EFLshorts

ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

1. Types and purpose

There are many ways to make an adjective clause. One of them is to use ‘that’ as a connector. Here is an example: ‘The book that I am reading now is about Edinburgh.’ The reason that we use an adjective clause is to give more information about a noun. In the example, the noun that we want to describe more is ‘The book’. The adjective clause helps to identify which book (among many) is being spoken about. In other words, it answers the question ‘which book?’.

If the adjective clause in this example is taken out, the sentence still makes sense: ‘The book (that I am reading now) is about Edinburgh.’ In other words, the main verb of the sentence is ‘is’.

2. Look at this extract from Sweet tooth (Ch7) and see if you can find the adjective clause in it. (It is slightly difficult because ‘that’ has been removed)

‘Can I help you?’ asked Mr Shaw, the chemist. He was standing behind the till in a long white coat.

‘Yes, Mr Shaw,’ said Wendy, ‘you can.’ She threw the little business card onto the counter. ‘He’s the reason I’m here.’

Shaw picked up the card. He frowned, uncomprehending.

3. Complete the following sentences using an appropriate noun

a. The ______ that she bought accelerates from 0-60 in 6 seconds.

b. If you have finished reading it, can you return the ______ that I lent you?

c. Where is the ______ that I bought for the concert next week?

d. I loved the ______ that we had at that restaurant last night, but I didn’t like the main course.

4. Complete the following sentence using an appropriate verb in the adjective clause

a. What did you think of the DVD that I ______ you?

b. Fortunately, the coffee that I ______ on my shirt wasn’t boiling hot!

c. The homework that their teacher ______ them wasn’t difficult.

d. The recipe for the bread that I ______ to make says I have to use rye flour.

5. Look again at #4 above. What are the main verbs of these sentences?