Skip navigation

Snap Language

Getting Smarter through Language

Building Complex Sentences with Dependent Clauses
(Page 3)

(C-Level Grammar)

  Email this lesson

Adjective Clauses

Just as adverb clauses replace adverbs, adjective clauses play the role of an adjective in the sense that they say something about a noun.

 

Example adjective clauses

Example 1

My grandmother misses her youth [description of youth].

My grandmother misses her youth when things were much simpler.

My grandmother misses her youth, which was filled with friends.

Example 2

The store [description] has closed.

The store that used to be on the corner has closed.

The store that they opened last month has become very popular.

Example 3

Self-improvement is the main reason [clarify the reason]

Self-improvement is the main reason for learning new things. (main clause and prepositional phrase)

Self-improvement is the main reason you should go to college.

Example 4

The dog [description] belongs to my neighbor.

The dog that barked all night belongs to my neighbor.

The dog that keeps awake all night probably sleeps all day.

Example 5

She still lives in the house [description of the house].

She still lives in the house that her grandfather built.

She still lives in the house that was damaged during the storm.

Example 6

The book [clarify the book] is a bestseller.

The book (that) I am reading right now is a bestseller.

The book my uncle wrote is a bestseller.

Example 7

Use the answer key [clarify the answer key] to check your answers.

Use the answer key at the end of the exercise to check your answers. (main clause and prepositional phrase)

Use the answer key that is at the end of the exercise to check your answers. (main clause and adjective clause)

Use the answer key that I provided last week to check your answers.

Example 8

The movie [clarify the movie] is now available for streaming

The movie, which won the Oscars last year, is now available for streaming.

Continue the Lesson

Continue the lesson to learn about noun clauses…