Grammatical Structures for Noobies

What is a clause?

Clause is a group of words with complete of incomplete meaning or context.

There are two types of clauses

1. Main Clause: which has a complete meaning. mostly has a subject and predicate(verb atleast)
2. Subordinate Clause: which has no complete meaning but depends on a main clause to complete the meaning or context.

There are three kinds of Subordinate clause:

1. Relative/Adjective Clause
2. Adverbial Clause
3. Noun Clause
4. A Relative clause is a type of dependent (subordinate) clause that provides additional information about a noun or pronoun in a sentence. It begins with a relative pronoun (such as who, whom, whose, which, or that) or a relative adverb (such as where, when, or why). Relative clauses are also known as adjective clauses because they function similarly to adjectives by describing or qualifying a noun.

There are two types of it.

1. Defining
2. Non Defining

Defining or Restrictive Relative clause: Defining relative clauses provide essential information about the noun they modify. They specify exactly which person or thing we are referring to and are not set off by commas.

Relative Pronouns Used:

• Who, whom, that, which, where, when, why

Examples:

1. “Students who study regularly tend to perform better.”
2. “The car that is parked outside belongs to Sarah.”

Key Points:

• No commas are used.
• Essential to the meaning of the sentence.
• Cannot be omitted without changing the sentence’s meaning.

Non-Defining (Non-Restrictive) Relative Clauses

Definition: Non-defining relative clauses add extra, non-essential information about the noun. The sentence would still make sense without them, and they are set off by commas.

Relative Pronouns Used:

• Who, whom, whose, which, where, when, why

Examples:

1. “My brother, who lives in New York, is visiting us next week.”
2. “The Eiffel Tower, which was completed in 1889, is a famous landmark.”

Key Points:

• Commas are used to separate the clause.
• Provide supplementary information.
• Can often be omitted without altering the core meaning of the sentence.

Q1 . Why Relative clause is called Adjective Clause though Relative pronouns and Relative Adverbs are being used into it?

=> Typically, adverbs indeed modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, providing more information about how, when, where, or to what extent something happens. However, relative adverbs are a special case because they serve a different role in certain grammatical structures.

Here’s why relative adverbs seem to break the usual rule:

What Relative Adverbs Do:

Relative adverbs (such as when, where, and why) introduce relative clauses that provide additional information about nouns. Even though they are called “adverbs,” in this context, they are closely tied to the noun being modified because they are used to connect the noun to the relative clause.

So, while the relative clause as a whole provides additional information about the noun, the relative adverb plays a connecting role between the noun and the clause.

Let me explain more clearly with an example:

Example of a Relative Adverb:

That’s the restaurant where we first met.

In this sentence:

• “Where” is a relative adverb introducing the relative clause “where we first met.”
• “We first met” is an event (a verb-based clause), but the entire clause refers to the restaurant (a noun).

Here, the relative adverb “where” links the noun “restaurant” to the event “we first met,” which happened at that location.

The relative adverb doesn’t directly modify the noun (as an adjective would), but it introduces a clause that provides context or information about the noun. This is why it may seem like the adverb is connected to the noun, but in reality, it’s introducing a clause that gives extra details related to that noun.

Why This Happens:

Relative adverbs are unique because:

1. They combine the function of introducing a clause (like a relative pronoun would) and providing extra information (related to time, place, or reason).
2. They are adverbs, but the whole clause they introduce modifies the noun, which is why they seem tied to nouns.

Key Point:

The relative adverb introduces a clause, and it’s the clause that modifies the noun. In this case, the relative adverb isn’t modifying the noun directly but rather linking a descriptive clause to the noun.