Recognize
an adjective clause when you see one.
An adjective clause—also called an adjectival
or relative clause—will meet three requirements:
·
Next,
it will begin with a relative pronoun [who, whom, whose, that, or which] or a relative adverb [when, where, or why].
·
Finally,
it will function as an adjective, answering the questions What
kind? How many? or Which one?
The
adjective clause will follow one of these two patterns:
relative pronoun or adverb + subject
+ verb
relative pronoun as subject + verb
Here are some examples:
Whose big, brown eyes pleaded for
another cookie
· Whose
= relative pronoun; eyes = subject; pleaded = verb.
Why Fred cannot stand sitting across
from his sister Melanie
·
Why
= relative adverb; Fred = subject; can stand = verb [not, an adverb, is not officially part of the
verb].
That bounced across the kitchen
floor
·
That
= relative pronoun functioning as subject; bounced = verb.
Who hiccupped for seven hours
afterward
·
Who
= relative pronoun functioning as subject; hiccupped = verb.
Avoid writing a sentence fragment.
An
adjective clause does not express a complete thought, so it cannot stand alone
as a sentence. To avoid writing a fragment, you must connect each adjective
clause to a main clause. Read the examples below. Notice that the adjective clause follows
the word that it describes.
·
Diane
felt manipulated by her beagle Santana, whose big, brown eyes pleaded for
another cookie.
·
Chewing
with her mouth open is one reason why Fred cannot stand sitting across from his
sister Melanie.
·
Growling
ferociously, Oreo and Skeeter, Madison's two dogs, competed for the hardboiled
egg that bounced across the kitchen floor.
·
Laughter
erupted from Annamarie, who hiccupped for seven hours afterward.
Punctuate an adjective clause
correctly.
Punctuating
adjective clauses can be tricky. For each sentence, you will have to decide if
the adjective clause is essential or nonessential and then use commas
accordingly.
Essential clauses do not require commas. An
adjective clause is essential when you need the information it provides. Look
at this example:
·
The
vegetables that people leave uneaten are often the most nutritious.
Vegetables is nonspecific. To know
which ones we are talking about, we must have the information in the adjective
clause. Thus, the adjective clause is essential and requires no commas.
If, however, we eliminate vegetables
and choose a more specific noun instead, the adjective clause becomes nonessential and does require commas to separate it from the rest
of the sentence. Read this revision:
Broccoli, which people often leave
uneaten, is very nutritious.
Source
: http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/adjectiveclause.htm