Adjective Clauses: Test Your Knowledge of English Grammar with Jennifer

Hi everyone. It's Jennifer. I hope you've watched the previous lessons on adjective clauses and adjective phrases

because in this video, I'm going to test your knowledge. Are you ready?

Let's start. Here's your first question.

What relative pronoun do we use to refer to people and only people?

The answer is WHO?

WHOM is also possible in a formal reference and only if we're using the relative pronoun as an object.

Note that the relative pronoun WHOSE can also refer to people, but WHOSE is possessive.

We can also use it sometimes to refer to animals

Two. What relative pronoun can refer to either a person or a thing?

The answer is THAT.

Three. When we form adjective clauses to refer back to a time, a place, and a reason,

what words do we use?

We can use WHEN, WHERE, and WHY to form adjective clauses.

Some people call adjective clauses relative clauses.

And some grammar books call WHEN, WHERE, and WHY relative adverbs.

In any case, you should know that these words help us form adjective clauses,

and these adjective clauses refer back to a noun in the main clause.

Question 4. Does the adjective clause come before or after the head noun, meaning the noun it modifies?

Does position matter?

An adjective clause always comes after. Usually it immediately follows the head noun.

Question 5. Do we always need commas to set off adjective clauses?

In other words, do we need punctuation to separate an adjective clause from the main clause?

No. Commas are not always needed. We only use commas to set off non-essential information.

we do not need commas when we need the information of an adjective clause to identify the head noun.

Six. Does an adjective clause always come at the end of a sentence?

No. Often it does come at the end because it follows the head noun in the main clause.

Sometimes a short adjective clause has a middle position in the sentence.

Seven. Can an adjective clause stand alone as a sentence?

No in standard grammar we combine an adjective clause with an independent clause to create a complex sentence.

Eight. Can all adjective clauses reduce to adjective phrases?

No. When we reduce an adjective clause, the relative pronoun must be WHO, WHICH, or THAT and

the relative pronoun must be the subject of the clause.

Nine. This isn't a question, but a task. I want you to form adjective clauses.

You'll create a total of five complex sentences

Let's go over the answers.

Here's a bonus question. Is there any relative pronoun we can omit?

Ten. I'd like you to reduce these three adjective clauses.

Let's go over the answers.

Are you ready for more of a challenge? I'd like you to spot the mistakes in the next four examples.

The problem is the position of the adjective clause.

It should follow the head noun as closely as possible.

Too much separation creates confusion.

Here's one way to correct the sentence.

The problem is the use of two pronouns in the adjective clause.

We already have the relative pronoun, so there's no need for "they." Here's the correct wording.

The problem is using the preposition IN with WHERE.

This adjective clause only needs WHERE.

Since this adjective clause refers back to a place with the meaning of THERE or "in that place,"

we could either use WHERE or a preposition of location plus WHICH.

In which.

I'd say: The kitchen is one of the rooms where Jennifer has filmed.

The problem is using "this fact."

It becomes confusing to identify the subject of the adjective clause.

We can use "a fact which" to refer back to the main clause.

The sentence should read:

So how did you do? If you need to review more, go back to the earlier lessons.

If you found the review quiz helpful, please remember to like this video.

I hope this has been a series that has helped you feel more confident about English grammar.

That's all for now on adjective clauses. As always, thanks for watching and happy studies!

Become a sponsor of English with Jennifer.

You'll get a special badge bonus posts on-screen credit and a monthly livestream.

Click on the link or look in the video description for more information.

Note that sponsorships are not available in every country at this time.

Please join me on Twitter for vocabulary practice. I'm there Monday through Friday.

You can also follow me on Facebook for language practice throughout the week.

If you haven't already, please subscribe to my channel. That way you'll get notification of every new video I upload to YouTube.