Adjective Clause

DEFINITION

An adjective clause is simply a group of words with a subject and a verb that provide a description. The clause starts with a pronoun such as who, whom, that, or which or an adverb such as when, where and why.

An adjective clause is a dependent clause that modifies a noun.  It is possible to combine the following two sentences to form one sentence containing an adjective clause: 

       

The children are going to visit the museum.
They are on the bus.

The children who are on the bus are going to visit the museum.
                  | adjective clause |

In the sentence above, there are two other ways to write the sentence correctly using the second sentence as the adjective clause. 

•        The children that are on the bus are going to visit the museum.

•        The children       on the bus       are going to visit the museum.

EXAMPLE:

Who	This morning he fought with a little guy who was his best friend.
Which	The fire which broke out in the warehouse swept through the factories.
When	Grandpa remembers the old days whenthere was no television.
Where	The place where he flies his kites is very quiet.
Whom	She is the only cousin whom I enjoy talking to.
That	The package that arrived this morning is on the desk.

The main relative pronouns:

Pronoun	Use	Examples
Who	Used for humans in subject position	Hans, who is an architect, lives in Berlin.
Whom	Used for humans in object position	Marike, whom Hans knows well, is an interior decorator.
Which	Used for things and animals in subject or object position	Marike has a dog which follows her everywhere.
That	used for humans, animals and things, in subject or object position (but see below)	Marike is decorating a house that Hans designed.