Adjective Clauses

Grammar-Quizzes
Adding an Adjective Clause Framed | Unframed

 

 

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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:

  • One becomes the main sentence - the independent clause
  • The other becomes a modifying phrase - the dependent clause

Elevator Woman

subject clause

 

Joining the Subject of a Dependent Clause

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.
  that is very small
2 Insert the clause into the main sentence.

 

blue arrow - who replaces she
    The car that is very small   is economical to drive.

 

Common Mistake

ERROR FIX 
* The car is very economical that holds just two passengers.
    Place the clause next to the word it modifies: "car".
The car that holds just two passengers is very economical.

 

 

object clause

Joining the Object of a Dependent Clause

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
2 Move the relative pronoun to the front of the sentence.

 

blue arrow -her is replaced by whom and brought to the front of clause
3 Insert the clause into the main sentence.
  Option: "that" can be omitted if the clause helps to identify the noun it modifies. more info 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.
Delete "it". Otherwise, there are two pronouns referring to the car.
The car (that) I want to buy is economical to drive.

 

 

 

 

Practicesmart car

 

Join the two sentences into one sentence.

Change the second sentence into a clause.  (Leave the prepositions at the end of the sentence.)

 

 

# SENTENCES CHECK

1

ADD:   It holds about 9 gallons.

 

 

 

2

 

 

 

smart car on street

3

 

 

 

4

 

 

smart car parking

5

 

 

 

6

 

 

 

car crash test

7

 

 

 

8

 

"that + be" deletion option

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Julie Sevastopoulos - ESL Department - College of San Mateo - San Mateo, CA 94402 USA