Adverbial Clauses
* What they do: Adverbial clauses modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs by telling us *when*, *where*, *why*, *how*, *to what extent*, or *under what conditions* something happens.
* How to identify them:
* They usually begin with subordinating conjunctions like:
* Time: *after, before, since, until, when, while*
* Place: *where, wherever*
* Cause/Reason: *because, since, as*
* Purpose: *so that, in order that*
* Condition: *if, unless, whether*
* Concession: *although, though, even though*
* Comparison: *as, than*
* They contain a subject and a verb.
* They act like adverbs, modifying the main clause.
Examples:
* Time: *She went to bed after she finished her homework.*
* Place: *We went to the beach where the waves were crashing.*
* Cause: *He didn't go to the party because he was sick.*
* Condition: *If it rains, we'll stay inside.*
Adjectival Clauses
* What they do: Adjectival clauses modify nouns or pronouns by providing more information about them.
* How to identify them:
* They usually begin with relative pronouns like: *who, whom, whose, which, that*
* They contain a subject and a verb.
* They act like adjectives, describing the noun or pronoun.
Examples:
* Identifying the person: *The woman who lives next door is a doctor.*
* Describing a thing: *The book that I borrowed from the library is very interesting.*
* Possession: *The house whose roof needs repair is for sale.*
Key Points:
* Dependent Clauses: Both adverbial and adjectival clauses are dependent clauses. This means they can't stand alone as complete sentences.
* Main Clause: They always modify a main clause, which can stand alone as a complete sentence.
* Punctuation: Adverbial clauses can be separated from the main clause by a comma, especially if they come at the beginning of the sentence.
Practice:
To get better at identifying these clauses, try practicing with various sentences. Look for the conjunctions and relative pronouns, and then determine how the clause modifies the rest of the sentence.