MEETING 4

MULTIPLE CLAUSES: ADJECTIVE CLAUSE

A. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

At the end of the lesson, the students are able to:
1. Identify adjective clause;
2. Write sentences with adjective clause.

B. MATERIAL DESCRIPTION
In the previous meeting, we discussed the concept of sentence with multi-clauses and
present one type of multi-clauses sentence—noun clause. In Meeting 7, we will discuss another
type of multi-clauses sentence that functions to modify a noun—adjective clause. Delahunty and
Garvey (2010) argue that Adjective Clause is a mislead name of Relative Clause. However, the
name adjective clause is popular to the general public as it is more understandable.

1. Adjective clause connector as object

Adjective clause follows the head noun they modify and begin either with one of
the three connectors of adjective clause. Below are the connectors used in adjective
clause.

Table 1 Connectors for Adjective Clause

Whom Which That

(for people) (for things) (for people & things)

Example 1

The
is filling the bottle that she put on the table.
woman

Connector Subject Verb Preposition

Subject Verb Object
Adjective

Main Clause Adjective Clause

The Example 1 above contains two clauses. In the main clause, “The woman” is the
subject of the verb “is filling”. Meanwhile, in the Adjective clause, “she” is the subject of the

INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH | 26
 verb “is”. “That” is the adjective clause connector that joins these two clauses. The adjective
clause “that she put on the table” modify the noun “bottle” of the first clause.

Example 2

The
that she put on the table contains milk.
bottle

Connector Subject Verb Preposition

Subject Verb Object
Adjective

Main
Adjective Clause Main Clause
Clause

The Example 2 above also contains two clauses. In the Main clause, “The bottle” is the
subject of the verb “contains”. Meanwhile, in the Adjective clause, “she” is the subject of the
verb “put”. In this sentence, the connector “that” joins these two clauses. The adjective clause
“that she put on the table” describe the noun “bottle” of the first clause.

2. Adjective clause connectors as subject

The Example 1 and 2 above show how adjective clause connectors are used to introduce
clause that describe a noun. In several cases, adjective clause connectors can also be the subject
of an adjective clause. The adjective clause connectors that can be functioned as subject is
different for people. The Table 4 below show the adjective connector clause that can be used as
subject, follow by sentence samples.

Table 2 Connectors for Adjective Clause (Subject)

Who Which That

(for people) (for things) (for people & things)

Example 3

The woman is filling the bottle that is on the table.

Connector Preposition
Verb
Subject Verb Object Subject

Adjective

Main Clause Adjective Clause

INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH | 27
 In Example 3, there are two clauses. In the Main Clause, “The woman” is
the subject of the verb “is filling”, while in the Adjective clause, the connector
“that” is the subject of the verb “is”. The two clauses are joined with adjective
clause connector that. The adjective clause describes the noun “bottle”. Notice
that in this example, the connector that serves two functions: as subject of the
verb “is”, as well as the connector which joins the two clauses.

Example 4

The
that is on the table contains milk.
bottle

Connector Verb Preposition

Subject Verb Object
Adjective

Main
Adjective Clause Main Clause
Clause

The Example 4 above also contains two clauses. In the Main clause, “The bottle”
is the subject of the verb “contains”. Meanwhile, in the Adjective clause, the connector
“that” is the subject of the verb “is”. In this sentence, the connector “that” joins these
two clauses. The adjective clause “that she put on the table” describe the noun “bottle”
of the first clause. Notice that in this example, the connector that serves two functions: as
subject of the verb “is”, as well as the connector which joins the two clauses.

3. Usual patterns of adjective clause

In everyday informal usage, often one adjective clause pattern is used more
commonly than another. For example, in Example 5 below, who, as a subject pronoun, is
more common to be used than that.

Example 5

USUAL: I like the people who live next to me.

LESS USUAL: I like the people that live next to me.

Another example is the connector that is more common than which.

Example 6
USUAL: I like books that have good plots.

LESS USUAL: I like books which have good plots.

INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH | 28
 In addition, adjective clause connector for object are commonly omitted,
especially when speaking.

Example 7

USUAL: I liked the people Ø I met last night.

USUAL: I liked the book Ø I read last week.

4. Using Whose
Another connector that can be used in introducing adjective clause is Whose.
Whose functions to show possession. It carries the same meaning as other possessive
pronouns used as adjectives such as his, her, its, and their. Whose should be connected to
a noun. Both whose and the noun connected to it are placed at the beginning of the
adjective clause.

Example

 I know the man.

 His bicycle was stolen.

I know the man whose bicycle was stolen.

Sentence Breakdown

I know the man whose bicycle was stolen.

Connector Subject Verb

Subject Verb Object
Adjective

Main Clause Adjective Clause

Example

 The student writes well.

 I read her composition.

The student whose composition I read writes well.

INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH | 29
 Sentence Breakdown

The
whose composition I read writes well.
students

Connector Object Subject Verb

Subject Verb Adverb
Adjective

Main
Adjective Clause Main Clause
Clause

Whose usually modifies people, but it may also be used to modify things as
shown below.

Example

 Mr. John has a sculpture.

 Its value is inestimable.

Mr. John has a painting whose value is inestimable.

Sentence Breakdown

Mr. John has a sculpture whose value is inestimable.

Connector Subject Verb Adjective

Subject Verb Object
Adjective

Main Clause Adjective Clause

C. EXERCISES
1. Identifying Adjective Clause
Directions: All of these sentences contain errors in adjective clause structures. Correct
the errors.

1. In our village, there were many people didn't have much money.
2. I enjoyed the book that you told me to read it.
3. I still remember the man who he taught me to play the violin when I was a boy.
4. I showed my father a picture of the car I am going to buy it as soon as I save
enough money.

INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH | 30
 5. The woman about who I was talking about suddenly walked into the room. I hope
she didn't hear me.
6. Almost all of the people appear on television wear makeup.
7. I don't like to spend time with people which loses their temper easily.
8. The boy drew pictures of people at an airport which was waiting for their planes.
9. People who works in the hunger program they estimate that 3500 people in the
world die from starvation every day of the year.
10. In one corner of the marketplace, an old man who was playing a violin.

2. Sentence Making
Exercise a: Adjective clause connector as the object of a verb
Directions: Combine the sentences, using the second sentence as an adjective clause. Give all
the possible patterns.
1. The book was good. I read it.
2. I liked the woman. I met her at the party last night.
3. I liked the composition. You wrote it.
4. The people were very nice. We visited them yesterday.
5. The man is standing over there. Ann brought him to the party.
Exercise b: Adjective clause connector as subject
Directions: Combine the two sentences. Use the second sentence as an adjective clause.

1. I saw the man. He closed the door.

who
 I saw the man closed the door.
that

2. The girl is happy. She won the race.

3. The student is from China. He sits next to me.
4. The students are from China. They sit in the front row.
5. We are studying sentences. They contain adjective clauses.
6. I am using a sentence. It contains an adjective clause.
7. Algebra problems contain letters. They stand for unknown numbers.
8. The taxi driver was friendly. He took me to the airport.

Exercise c: Usual patterns of Adjective clause

Directions: Combine the sentences, using the second sentence as an adjective clause. Give all
the possible adjective clause patterns. Discuss which patterns are used more
commonly than others.
Example: The scientist is well known for her research. We met her yesterday.

Ø
The scientist Who(m) that We met yesterday is well known for her research.
that

INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH | 31
 1. She lectured on a topic. I know very little about it.
2. The students missed the assignment. They were absent from class.
3. Yesterday I ran into an old friend. I hadn't seen him for years.
4. The young women are all from Japan. We met them at the meeting last night.
5. I am reading a book. It was written by Jane Austen.

Exercise d: Using WHOSE in adjective clauses

Directions: Combine the sentences, using the second sentence as an adjective clause.

1. I know a man. His last name is Groot.

 I know a man whose last name is Groot.
2. I apologized to the woman. I spilled her coffee.

3. The man called the police. His wallet was stolen.

4. I met the woman. Her husband is the president of the company.

5. The professor is excellent. I am taking her course.

6. Mr. North teaches a class for students. Their native language is not English.

7. The people were nice. We visited their house.

8. I live in a dormitory. Its residents come from many countries.

9. I have to call the man. I accidentally picked up his umbrella after the meeting.

10. The man poured a glass of water on his face. His beard caught on fire when he lit a
cigarette.


D. REFERENCES
Azar, B. S. 2002. Understanding and Using English Grammar. New York: Pearson
Education.
Delahunty, G. P., & Garvey, J. P. 2010. The English Language: From Sound to Sense.
Colorado: The WAC Clearinghouse.
Phillips, D. 2001. Longman Complete Course for the TOEFL Test. New York: Pearson
Education.

INTERMEDIATE ENGLISH | 32