The adjectival clause is a tool to use to help students extend the visual detail of their writing

1. Adjectival clauses

2. In plain English
An adjectival clause describes whatever is to the left of it, usually a noun.
Adjectival clauses are usually introduced by the following words (relative pronouns):
● who, whose, whom, which, that and where
Examples:
The student who has her tongue stuck out is Stephanie
The girl whose hair is jet black is Bianca

3. Adjectivals show us more
Example 1
The sentence below has a part missing.
It’s the kind of smile you give to a chicken.
What do you notice about the sentence now?
It’s the kind of smile you give to a chicken whose head you’re about to cut off.

4. Adjectivals show us more
Example 2
The sentence below has a part missing.
She opened the door—and stared beyond the picket gate at Willis Hurd and his friends.
What do you notice about the sentence now?
She opened the door—and stared beyond the picket gate at Willis Hurd and his friends, who all broke into
a sudden and uproarious laughter - all except Willis, who was smiling his chicken-killing smile

5. Adjectivals show us more
Example 3
The sentence below has a part missing.
Dead animals were routinely tossed into this soup.
What do you notice about the sentence now?
Dead animals were routinely tossed into this soup, where everything decayed and sent up noxious
bubbles to foul the air.

6. Adjectivals show us more
Example 4
The sentence below has a part missing.
No one knew.
What do you notice about the sentence now?
No one knew that a killer was already moving through the streets with them, an invisible stalker that
would go house to house until it had touched everyone

7. Here are the previous sentences.
● It’s the kind of smile you give to a chicken whose head you’re about to cut off.
● She opened the door—and stared beyond the picket gate at Willis Hurd and his friends, who all broke into a
sudden and uproarious laughter - all except Willis, who was smiling his chicken-killing smile
● Dead animals were routinely tossed into this soup, where everything decayed and sent up noxious bubbles
to foul the air.
● No one knew that a killer was already moving through the streets with them, an invisible stalker that would
go house to house until it had touched everyone.
Notice how the extra detail in the sentences begin with words from the list below (relative
pronouns):
● who, whose, whom, which, that and where

8. Your task
Identify the adjectival clauses in the sentences below:
● He did that thing again, where he pulled back his lips and showed his teeth.
● It’s hard not to immediately fall in love with a dog who has such a good sense of humor.
● I discuss little more than trades in the Hob, which is the black market where I make most of my money.
● Even at home, where I am less pleasant, I avoid discussing tricky topics.
● Harry’s dead parents, who had been a witch and wizard themselves, were never mentioned under the
Dursely’s roof.
● Ron Weasley, who was one of Harry’s best friends at Hogwarts, came from a whole family of wizards.
● Harry, who happened to be in the room at the time, froze as he heard Ron’s voice answer.

9. Answers
Identify the adjectival clauses in the sentences below:
● He did that thing again, where he pulled back his lips and showed his teeth.
● It’s hard not to immediately fall in love with a dog who has such a good sense of humor.
● I discuss little more than trades in the Hob, which is the black market where I make most of my money.
● Even at home, where I am less pleasant, I avoid discussing tricky topics.
● Harry’s dead parents, who had been a witch and wizard themselves, were never mentioned under the
Dursely’s roof.
● Ron Weasley, who was one of Harry’s best friends at Hogwarts, came from a whole family of wizards.
● Harry, who happened to be in the room at the time, froze as he heard Ron’s voice answer.

10. Combining to imitate
Identify the adjective clause in the model sentence. Next, combine the list of sentence to imitate the model. Finally, write your own
imitation and identify the adjectival clause
MODEL: Granny’s uncle, who used to have a restaurant business feeding county prisoners, was in charge of Grandpa’s cotton
warehouse, on of the biggest in north Georgia, and also the store’s cotton seed business.
A. This sentence is about Maria’s sister.
B. It was Maria who happened to be a big fan of attending every game.
C. She was the head of the team’s fan club.
D. That club was one of the biggest clubs in the school.
E. And Maria was also the head of the new uniform fundraiser.

11. Expand
Below are two sentences with the adjectival clause omitted. For each blank, add an adjective clause,
blending the content with the rest of the sentence
1. While Lottie disliked Miss Minchin, ________________________________, and Miss Amelia,
_____________________, she rather liked Sara.
2. He glanced at Snape, ________________________, and looked quickly away.

12. Adjectival clauses
Relative pronouns
Sometimes it is difficult to know which relative pronoun to use. The table on the right provides some
general information.
Relative pronouns
who, whose, whom,
which, that, where
Which refers to things and
animals.
Who, whose, and whom refer
to people (or beloved animals).
That usually refers to things.