauses that modify nouns.
They either identify (restricitiv e clause) or give background
information (non-restrictive
clause) about the nouns they modify:
I
never found the person who stole my coat.
(Identifies
which person)
The
first baseman, who batted .302 last year, is their best player
(Gives
background information about the first baseman because the first baseman
has already been identified as a first baseman)
Most adjective clauses can be seen as transformations of
complete sentences.
I
found a store / that was very reliable.
it
was very reliable.
Mary
had a friend / who enjoyed sports.
he
/ she enjoyed sports.
Mary
had an aunt / whom she visited on holidays.
she
visited her on holidays.
He
wrote a book / in which there were lurid scenes (or)
which
there were lurid scenes in.
there
were lurid scenes in it.
Mary
had an aunt / whose wealth was limitless.
her
wealth was limitless.
Chief
Subordinators
who subject
of clause: refers only to people (he, she, they)
whom object
of verb or preposition within clause: refers only to people (him, her, them)
which subject
of clause or object of verb or preposition within the clause; refers only to
things (it, they, them)
that subject
of clause or object of verb within clause; refers to things or people (he, she
they; him, her, them; it)
whose possessive
adjective within clause; refers to things or people (his, her, their; its)
where substitutes
for "there"; can modify nouns of location
when substitutes
for "then"; can modify nouns of time
Most common
adjective clause problems:
1. Not using adjective clauses; putting
identifying or background information in independent clauses:
I
sat staring at my grandfather's picture.
It almost always makes me think of things like love and kindness and
presents on my birthday.
I
sat staring at my grandfather's picture, which almost always makes me think of
things like love and kindness and presents on my birthday.
2. Confusion between who and whom:
It saddened me to be betrayed by a
person whom I had always thought was my friend.
3. Mis-use of where:
If
we discover even one incident where the unconscious drives the conscious
to rationalize, then we will be forced to rethink Freud's concept of
rationalization.
(should
be in which)
4. Mis-use of the preposition + which
construction (in which, from which, etc.)
He
decided to choose the course of action in which he would get the most
pleasure from. (in
should be from; from should be deleted)
Shaping Sentences to Show
Relationships: Adjective Clauses
In this
lesson, you will add clauses to nouns. Unlike a phrase, a clause
contains both a subject and a verb.
In the exercises below, you will find pairs of short sentences. You are
to make the second sentence of each pair into an adjective clause modifying the
underlined noun in the first sentence. In each case, find the word in the
second sentence that either repeats or refers to the underlined noun and change
it into who if the underlined noun is a person word or that or which
if it is a thing word. Here are some examples:
1. The woman is my aunt.
She bought
me a new kangaroo.
Solution: The woman who bought me a new
kangaroo is my aunt.
Explanation: The word in the second
sentence that refers to woman is she. She is a person word, so it is replaced by who.
2. The box contained the birthday present.
It fell off
the table.
Solution: The box that fell off the
table contained the birthday present.
Explanation: The word in the second
sentence that refers to box is it. It is a thing word and so is replaced by that or which.
3. The plan is really
interesting.
You
proposed it.
Solution: The plan which you proposed is
really interesting.
Explanation: The word in the second
sentence that refers to plan is it. It is a thing word and so is replaced by that or which. But one cannot say The plan/you
proposed which / is really interesting, and so one must move the word which to the front of the clause.
Exercise
In the first
five pairs of sentences below, the noun in the first sentence that the
adjective clause is to modify is underlined, and the noun or pronoun in the
second sentence that refers to it and must be changed to who, that, or which
is also underlined.
Cars and the Environment
1. George bought a used car.
It gave him
endless problems.
2. He took it to a mechanic.
He told him
it would cost $450 to fix it.
3. George bought a car.
He thought
he would like it.
4. But now he owns one.
He hates it.
5. However, he has found a mechanic.
He does
excellent work.
6. A problem is the harmful effect of automobiles
on the environment.
We have to
face this problem.
7. Cars have a particularly damaging effect.
The cars are
not maintained properly.
8. But the gases still create serious atmospheric
problems.
Even new
cars emit these gases.
9. The cars are primarily responsible for the smog
in most of our cities.
People drive
these cars to and from work and around town on errands.
10. However, the pollution comes from other sources
as well.
We suffer
from this pollution.
Adjective Clauses: Special Rule 1 (Restrictive and Non-restrictive
clauses)
Sometimes
adjective clauses should have commas around them and sometimes they should not.
Let us begin
by calling these clauses comma clauses (for those with commas around
them) and no-comma clauses (for those without). Most adjective
clauses are no-comma clauses, and whenever you are in doubt about whether to
put commas around an adjective clause, follow one simple rule—don't.
Whether or not we put commas around
adjective clauses has nothing whatever to do with the content of the
clause, with what the clause says. It is
the noun the clause modifies that determines whether the clause will be a comma
clause or a no-comma clause. If the noun requires no further identification for
us to know who or what it refers to, the clause following it will be a comma
clause. Here are some typical kinds of nouns that usually produce comma clauses
after them:
1. Proper nouns:
Mary Smith, who works night and day, is an excellent lawyer.
The Golden Gate Bridge, which spans the entrance to San Francisco Bay, is
by no means the longest bridge in the world.
2. Any noun indicating all members of a
class of things or group of people or other living creatures:
Copper, which has numerous important uses, is growing scarce.
Homeowners hate crabgrass, which spoils the appearance
of their lawns.
Japanese automobiles, which are very well built, have
captured an important share of the American market.
Let us salute the crocodile, which has survived from the
Age of Reptiles.
The English, who have produced some of the
world's greatest writers, have not produced many first-rate painters.
3. Nouns preceded by possessive words usually will produce
comma clauses following them:
George's houseboat, which is a wreck, is no place to bring
people you like.
4. If the adjective clause just refers to
some of the members of the class, the purpose of the clause is to identify
those particular members and not to give background information on all of the
members. So then it should not have
commas.
American lawyers, who charge outrageous fees, are a disgrace.
(indicates that all American lawyers charge outrageous fees)
American lawyers who charge outrageous fees are a disgrace.
(indicates that only some charge outrageous fees and that only those are a
disgrace)
Exercise
In the following exercise, decide
whether the adjective clauses, which are underlined, should have commas around
them and what rule above applies to the situation. Write the number of the rule under the sentence.
1. Mark Twain who is probably America's greatest
humorist came from a small town in Missouri.
2. Wolverines which live only in
the far north are generally considered to be among the most intelligent of
animals.
3. Many animals which are not as
intelligent as the wolverine have adapted better to living near human
beings.
4. Most people enjoy the paintings of Winslow Homer which
are rich in color and often quite dramatic.
5.
The boulevards of Paris which are spacious and tree lined are
among the most beautiful streets in the world.
6.
These broad straight boulevards are surrounded by narrow little streets that
twist and turn.
7.
My neighborhood which has both broad and narrow streets does not
quite have the same charm as most of Paris.
8.
The Journal of Unforeseeable Disasters which I
subscribe to provides my favorite bed-time reading.
9.
I am a great admirer of women athletes who are as dedicated to their
sports as men without, on the whole, getting the same monetary rewards.
10.
I have become a fan of lightly flavored mineral water which is both
thirst quenching and tasty.
In the exercises in this unit, you
will be joining two sentences by making the second one into an adjective
clause. Follow these steps:
1. Find the word in the second sentence that either repeats or refers to the underlined noun in the first sentence.
2. Cross
out the word that you found and change it to who, that, or which.
3. Change the second sentence into an adjective clause and place it in the first sentence after the noun it modifies.
The following are examples and
explanations for the combined sentences using adjective clauses.
EXAMPLE A: Richard Nixon was finally
elected in 1968.
who Nixon
tearfully lost his 1960 bid for president.
SOLUTION: Richard Nixon, who
tearfully lost his bid for President, was finally elected in 1968.
EXPLANATION: Nixon is repeated in the second
sentence and is a person, so Nixon can be replaced with who.
EXAMPLE B: Ronald Reagan was
elected president in 1980.
who
He served as California's governor for eight years.
SOLUTION: Ronald
Reagan, who served as California's governor for eight years, was elected
president in 1980.
EXPLANATION: He in the second sentence refers back to Reagan in the first sentence,
He is a person word, so it can
be replaced with who.
Exercise
One Nirvana and the Law
In each of
the sentence pairs below, a noun or pronoun in the second sentence either
repeats or refers to a noun in the first sentence. Change the noun in the second
sentence to who, which, or that so that the second sentence
can become an adjective clause modifying a noun in the first sentence. Also
decide whether you will be using comma clauses or no-comma clauses and
why.
EXAMPLE: My good friend Colleen likes to engage
in illegal activity.
She claims to be a
daredevil by nature.
SOLUTION: My good friend Colleen, who claims to be a
daredevil by nature, likes to engage in illegal activity.
1. The
illegal activity may require that Colleen show her I.D.
It
involves her red Triumph Spitfire.
2. Often, Colleen must try
to avoid the police.
They
try to catch her.
3. To get
away with her scheme, Colleen must thoroughly plan a course.
It
covers half the city.
4. She must
also follow her plan carefully to get to her destination.
She
will reach it without getting caught if she is lucky.
5. To add
to her daring feat, Colleen dons a tight black body suit and matching
goggles.
The
feat calls for the appropriate clothing.
6. She also
wears a red scarf around her neck.
The
scarf matches her Spitfire.
7. As
Colleen covers her route, she listens to loud music.
The
music reaches deep within her psyche.
8. During
her excursion, Colleen reaches an altered state.
Colleen
needs no drugs.
9. Yet
through it all, she remains alert enough to watch out for others.
The
others are going slower than the speed limit.
Exercise
Two The Lonesome Cowboy
In the last
exercise with sentence pairs, you reduced some sentences to adjective clauses
by looking for repeated nouns or pronoun referents like she or it that could
be replaced with who, which, or that, and then you
modified nouns with your new adjective clauses. The following exercise is
similar, but it introduces another common signal for reducing some sentences to
adjective clauses.
EXAMPLE: Many
people romanticize American cowboys.
These
cowboys rode the cattle trails after the Civil War.
SOLUTION: Many
people romanticize American cowboys who rode the cattle trails after the Civil
War.
EXPLANATION: We have turned the second
sentence into an adjective clause modifying cowboys in the first sentence. The
signal here is the word these + a repeated noun. Also watch for the signals this, that, and those.
1. Cowboys
actually were overworked and underpaid.
These
cowboys rode endless miles in rough weather.
2. Cowboys
rarely got enough sleep.
Those
cowboys worked 18 hours a day, every day of the week.
3. Cowboys
ate a boring daily diet.
This diet
usually consisted of beans, bacon, cornbread, and coffee.
4. Cowboys
often sang songs around campfires.
Those songs
revealed their loneliness and hard lives.
5. But
cowboys rarely complained.
Those
cowboys had a lot to complain about.
6. Each
cowboy found a way to entertain himself.
This cowboy
couldn't have a normal family life.
7. Some
cowboys bought magazines.
Cowboys read
and passed along these magazines.
8. A
cowboy's prize possession was his hat.
He wore that
hat during meals and sometimes to bed.
9. Cowboys
also valued their boots.
These boots
often cost two months' wages.
10. People
still commonly believe that cowboys were heroes.
These heroes
stand for the freedom of the Wild West.
Special
Rule: Who / Whom
So far, you
have used adjective clauses that begin with who, that, or which.
Although you may need to refer to the previous section for some of the
following exercises, this section will primarily clarify the difference between
who and whom. Although both who and whom begin
adjective clauses that modify person nouns, each has a separate grammatical
function in the adjective clause it begins.
Take, for example, the following
sentences containing adjective clauses:
My brother, [who married a crazy woman], has one crazy baby.
My sister-in-law, [whom my mother dislikes], is a
fanatic.
Why do we use who in one
adjective clause and whom in the other?
If we take
the adjective clauses and turn them into sentences by replacing who or whom with a personal
pronoun, we have the answer:
ADJECTIVE CLAUSE:
(my brother) (my
sister-in-law)
who married a crazy woman whom
my mother dislikes
SENTENCE:
He married a crazy woman. My
mother dislikes her.
EXPLANATION:
The pronoun you placed in your sentence signals you to use
WHO for subject pronouns: WHOM
for object pronouns:
HE HIM
SHE HER
WE US
THEY THEM
REVIEW: To decide whether to use who
or whom, follow these steps:
1. Identify
and underline the words that make up the adjective clause.
2. Turn
the adjective clause into a sentence by replacing who or whom with a
personal pronoun from the previous list.
3. If
you use a subject pronoun, use who, but if you use an object pronoun,
use whom.
EXAMPLE: 1. Our postman, who/whom is
usually prompt, arrived late.
2. He is usually prompt.
3. He= who.
Exercise
Three Belinda and Sedrick
Follow the
steps in the previous review and circle your choice of who or whom. In the first
four sentences, step 2 is done for you.
I . Belinda, (who/whom) shaved her
head, volunteered to model for her art class.
(She shaved her
head.)
2. Sedrick, (who/whom) Belinda
secretly adored, was a student in the same class.
(Belinda secretly
adored him.)
3. When she entered the room, Belinda,
(who/whom) sported butcher knives as earrings, turned all
eyes but
Sedrick's.
(She sported
butcher knives as earrings.)
4. Sedrick, (who/whom) Belinda had
asked out, had decided to play hard to get.
(Belinda had
asked him out.)
5. While the rest of the class
sketched Belinda, Sedrick, (who/whom) was sketching a skull, flirted with the
girl next to him.
6. Suddenly, Belinda, (who/whom)
wished Sedrick would notice her, suddenly broke into tears.
7. So Sedrick raised his hand and
complained about Belinda, (who/whom) he wanted to embarrass.
8. The instructor, (who/whom) wanted
to embarrass Sedrick, forced Sedrick to join Belinda in front of the class.
9. As their classmates sketched and
giggled, Belinda and Sedrick, (who/whom) by now felt ridiculous, were asked to
arm wrestle.
10. Sedrick,
(who/whom) Belinda beat in arm wrestling, took Belinda out to lunch after
class.
Exercise
Four Blind Date
In this
exercise, note what noun or pronoun in the second sentence either repeats or
refers to a noun in the first sentence. Then turn the second sentence into an
adjective clause beginning with who or whom and use it
to modify the noun in the first sentence.
EXAMPLE: Baxter had no plans for celebrating his
21st birthday.
He had a tall, muscular body and dark curly
hair.
SOLUTION: Baxter, who had a tall muscular body and dark curly
hair, had no plans for celebrating his 21st birthday.
1. So Baxter decided to
let his best friend Max fix him up with a blind date.
Max
had a taste for long-legged, romantic women.
2. Max spent a
great deal of time calling 976 "party line" numbers.
Bax
had known him for 15 years.
3. While talking on the
line about a week before, Max had spoken with a young woman.
He
thought she would be the ideal date for Baxter.
4. The woman said that she
would be happy to meet Baxter.
The woman
referred to herself as Cinderella.
The woman called him
her Prince Charming.
5. So Max arranged for Bax
to meet Cinderella the following Wednesday.
Bax
was incredibly nervous.
6. Max drove Bax to the
meeting place, a local Denny's.
Bax
did not have a car.
7. Max literally had to
shove Bax into the restaurant.
Three
75-year-old ladies roaming around the parking lot pinched Bax.
8. Bax finally sat
down on the yellow vinyl couch near the door.
Bax
had been twisting his burgundy bow tie for hours.
9. Baxter grew impatient
after watching nine single women walk in.
The women
caused his heart to palpitate.
10. Finally, his Cinderella
wiggled through the door.
Cinderella
sent his senses roaring with her purple leather mini-dress.
Exercise Five Rio
Like
appositives, adjective clauses enable writers to effectively join their ideas
and show their readers what they mean. So it makes sense not only to practice
joining ideas using adjective clauses, but also to create adjective clause
modifiers.
Below is a
hypothetical mystery story in which there are nouns that could be made more
specific with adjective clauses, although you might also want to use a few
appositives. The nouns to be modified are underlined, and blanks for your
modifiers are provided.
One day,
Matilda sat in a cafe, sipping cappuccino and talking with her friend Jacquita,
(1) Matilda
was telling Jacquita
about her
husband Merv, (2) .
Apparently,
Merv had turned into a very mysterious man, (3) ,
and Matilda
suspected that he was now involved in some criminal activity
(4) Recently,
Merv brought home
some very
disgusting friends (5) .
And he purchased
three expensive new cars, (6) .
But when
Matilda, (7) ,
questioned
Merv about
his activities, he ran out the front door. Despondent, Matilda knew that her
best friend
Jacquita
would know how to solve the problem, (8) .
Jacquita
recommended that Matilda do one of two things: hire a private detective to find
out
what Merv had gotten himself into or
sell the cars and run away to Rio. Matilda decided to hire a
detective (9) .
So the next day, the
detective she'd hired followed Merv to
work and to his favorite hangout,
(10) .
But unfortunately, the
detective lost Merv when Merv
entered a K-Mart. When the detective tried to call Matilda to let her
know what had happened, a
policewoman, (11) ,
answered the phone.
The
policewoman informed the detective that Matilda (12) ,
had been
arrested at the airport for possession of a stolen car, (13) ,
and that
Jacquita was last seen boarding a plane, holding a cup of cappuccino in one
hand and an
airline
ticket to Rio in the other.
