Sentence Complexity and Embedding

Adjective Clauses

Alternative Relative Pronoun Choices

The basic rules of relative pronoun selection state that we must choose a pronoun that agrees with its antecedent in animacy and fits the grammatical role it plays in its own clause. The relative pronouns that we have seen so far include the wh- pronoun choices: who, whom, which, and whose. Now it appears that there are other options available to speakers of English. In fact, many native speakers actually prefer these alternatives to the wh- choices. Many NSEs see the wh- pronouns as rather formal, and are unlikely to use them in conversational situations. In conversations, the alternatives demonstrated in Activity 16.5 are generally preferred. Let’s look more closely at these alternatives.

The first thing we notice is that the alternatives presented take two forms: 1) the use of the word that, and 2) the deletion of the relative pronoun altogether.

The simplest way to talk about the use of that in adjective clauses is to describe it as a relative pronoun that can refer to both human and nonhuman antecedents and can function as either a subject or an object in its own clause. It is, then, the choice that covers almost all adjective clause situations. No wonder it is highly preferred by native speakers of English! There are, however, limits to its use. What we see in Activity 16.5 is that we can not use it for the object of a preposition when the preposition is located at the beginning of the adjective clause. It can only be used when the preposition is allowed to remain at the end of the adjective clause.

The second alternative speakers of English have available to them is to delete the relative pronoun from the adjective clause. There, are, however, limits to this option, too. First, it is not possible to delete the relative pronoun when it functions as the subject of an adjective clause. This limitation is in keeping with the larger rule that all clauses must contain a subject and a predicate. If we delete the relative pronoun which functions as a subject, then we delete the subject, and we no longer have a clause. The second limit to the deletion of a relative pronoun is that we can not delete a pronoun functioning as the object of a preposition when the preposition is also located at the beginning of the adjective clause.

Activity 16.6: Review of Relative Pronoun Selection Rules

Exercise A – All the sentences below contain adjective clauses. Locate and underline each adjective clause, circle both the relative pronoun in the adjective clause and its antecedent in the main clause.

1. The man who won the gold medal waved to the crowd.
2. The runner that came in last waved to the crowd.
3. The window which broke was the windshield.
4. The ship that sank was the Edmund Fitzgerald.
5. The woman whom she defeated became a coach.
6. The embezzler who he arrested became a lawyer in jail.
7. The lawyer that defended him became a judge.
8. The criminal he informed on was arrested.
9. The window which we replaced is the windshield.
10. The money that we owed wasn’t very much.
11. The towels they stole were marked with the hotel’s insignia.
12. The man whose medal was stolen felt sad.
13. The store whose clerk fought back didn’t get robbed.
14. The dog whose leg was broken whimpered quietly.
15. The fire for which the cause is still unknown began at 1:00 this morning.
16. I have to pick up some medicine for my allergies that my doctor recommended.
17. The girls spread rumors about their teachers that were wrong.
18. The students asked questions about the exercises that were complicated.
19. The waiter served a dinner roll to the woman that was well-buttered.
20. Ralph piled all of his clothes in the hamper that he had worn.

Exercise B - Discussion question: Now discuss the sentences with our classmates, talking about the rules that apply to each sentence. Finally, write down any questions you have in the space provided here.

Answers

Placement of Adjective Clauses

One important aspect of adjective clauses that hasn’t been noted yet is their location in relationship to the nouns they modify. By looking at the circled words in the sentences above, the basic location should be obvious. Adjective clauses come after the nouns they modify. This is the same location taken by prepositional phrases when they act as noun modifiers. Sentences 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 in Activity 16.6 show the possible complications that can arise when a noun phrase contains both a prepositional phrase as a modifier and an adjective clause as a modifier. In many sentences, the meaning is clear, but in others, which noun is being modified by the adjective clause can be difficult to determine. In some sentences the confusion can become quite funny, as sentences 19 and 20 demonstrate. (source of sentences 19 and 20: http://www.towson.edu/ows/moduledangling.htm )

Activity 16.7: Types of Relative Clauses

Exercise A – Read each sentence below and put an asterisk in front of the sentences that you consider ungrammatical.

1. I saw a man who was picking his nose.
2. I saw a man that was picking his nose.
3. I saw Senator Vinnick who was picking his nose.
4. I saw Senator Vinnick that was picking his nose.
5. I saw Senator Vinnick, who was picking his nose.
6. I saw Senator Vinnick, that was picking his nose.
1. The children who wanted to slide brought sleds.
2. The children that wanted to slide brought sleds.
3. The children, who wanted to slide, brought sleds.
4. The children, that wanted to slide, brought sleds.
1. I called my sister who lives in Chaska.
2. I called my sister that lives in Chaska.
3. I called my sister, who lives in Chaska.
4. I called my sister, that lives in Chaska.
1. The pens which fell on the floor were new.
2. The pens that fell on the floor were new.
3. The pens, which fell on the floor, were new.
4. The pens, that fell on the floor, were new.

Exercise B – Now look at the sentences you marked as ungrammatical and tell what is wrong with them. Next consider the other sentences. What does each mean? Why?

Answers

Adjective Clause 4