Adjective clauses (also known as relative clauses) typically can be difficult for many students, and are explained more deeply in a separate section of this site. What follows is just a brief overview. There are four types of relative/adjective clauses: subject-subject, object-subject, subject-object, and object-object .
for example:
Subject-Subject: The dog which is near the McBurger dumpster is staring at Tom.
the dog [the subject of the independent clause] is next to the relative pronoun which, [the subject of the adjective clause.]
Object-Subject: Tom tried to pet the "dog" which is really a raccoon.
the dog [the object of the independent clause] is next to the relative pronoun which, [the subject of the adjective clause.]
Subject-Object: Tom, whom the raccoon bit, is not the sharpest tool in the shed.
Tom [the subject of the independent clause] is next to the relative pronoun whom, [the object of the adjective clause.]
Object-Object: Tom went to the hospital where a doctor gave him five rabies shots.
the hospital [the object of the independent clause] is next to the relative pronoun where, [an object of a preposition of the adjective clause.]
Restrictive Vs. Non-restrictive Clauses: [When to Use a Comma]
Notice how some adjective clauses are important to the definition of the thing they describe. These are known as restrictive clauses
for example::
I saw the man who lives near the park.
Which man was it? (The man who lives near the park.) It was not the man who lives near the docks; nor the man who lives by the beach. It was the man who lives near the park.
Unlike restrictive adjective clauses, non-restrictive adjective clauses don't add important defining information to a sentence. Actually, they add extra, unnecessary information.
for example:
I saw Tom, who was eating icecream, pet the raccoon.
The fact that Tom was eating icecream is extra info which is not needed to identify Tom. Note that non-restrictive clauses are separated out by commas.
Adjective clauses begin with relative pronouns:
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who..., whom...,(for people and intelligent animals)
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which...,(for non-living things)
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that...,(for both things and people)
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where...,(for locations)
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when...,(for time)
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whose...,(for possessive)
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* why can also be a relative pronoun but it only replaces the word reason or a synonym.
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