Adjective Clauses (aka relative clauses) Part 2: with non-subject pronouns

Review:  Adjective clause: what is it?  Relative pronoun: what is it?  Example sentences:  Amy Tan is a writer. She was born in California. ☞ Make a complex sentence with an adjective clause: Amy Tan, who was born in California, is a writer.

Subject vs. Object  Subject: Amy Tan is a writer. She was born in California.  Amy Tan, who was born in California, is a writer.  Object: Amy Tan is a writer. I heard her on the radio.  Amy Tan, who(m) I heard on the radio, is a writer.

Object Relative Pronouns  Object relative pronouns include:  Who Whom (formal) That Whose   For people, use “who” or “whom” or “that.”  “Whom” is more formal than “Who”  “Who” is more formal than “That”  For things, use “which” or “that.”  “Which” is more formal than “That”  Sometimes the relative pronoun is optional!  Not using the relative pronoun is the least formal option. This is only possible in restrictive/identifying/necessary clauses You can’t leave out the relative pronoun in nonrestrictive/nonidentifying/ “extra” clauses.

How it works:  Popo told An-Mei stories. An-mei could not understand the stories.  “And she told me stories (that) I could not understand.” (p. 14)  Huang Taitai was the mother of a boy. Lindo would be forced to marry the boy.  “With her was Huang Taitai, the mother of the boy (whom) I would be forced to marry.” (p. 19)

A closer look:  This kind of adjective clause has a different order!  Relative pronoun + subject + verb  Look again:  “And she told me stories (that) I could not understand.” (p. 14)  “With her was Huang Taitai, the mother of the boy (whom) I would be forced to marry.”

Placement  After the independent clause:  Necessary:  “I smiled, realizing it was the first time (that) I could see the power of the wind.” (p. 22)  Necessary + Extra:  “I had real thoughts that no one could see, that no one could ever take away from me.” (p.22)  NOTE: In the “necessary” clauses, the relative pronoun is optional. In the “extra” clauses, you must always use the relative pronoun.

Placement  Inside the independent clause:  Necessary:  “Popo said aloud to all who could hear that my brother and I were eggs laid by a stupid bird…” (p.14)  “Extra”:  Popo, with whom we lived, said aloud to all who could hear… (most formal – preposition first in the clause)  Popo, who we lived with, said aloud to all who could hear… (not as formal –preposition at the end of the clause)

Whose  They were the couple whose candle the servant watched.  She was the girl whose grandmother called her mother a ghost.  “Whose” is not optional.

There are relative adverbs, too.  Adjective clauses with relative adverbs follow similar rules to adjective clauses with relative pronouns.  Instead of describing a noun, they tell us something about place (when they begin with “where”) or something about time (when they begin with “when”).  These clauses do not describe verbs.

When / That  That was a time. + I started to understand him at that time = “That’s (a time) when I came to understand him.” (p.19) Same meaning: That was the time that I came to understand him. ☞ Tricky! Be sure that the clause describes a noun, not a verb. If the clause describes a verb, it is an adverb clause! “I watched this same movie when you did not come” (p. 18). This modifies “watched”, not “movie”, so it is an adverb clause, not an adjective clause.

Where  She took my hand and led me to the sofa, where we sat down together as though we did this every day. (p.17)  Everyone turned to look at the door, where a woman stood. (p.17)

Similarities to other Adj Clauses  The object relative pronoun/relative adverb comes at the beginning of the clause  Object relative pronouns don’t change based on number or gender  The verb in the adjective clause agrees with the subject of the adjective clause (like clauses with “whose”)  Comma rules are the same: use them for “extra” information and don’t use them for necessary information.  Don’t combine object pronouns with object relative pronouns in the same clause  NO: “With her was Huang Taitai, the mother of the boy (whom) I would be forced to marry him.” (p. 19)