Adjective Clauses
Adjective clauses are used to describe nouns or pronouns in greater detail, they function as adjectives, adjective clauses must contain a subject and a verb. Adjective clauses use relative pronouns such as (-who, -whom, -whose, -which, or -that), they may also use relative adverbs such as (-when, -where, or -why) which are not as common. Adjective clauses can either be necessary or unnecessary, necessary adjective clauses cannot be removed as they are necessary to identify the noun they describe. Unnecessary adjective clauses can be thought of as additional information about a noun or pronoun, these clauses may be removed without consequence. Adjective clauses are dependent clauses, they must be paired with an independent clause as they are not complete ideas on their own.
Note: The relative pronouns -who, -that, and -which may act as subjects in adjective clauses, other relative pronouns and relative adverbs may not.
Who, That, & Which – The relative pronouns -that and -who may be used with people, -that and -which may be used with things, however -who must not be used with things. The relative pronoun -that must not be used in unnecessary adjective clauses, -which and -who can be used in unnecessary adjective clauses.
Note: It is possible to form negations, questions, and the passive voice with adjective clauses.
Note: If the noun or pronoun the adjective clause describes is plural, the verb in the adjective clause must be conjugated for a plural subject.
Necessary adjective clauses
Ex: I met a man who works for the police department.
Ex: He knows someone that owns a popular bar.
Ex: Give me the package that has my name on it please.
Ex: Give me the package which has my name on it please.
Ex: He can recommend cars to you that don’t break down after 100,000 miles.
Ex: Do you know anyone who specializes in fixing muscle cars?
Unnecessary adjective clauses
Note: We use commas to isolate unnecessary adjective clauses.
Ex: My brother John, who likes to go fishing, invited me to a lake.
Ex: The computer next to the window, which doesn’t turn on, will be replaced tomorrow.
Ex: My neighbors in apartment 201, who have a bulldog, are going to move out soon.
Ex: The white Seiko watch, which has a chronograph, is highly collectible.
Whose – The relative pronoun -whose is used to show possession by a noun or pronoun, this relative pronoun cannot be used as a subject it must introduce a noun that acts as a subject, -whose may be used with people or things.
Necessary adjective clauses
Ex: My wife spoke to a professor whose daughter also teaches at the same university.
Ex: Charles works for a company whose employees constantly go on strike.
Ex: I have never met a person whose dreams weren’t based on their personality.
Ex: Have you ever seen a movie whose cast all won Oscars?
Unnecessary adjective clauses
Note: We use commas to isolate unnecessary adjective clauses.
Ex: My friend Jimmy, whose mother recently passed away, told me he wanted to talk to me.
Ex: She took care of her best friend’s cat, whose leg is hurt, while she was away on vacation.
Ex: I spoke to the owner of the hotel, whose son offered me a job, and he told me to come on Monday.
Ex: We invested $5000 in Nvidia, whose stock price just went up, 2 years ago.
Whom – The relative pronoun -whom is used when the noun it describes is the object of the verb in the adjective clause not the subject, this relative pronoun cannot be used as a subject it must introduce a noun that acts as a subject, -whom may only be used with people.
Note: Modern English speakers usually say -who instead of -whom, the relative pronoun -whom is going out of style and is no longer used in every day speech. The relative pronoun -that may also be used instead of -whom, -whom is considered very formal in modern English.
Necessary adjective clauses
Ex: Mark talked to the new concierge whom you mentioned to me.
Ex: I never did business with the jeweler whom Charles said ripped him off.
Ex: We went to talk to the manager whom our company suspended to get his side of the story.
Ex: Did you meet the new girl whom you asked me about yesterday yet?
Unnecessary adjective clauses
Ex: Mark’s wife, whom you said was very kind, is pregnant.
Ex: Our new department manager, whom everyone met yesterday, told us we had nothing to worry about.
Ex: I think that Charles, whom John invited to the party, is worried about his brother.
Ex: James made a deal with his cousin Andy, whom we saw at the party last week, they’re going to open a barber shop.
When, Where, & Why – The relative adverbs -when, -where, and -why are not as used in adjective clauses as relative pronouns are but they are occasionally used, these relative adverbs cannot be used as a subject they must introduce a noun that acts as a subject.
Note: The relative pronoun -why in adjective clauses is used with the noun reason, however the relative pronoun -why can be omitted and the sentence would still be grammatically correct.
Ex: It was just last week when Harold quit his job and opened a restaurant.
Ex: Do you remember that time when we got stuck in traffic for 6 hours?
Ex: I went to a restaurant where the servers dressed as people from the old west.
Ex: Do you know an honest auto shop where I can get an inspection?
Ex: I don’t know the reason why she decided to leave.
Ex: Did you understand the reason why Sandra stopped talking to you?