This document provides a summary of the key rules for using adjective clauses in English sentences. It defines adjective clauses and explains that they are used to identify or provide additional information about nouns. Some of the main points covered include: - The different relative pronouns that can be used to introduce adjective clauses, including who, which, that, and whose. - Agreement of verbs within adjective clauses. - The difference between identifying and non-identifying adjective clauses and use of commas. - Examples of combining sentences using adjective clauses. - Common errors to avoid when using adjective clauses.

1. Adjective Clauses with
Subject Relative
Pronouns
Famous Faces
and Places
6
Focus on Grammar 4
Part VI, Unit 13
By Ruth Luman, Gabriele Steiner, and BJ Wells
Copyright © 2006. Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. She’s a scientist whose
discoveries have greatly affected
the medical field.
She discovered the element of
radium, which is used in X-rays.
History 101
Who is Marie Curie?
Oh, I know. She’s a woman who
won the Nobel Prize in 1903.What did she discover?
Wow. Good answers. Okay, next
question. Who was Gandhi?
Okay, let’s start studying for our
history exam. I’ll ask a question, and
you tell me the answer.

3. Gandhi was a man who worked for peace.
Adjective Clauses 1
Use adjective clauses to identify or give additional
information about nouns (people, places, or things).
The clause
who worked for peace
identifies the man we are
talking about.
The clause
which is in Western India
gives additional
information about Gujarat.
He lived in the state of Gujarat,
which is in Western India.

4. Adjective Clauses 2
Adjective clauses can also identify or describe indefinite
pronouns such as one, someone, somebody,
something, another, and other(s).
George Washington Carver is someone
who was a famous botanist.
someone
The adjective clause directly
follows the noun (or pronoun)
it is identifying.

5. Adjective Clauses 3
Sentences with adjective clauses can be
seen as a combination of two sentences.
Florence Nightingale was a nurse.
She developed modern healthcare methods.
+
=
Florence Nightingale was a nurse who
developed modern healthcare methods.
Beethoven was a composer.
His music is still enjoyed by many people.
+
=
Beethoven was a composer whose
music is still enjoyed by many people.

6. The Mona Lisa is a painting that
is known throughout the world.
Abraham Lincoln was an American
president who fought against slavery.
Use whose to refer to
people’s possessions.
The Mona Lisa is a painting which
is known throughout the world.
That is less formal than
who and which and used
more in conversation.
Abraham Lincoln was an American
president that fought against slavery.
OR
OR
Relative Pronouns 1
Adjective clauses begin with relative pronouns.
Subject relative pronouns can be who, that, which,
and whose.
who
that
Use which or that to refer to
places or things.
Thomas Edison, whose inventions
changed the world, was born in 1847.
whose inventions
Use who or that to
refer to people.

7. Be Careful!
Do not use a subject pronoun (I, you, he, she, it, we,
they) and a subject relative pronoun in the same
adjective clause.
William Shakespeare is an Englishman
who he wrote many well-known plays.
William Shakespeare is an Englishman
who wrote many well-known plays.

8. 1. a) Ang San Su Kyi is a Burmese peace activist in Myanmar.
b) Myanmar is a country located in Southeast Asia.
2. a) Diego Rivera was a Mexican painter.
b) His work is displayed in many famous museums.
3. a) Mother Teresa was a Catholic nun.
b) She devoted her life to the poor.
Mother Teresa was a Catholic nun who/that devoted her
life to the poor.
Albert Einstein was a physicist who won
the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.
Ang San Su Kyi is a Burmese peace activist in Myanmar
which is a country located in Southeast Asia.
Practice 1
Combine the groups of sentences into
one sentence with an adjective
clause. Use the appropriate relative
pronouns.
Example: a) Albert Einstein was a physicist.
b) He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.
Albert Einstein was a physicist that won
the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.
OR
Albert Einstein was a physicist who/that
won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.
Example:
Diego Rivera was a Mexican painter whose work is
displayed in many famous museums.

9. Relative Pronouns 2
Relative pronouns have the same form whether they
refer to singular or plural nouns, or to males or
females.
Ferdinand Magellan was the
man who led the first
expedition to sail around the
world.
Pioneers are people who do
things others think impossible.
Amelia Earhart was the woman
who was the first female pilot
to fly across the Atlantic.

10. Verbs in Adjective Clauses
The verb in the adjective clause is singular if the
subject relative pronoun refers to a singular noun. It is
plural if it refers to a plural noun.
Copernicus was an astronomer who is
known for his theory that the world is round.
Plato and Aristotle are ancient Greek
men who are known for philosophies.
singular verb
plural verb

11. Be Careful!
When whose + noun is the subject of an adjective
clause, the verb agrees with the subject of the
adjective clause.
Jane Austen was an English novelist
whose novels is read by many students.
Jane Austen was an English novelist
whose novels are read by many students.
subject

12. Two Kinds of Adjective Clauses
There are two kinds of adjective clauses,
identifying and nonidentifying.
The books which are on
the table belong to me.
The books, which are on
the table, belong to me.
The adjective clause
identifies which books the
sentence talks about.
The adjective clause is not
necessary to identify the
which books are referred to.

13. Commas
A nonidentifying adjective clause is separated from the
rest of the sentence by commas. Do not use commas
with an identifying adjective clause.
The map which is on the
table is new.
Identifying
Adjective Clause
The map, which is on
the table, is new.
Nonidentifying Adjective
Clause

14. Be Careful!
Do not use that to introduce nonidentifying adjective
clauses. Use who for people and which for places
and things.
Marie Curie, that won the Nobel Prize,
discovered radium.
Marie Curie, who won the Nobel Prize,
discovered radium.
Athens, that is the birthplace
of the Olympics, is in Greece.
Athens, which is the birthplace
of the Olympics, is in Greece.

15. 1. Louis Armstrong was a famous American musician who he
made jazz popular.
2. Frida Kahlo, whose paintings has recently become well-
known, was a Mexican painter.
3. Nelson Mandela, who live in South Africa, fought against
apartheid.
4. Chinua Achebe is a Nigerian author which writes novels
about village life.
5. Valentina Tereshkova who was the first woman to travel
into space is Russian.
Example: Italy, that is the birthplace of opera, is a
fascinating country.
which is the birthplace of opera, is a
Practice 2
Find and correct the errors in the
adjective clauses of the sentences.
Discuss your answers with a partner.
,
,
who
have recently become well-
lives in South Africa, fought against
who writes novels

16. References
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its licensors. All rights reserved.
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Ghandi: © Silvio Fiore / SuperStock