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Topic: Adjective Clause (cont.) |
9 July 2002 |
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So far, we have learned the use of adjective clauses as
noun modifiers: they give more information about the nouns they modify. Some adjective
clauses are essential to the meaning of the sentence, and the meaning of the sentence
will change or become unclear without it. This kind of adjective clause is called
restrictive adjective clause.
For example:
Cars that are made in Japan are popular in the U.S.
I met a professor who teaches Engineering at the MIT last week at the conference.
My brother who lives in Detroit had a car accident last week.
From the first sentence, without the adjective clause-'that are made in Japan'-the sentence
will read 'Cars are popular in the U.S.' That means people in the States prefer using cars,
a personal transportation, to taking busses or train and riding a bike. But the original meaning of
the sentence is that Americans like to use Japanese cars.
From the other two sentences, without the adjective clauses we won't know
who is being mentioned. If I say I met a professor last week at the conference,
the sentence carries no importance at all. We meet people at conferences all the time.
Why would you bother to tell me you met a professor? The third sentence carries the stress on
the brother who lives in Detroit. The speaker may have many brothers, but he or she is talking
about the one in Detroit right now.
On the other hand, some adjective clauses are not essential to the meaning of a sentence.
They are there to clarify a term or just give an extra detail. These adjective clauses are called
non-restrictive adjective clause.
For example:
Toyota, which is a Japanese company, sells many cars in the U.S.
I met Professor Brown, who teaches engineering at MIT, last week at the conference.
My brother, who lives in Detroit, had a car accident last week.
In the first sentence without the adjective clause, we all know what Toyota is.
Toyota is a name of a Japanese car manufacturer; therefore, we don't really need the modifier.
Like the first sentence, when a proper noun or a name is given, we don't really need further
information to specify the idea. The only case when it is needed is that there is more than
on Prof. Brown. The last sentence implies that the speaker has one brother.
Notice the use of commas to separate the non-restrictive adjective clause
from the main clause. The commas are like brackets indicating that what comes
between can be omitted without changing the meaning of the sentence. What's more,
a non-restrictive adjective clause use who, whom, and which as relative pronoun.
You can't use that because it cannot follow a comma.
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Exercise: Restricted Adjective Clauses. |
| Directions: Decide whether the adjective clause in each of the following sentences
is restricted. Add commas to those that are non-restricted. |
 1. Puerto Rico which is a small Caribbean island is an American territory. |
| 2. Puerto Ricans whose native language is Spanish have the same rights and privileges as any U.S. citizen. |
| 3. Puerto Ricans who take up residence in the U.S. can vote in the national election. |
| 4. Puerto Ricans who live on the island can't vote in a national election. |
| 5. Puerto Rico which was once a colony of Spain has a tropical climate. |
| 6. Puerto Ricans who live in the U.S. usually learn to speak English. |
| 7. The Spanish which is a Romance language is the principal language of Puerto Rico. |
| 8. Puerto Ricans who want Puerto Rico to become an independent nation are in the minority. |
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Answers |
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