Summary Adjective and Adverb Clauses Grade 8 English

Adjective and Adverb Clauses
Adjective Clauses
●​ Definition: A dependent clause that describes a noun or pronoun.
●​ Starts with:
○​ Relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, that
○​ Relative adverbs: when, where, why
●​ Examples:
○​ The crowd is cheering for the singer who has just taken the stage.
○​ The boy is holding a kite that he just made from scratch.
○​ The professor is talking to the student whom she had helped earlier.

Essential vs. Non-Essential Adjective Clauses
Type What It Does Punctuation Example

Essential Identifies the noun, No commas The boy who won the contest is
necessary info my best friend.

Non-Essent Extra info, not needed to Uses My brother, who lives in
ial identify noun commas Canada, is visiting.


How to Remember:

✔ Look for relative pronouns/adverbs.​
✔ Check if the info is necessary (no commas) or extra (use commas).​
✔ Always describes a noun (answers “Which one?” or “What kind?”).




Adverb Clauses
●​ Definition: A dependent clause that tells how, when, where, why, or under what
condition.
●​ Starts with: Subordinating conjunctions (because, although, when, if, since, while,
etc.).
●​ Examples:
○​ He danced as if he had never danced before. (How?)
○​ I will call you when I get home. (When?)
○​ She left early because she wasn’t feeling well. (Why?)