GRAMMAR NOTES

Adjective Clauses

Here is a brief review of adjective clauses and relative pronouns.

An adjective clause is used to describe a noun:

The car, which was red, belonged to Young-Hee.

A relative pronoun is usually used to introduce an adjective clause:

Young-Hee, who is a Korean student, lives in Victoria.

The main relative pronouns are:

Pronoun		Use	Example
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.

There are two main kinds of adjective clause:

1. Non-defining clauses

Non-defining clauses give extra information about the noun, but they are not essential:

The desk in the corner, which is covered in books, is mine.

Explanation: We don’t need this information in order to understand the sentence. “The desk in the corner is mine” is a good sentence on its own — we still know which desk is referred to. Note that non-defining clauses are usually separated by commas, and “that” is not usually used in this kind of context.

2. Defining clauses

Defining clauses give essential information about the noun:

The package that arrived this morning is on the desk.

Explanation: We need this information in order to understand the sentence. Without the relative clause, we don’t know which package is being referred to. Note that “that” is often used in defining relative clauses, and they are not separated by commas.

When you are sure that you understand the lesson, you can continue with the exercises.

EXERCISES

1. The cougar lives in deserts, forests, plains and mountains, but according to scientists ________ have studied the animal, it is becoming endangered in some areas.
   1.        who
   2.        which
   3.        whom
   4.        whose
2. Cougars sometimes prey on sheep and goats, so they may be killed by the farmers ________ animals they attack.
   1.        who
   2.        whom
   3.        whose
   4.        which
3. The cougar is a member of the cat family ______ grows to around 8 feet in length.
   1.        who
   2.        that
   3.        whom
   4.        which
4. However, cougars very rarely attack humans, of ________ they are usually afraid.
   1.        who
   2.        which
   3.        that
   4.        whom
5. The cougar has powerful legs, ________ it uses to climb and to jump into trees.
   1.        which
   2.        who
   3.        whom
   4.        whose