That
Adding Descriptive Clauses for Inanimate Things
An adjective can be one word, a phrase or a clause:
- The new car is tiny. (adjective)
- The car on top of the Hummer is tiny. (prepositional phrase)
- The car that holds two passengers is tiny. (adjective clause)
Adding an adjective clause, joins two sentences into one:
Independent – Dependent – Independent
- the main sentences is the independent clause
- the modifying clause is the dependent clause
Subject Modifiers
Joining the Subject of a Dependent Clause – THAT
| JOIN THE SENTENCES: | INDEPENDENT CLAUSE | DEPENDENT CLAUSE | |
|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Replace the subject pronoun It with that. |
The car is economical to drive. |
It is very small. |
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that is very small |
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2 |
Insert the clause into the main sentence. |
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The car that is very small is economical to drive. |
Common Mistake
| ERROR | FIX |
|---|---|
The car is very economical that holds just two passengers. |
The car that holds just two passengers is very economical. |
Object Modifiers
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Move the object pronoun forward next to the word it modifies.
Joining the Object of a Dependent Clause – THAT
| JOIN THE SENTENCES: | INDEPENDENT CLAUSE | DEPENDENT CLAUSE | |
|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Replace the object pronoun it with that |
The car is economical to drive. |
I want to buy it |
|
I want to buy that |
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2 |
Move the relative pronoun to the front of the sentence. |
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3 |
Insert the clause into the main sentence. |
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Option: "that" can be omitted if the clause helps to identify the noun it modifies. more info |
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The car (that) I want to buy is economical to drive. |
Common Mistake
| ERROR | FIX |
|---|---|
The car that I want to buy it is economical to drive. |
The car (that) I want to buy is economical to drive. Delete it. Otherwise, there are two pronouns referring to the car. |
Practice
Considering a "Smart" Car
- Join the two sentences into one sentence.
- Change the second sentence into a clause. (Leave the prepositions at the end of the sentence.)
Index Grammar-Quizzes | Previous Adjective Clause Summary | Next Who-Whom
