What Is an Adjective Clause?

What Is an Adjective Clause?

When we think of an adjective, we usually think about a single word used before a noun to
modify its meanings (e.g., tall building, smelly cat, argumentative assistant). However, an
adjective can also come in the form of an adjective clause.

An adjective clause usually comes after the noun it modifies and is made up of several words
which, like all clauses, will include a subject and a verb.

Examples of Adjective Clauses

Here are some examples of adjective clauses:
• The carpets which you bought last year have gone moldy.
• The film which you recommended scared the kids half to death.
• The follies which a man regrets most in his life are those which he didn't commit
when he had the opportunity. (Helen Rowland, 1876-1950)
• Bore: a person who talks when you wish him to listen.

The Components of an Adjective Clause

An adjective clause (which can also be called an adjectival clause or a relative clause) will
have the following three traits:
• It will start with a relative pronoun (who, whom, whose, that, or which) or
a relative adverb (when, where, or why).
(This links it to the noun it is modifying.)(Note: Quite often, the relative pronoun
can be omitted. However, with an adjective clause, it is always possible to put one
in. There is more on this below.)
• It will have a subject and a verb.
(These are what make it a clause.)
• It will tell us something about the noun.
(This is why it is a kind of adjective.)
Look at the three traits in this example:

Quite often, the relative pronoun is the subject of the clause. Look at the three traits in this
example:
The Relative Pronoun Can Be Omitted
It is common for the relative pronoun to be omitted. Look at these examples:
• The carpets which you bought last year have gone moldy.
• The film which you recommended scared the kids half to death.
• The follies which a man regrets most in his life are those which he didn't commit
when he had the opportunity. (Helen Rowland, 1876-1950)
This is not always possible though:
• Bore: a person who talks when you wish him to listen.

Commas or No Commas around an Adjective Clause?

The big question with an adjective clause is whether to offset it with commas or not. The rule
is this:
• Don't use commas if your clause is essential; i.e., it is required to identify its noun.
(This is called a restrictive clause.)
• Do use commas if your clause is just additional information. (This is called a non-
restrictive clause.)
This is a good test: If you would happily put brackets around it or delete it, then use commas.

Here is an example of a non-restrictive clause:

• My brother, who claimed to have a limp, sprinted after the bus.

(This clause is not required to identify My brother. It is just additional information.)
• My brother (who claimed to have a limp) sprinted after the bus.
(As it's just additional information, you can put it in brackets.)
• My brother sprinted after the bus.
(As it's just additional information, you can even delete it.)
Compare this to a restrictive clause:

• The tramp who claimed to have a limp sprinted after the bus.
(This clause is required to identify The tramp. Without it, we don't know which
tramp we're talking about.)
• The tramp (who claimed to have a limp) sprinted after the bus.
(This sentence is only appropriate if we know which tramp we're talking about.)
• The tramp sprinted after the bus.
(This sentence is only appropriate if we know which tramp we're talking about.)

What Is a Restrictive Clause? (with Examples)

What Is a Restrictive Clause? (with Examples)
A restrictive clause is a clause which functions as an adjective to identify the word
it modifies. A restrictive clause is essential for the intended meaning. A restrictive clause
is not offset with commas. For example:
• The boy who broke the window is at the door.
(The shaded text is a restrictive clause. It describes The boy. More importantly
though, it identifiesthe boy. It is not just additional information. It is essential for
understanding.)
Restrictive clauses contrast with non-restrictive clauses. Look at this example of a non-
restrictive clause:
• Simon Baxter, who is a deep-sea fisherman, is training to be a lion tamer.
(The bold text is a non-restrictive clause. It describes Simon Baxter, but it does
not identify him. It's just additional information about him. You could have put
brackets around this text or even deleted it.)

Examples of Restrictive Clauses

Here are some more examples of restrictive clauses:
• I went to London with the man who lives next door.
(The clause identifies the man.)
• The window which you cracked is over 300 years old.
(The clause identifies the window.)
• The window that you cracked is over 300 years old.
(With a restrictive clause, you can use that to replace which.
Which, that, and who are called relative pronouns. With a restrictive clause, you
can often remove the relative pronoun entirely.)
• Sonia, the request which you wrote yesterday was rejected.

Some More Examples of Restrictive Clauses

Here are some more examples of restrictive clauses in real-life quotes (restrictive clauses
shaded):
 • How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese? Charles De
Gaulle, 1890-1970)
• Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly
concern them. (Paul Valery, 1871-1945)
• Given a choice between two theories, take the one which is funnier.
• Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who
dream only by night. (Edgar Allan Poe, 1809-1849)
(This quote has three restrictive clauses, including a restrictive clause (in bold)
within a restrictive clause.)

Commas Affect the Meaning

The meaning of your sentence will be affected by your decision whether to
use commas around a clause. Both of the examples below are
grammatically sound, but they have slightly different meanings.
• My cousins who live in the country are scared of sheep.
(This is a restrictive clause. It specifies that I'm talking about my
cousins from the country, i.e., not my other cousins.)
• My cousins, who live in the country, are scared of sheep.
(This suggests that all my cousins are scared of sheep. As
additional information, I've also told you that they live in the
country. We could delete that clause if we wanted.)
Read more about commas around clauses.with commas) just provide
additional information. They're not essential.
What Is a Non-restrictive Clause? (with Examples)

What Is a Non-restrictive Clause? (with Examples)

A non-restrictive clause is a clause which is not needed to identify the word it modifies, i.e.,
it is just additional information. As a non-restrictive clause is not essential to the meaning of
a sentence, it is offset with commas. For example:
• Peter Jones , who plays goalkeeper for our village football team, has worked at his
father's greengrocers for twenty years.
(The shaded text is a non-restrictive clause. It describes Peter Jones , but it does
not identify him. It is merely additional information about him. Deleting this clause
would not affect the meaning.)
Non-restrictive clauses contrast with restrictive clauses. Look at this example of a
restrictive clause:
• The man who plays goalkeeper for our village football team has worked at his
father's greengrocers for twenty years.
(The bold text is a restrictive clause. It describes the man, and it identifies him. It is
not just additional information. It is essential for understanding.)

You are not limited to commas when offsetting a non-restrictive clause. You can parentheses
(brackets) or dashes too.

Examples of Non-restrictive Clauses

Here are some more examples of non-restrictive clauses:
• I went to London with John Baker, who lives next door.
(This is just additional information. It's a non-restrictive clause.)
 • Betty, who is still on the ferry, will arrive before 4 o'clock.
(This is just additional information. It's a non-restrictive clause.)

Some More Examples of Non-restrictive Clauses

Here are some more examples of non-restrictive clauses in real-life quotes (non-restrictive
clauses shaded):
• Every journalist has a novel in him, which is an excellent place for it. (Russel
Lynes)
• Humans are the only animals that have children on purpose with the exception of
guppies, who like to eat theirs. (P J O'Rourke)
• She had a pretty gift for quotation, which is a serviceable substitute for wit.
• You can talk about anything if you go about it the right way, which is never
malicious. (Rodney Carrington)

Commas Will Affect the Meaning

The meaning of your sentence will be affected by your decision whether to
use commas around a clause. Both examples below are grammatically
sound, but they have different meanings.
• My sister, who is married, won the lottery.
(This suggests I have just one sister. I've also told you that she is
married, but I could have omitted that information.)
• My sister who is married won the lottery.
(This is a restrictive clause. It specifies that I'm talking about my
married sister, i.e., not my other unmarried sister or sisters.)

Relative Pronouns for Adjective Clauses

who
subject and object pronoun for people only. (*whom can be used as an object relative pronoun.)

E.g. The man who(m) I saw was old.

subject and object pronoun for people and things.

that
E.g. The book that I saw was red.

subject and object pronoun for things only.

which
E.g. The book, which I saw, was red.

used for possessions.

whose
E.g. The man whose house was for sale was old.

used for places.

where
E.g. The restaurant where we met was downtown.
 used for times.
when
E.g. The day when we met was cloudy.

What’s a Subject Relative Pronoun?

Look at these two simple sentences.

The woman is in my class. She likes tennis.

Step1: What do we have twice? ‘The woman’ and ‘she’ are talking about the same person, so
we can combine the sentences using an adjective clause. In the second sentence, ‘She’ is
the subject of the sentence, so we will use one of the subject relative pronouns (that/which/who)
to replace it. (We cannot use whose/where/when/whom to replace subjects.)

So, let’s follow our steps.

Step 1: Find the two words that refer to the the same thing/person.

• The woman is in my class. She likes tennis.

Step 2: Replace the second word with a relative pronoun (we’ll use a subject relative pronoun –
that/which/who)

• The woman is in my class. WHO/THAT likes tennis.

Step 3: Move the whole {adjective clause} behind the noun it modifies. These two sentences are
both correct:

• The woman {who likes tennis} is in my class.

• The woman {that likes tennis} is in my class.

Adjective Clauses with Object Relative Pronouns

Now it’s time for the second part of the lesson. Let’s look at two more sentences.

The woman is in my class. I like her.

Step 1: What is the same in both sentences? ‘The woman’ and ‘her’. They both refer to the same
thing (the woman).

The woman is in my class. I like her.

If we look at the second word, ‘her’, we can see that it is not the subject of the sentence. It is
the object! (I like her <- her is the object of the verb like). For objects, we have to use an object
relative pronoun, which are the following:

• who/whom: for people (whom is a little old-fashioned, but it’s correct)

• that: for people and things
• (nothing): for people and things
• which: for things
Nothing? Yes. We do not need a relative pronoun if we are replacing the object of a verb.

Let’s me show you by continuing with our example.

Step 2: Replace the second word with a relative pronoun (who/whom/that/(nothing)/which)

The woman is in my class. I like who(m)/that/(nothing).

Because we are making an adjective clause with the object of a sentence, we have to add one
more step.

*Step 3*: Move the object relative pronoun to the beginning of the second sentence/clause.

The woman is in my class. who(m)/that/(nothing) I like .

Step 4: Move the whole {adjective clause} behind the noun it modifies.

• The woman {whom I like} is in my class.

• The woman {who I like} is in my class.
• The woman {that I like} is in my class.
• The woman {I like} is in my class.

They are all correct!

Let’s combine another sentence but let’s do it with a thing.

Yesterday, I saw some nice shoes at the mall. I want to buy them soon.

Step 1: Look for two words that refer to the same thing.

Yesterday, I saw some nice shoes at the mall. I want to buy them soon.

Step 2: Replace the second word with a relative pronoun

Yesterday, I saw some nice shoes at the mall. I want to buy which/that/(nothing) soon.

Step 3: Move the relative pronoun to the beginning of the second sentence/clause.

Yesterday, I saw some nice shoes at the mall. which/that/(nothing) I want to buy soon.

Step 4: Move the whole {adjective clause} behind the noun it modifies. Now the final sentence
looks like this:

• Yesterday, I saw some nice shoes {which I want to buy soon} at the mall.
• Yesterday, I saw some nice shoes {that I want to buy soon} at the mall.
• Yesterday, I saw some nice shoes {I want to buy soon} at the mall.

That’s it

Adjective Clauses: Using When as a Relative Pronoun

‘When’ is used for places, of course. But sometimes places can be things. This can be
confusing. Let’s look at two examples.
John lives in a town. The town is near the ocean.

Now, the first step in making an adjective clause is finding a word in each sentence that refers
to the same thing.

John lives in a town. The town is near the ocean.

The next step is replacing the second word (‘The town’) with a relative pronoun
(who/whom/that/which/where/when/whose).

Which relative pronoun are we going to use? Well, ‘The town’ is a place, but in the
sentence, The town is near the ocean, the words ‘The town’ are the subject. This means we
should use a subject relative pronoun, which are who/that/which. Because ‘The town‘ is the
subject and a thing, we’ll use that or which.

John lives in a town. [that/which] is near the ocean.

Next, we would move the {adjective clause} behind the noun it modifies (a town), but it is already
in the right place. So the full sentence looks like this:

John lives in a town {which is near the ocean}.

So When Do We Use the Relative Pronouns Where (and When)?

We only use where or when to replace words that are not the subjects of a sentence. Here’s an
example:

John lives in a town. He works in the town.

If we look at the second sentence, He works in the town, we can see that the subject is ‘He’. The
word town is not the subject and it is not the object of a verb either. It is an adverb of place.

Rule: When the place or time is not the subject or object, then you can use the relative
pronouns where and when.

Let’s continue following our steps.

Step 2: Replace the second word with a relative pronoun.

John lives in a town. He works WHERE.

Step 3: Move the relative pronoun to the beginning of the second sentence/clause.

John lives in a town. WHERE He works .

Step 4: Move the {adjective clause} behind the noun it modifies.

John lives in a town {where he works}.

That’s it. You might have noticed that if the noun (e.g. ‘town’) has prepositions or articles (e.g. ‘in
the’) that belong to it, then we remove the prepositions or articles too.

Let’s do another example with a time.

I love spring. The birds sing songs in spring.

Step 1: Find two words that refer to the same thing in each sentence.

I love spring. The birds sing songs in spring.

So, let’s look at the sentence, The birds sing in spring.

• Is spring the subject? (No — ‘The birds’ is the subject)

• Is spring the object of a verb (No — the noun ‘songs’ is the object of the verb ‘sing’)

Okay, so then we can use the relative pronoun ‘when’.

Step 2: Replace the noun with the relative pronoun.

I love spring. The birds sing songs WHEN.

Step 3: Move the noun to the beginning of the clause.

I love spring. WHEN the birds sing songs .

Step 4: Move the {adjective clause} behind the noun it modifies

I love spring {when the birds sing songs}.

To summarize, we do not use when and where to replace subjects or objects. We use them to
replace adverbs (of time or place).

Quickly, let’s look at two sentences that refer to the same ‘house’. How would we combine them?

I live in a house. The house has a swimming pool. (‘House’ is a subject in the second sentence).

= I live in a house {that/which has a swimming pool}.

I live in a house. I bought the house. (‘house’ the object of the verb bought in the second
sentence).

= I live in a house {that/which/(nothing) I bought}.

I live in a house. My wife also lives in the house. (‘house’ is not a subject or an object here (it is
an adverb).)

= I live in a house {where my wife also lives}.

The rules are the same for when.

Note: We can also replace adverbs like ‘here’ or ‘then’ with relative pronouns. For example.

I can meet you tomorrow. I’ll be free then.

What does ‘then’ refer to? Tomorrow. So, we can replace it with the relative pronoun ‘when’, and
make a complex sentence with an adjective clause:

I can meet you tomorrow {when I’ll be free}.

Adjective Clauses: Whose as a Relative Pronoun

Whose is another relative pronoun that is not used for objects or subjects. It is used
for possessions. For example:

The boy stood up. The teacher had called his name.

Step 1: What is the same here in these two sentences? Well, none of the words are. However,
‘his’ refers to the ‘boy’, which is the first sentence, so we can make an adjective clause.

The boy stood up. The teacher had called his name.

Step 2: Replace the second word with the correct relative pronoun — here will use ‘whose‘
because the name belongs to the boy (it’s his possession).

The boy stood up. The teacher had called WHOSE name.

Step 3: Move the relative pronoun (whose) and the noun it modifies to the beginning of the
clause.

The boy stood up {WHOSE name the teacher had called}.

Step 4: Move the {adjective clause} behind the noun it describes (the boy)

The boy {whose name the teacher had called} stood up.

That’s it. It’s the same basically, except you move the relative pronoun whose and the noun it
modifies.

Punctuating (Commas) in Defining and

Non-Defining Adjective Clauses

Introduction: Defining Adjective Clauses

Let’s talk about children.
The children in the photograph are outside.

Can you understand the sentence? Yes. The subject of the sentence is ‘The children‘ and there
are two children in the picture. You can easily understand that ‘The children’ means to the
children in the photograph.

In other words, we can say that the subject is defined; you have a clear understanding of who
they are.

The child in the photograph is three years old.

Can you understand this sentence? No.

Which child is “The child“? It’s not clear because there are two children. In order to understand
the subject of the sentence, we need more information. We need to define the noun better.

The child who is carrying the bag is three years old.

Can you understand this sentence? Yes! The information in the adjective clause {who is carrying
a bag} helps us define the subject. This information is necessary to understand which child is
three years old. So we call this a ‘defining adjective clause‘ (or restrictive adjective clause)
because it gives us information that is necessary to define the noun. Without the adjective
clause, the noun (the child) cannot be understood.

From this, we can understand the basic rules below.

Rule: When the adjective clause is necessary to define the noun, do not use
commas.

Naturally, we use commas in the opposite case.

Rule: When the adjective clause is not necessary to define the

noun, use commas.

Here’s another example about the same photograph.

The girl is three years old. (The subject is defined. There is only one girl so it is clear who the girl
is).

Now let’s make an adjective clause with these two sentences.

The girl is three years old. She is carrying a bag.

If we replace the word ‘she’ with the relative pronoun ‘who’, and then move to the adjective
clause behind the noun it modifies, we make this sentence:

The girl {who is carrying a bag} is three years old.

So, should we use commas or not? To answer the question, let’s remove the adjective clause
again.

The girl is three years old. <– Can you understand this? Yes. Because there is only one girl; it is
clear who she is. The subject is already defined.
In this case, we use commas to show that the adjective clause is just extra information (it is not
necessary to understand the noun).

The girl, who is carrying a bag, is three years old.

That’s the correct sentence.

Note: Extra Information is Not Part of Sentence Subjects

Let’s talk about subjects.

The child who is carrying the bag is three years old.

The subject of this sentence is The child who is carrying a bag. This includes the adjective
clause. This information cannot be removed because it is needed to define the noun child.

Now, what’s the subject in this sentence?

The girl, who is carrying the bag, is three years old.

The subject is only The girl. The information in the adjective clause, separated by commas, is
extra information. If you remove it, the sentence still has meaning (The girl is three years old).

Commas are one way that we add extra (non-essential) information to sentences. There are
others.

• The girl — who is carrying a bag — is three years old. = Here, the hyphen (–) is used
to stress (emphasize) the information in the clause.
• The girl, who is carrying a bag, is three years old. = Here the commas just add extra
information
• The girl (who is carrying a bag) is three years old. = Here the parentheses () are another
way to add information that is not important.

All of these symbols — the hyphen, comma, and parentheses, are used to add information in the
same way.

Proper Nouns (Names of People/Places) Are Already Defined

The names of people and places, like John, New York, etc, are called proper nouns. These are
specific names for something unique. There is only one of them, so they are already defined;
they don’t need anymore information. Because of this, we always use commas after them, as in
these examples:

• Barack Obama, who had two daughters, was a president.

• The Sun, which warms our planet, is hot.
• He was born in Hawaii, which is a part of the United States.

All of these adjective clauses have commas and are non-defining adjective clauses.

Let’s look at some examples and decide if we should add commas or not.

This website __ which you are using __ is free.

The adjective clause is {which you are using}. Do we need this information to understand the
noun, ‘This website’? No. This website means THIS website, Englishcurrent.com. It’s already
clear to the reader. So, we would add commas because the adjective clause is not needed
to define the noun.

This website, which you are using, is free.

Here’s another example.

The woman __ who gave birth to you __ loves you.

If we removed the adjective clause {who gave birth to you}, could you understand the
sentence? No. There are many women in the world. We need more information. What woman
are you talking about? But, if we add the information {who gave birth to you}, can we understand
which woman? Yes. We are talking about your mother. This information defines the noun, so we
do not use commas.

The woman who/that gave birth to you loves you.

Important Note: The Relative Pronoun ‘That’ Is Never Used After

Commas
In a non-defining adjective clause (an adjective clause with commas), the only relative pronouns
you can use are who, whom, which, whose, where, and when. You cannot use ‘that’. In English,
we do not use that after a comma.

This webpage, {which/ has exercises below}, was written in 2017.

Last Point: Checking Meaning

Here is a classroom. Then look at these two sentences:

1. The students who finished their homework left the classroom.

2. The students, who finished their homework, left the classroom.

In sentence #1, how many students left the classroom? All or some?

In sentence #2, how many students left? All or some?

To answer these questions, remember that an adjective clause in commas is not necessary to
understand the subject. So if we take it out, the meaning should be clear.

2. The students left the classroom. (This means that The students left the classroom (all of
them).)

On the other hand, in sentence #1, if there are no commas, that means the adjective clause
is necessary to understand the noun. This means the subject is The students who finished their
homework… We know this group of students is different from ‘The students‘ because there is
no comma. In other words, ‘who finished their homework‘ defines the noun. It makes
it more specific. So there is a general ‘The students’ and a more specific ‘The students who
finished the homework‘. There are two groups.