Noun Clause, Adjective Clause / Relative Clause /Adjectival Clause, Adverb Clause / Adverbial Clause

Abhi tak aapne Clauses aur Phrases me antar samajha aur seekha ki Clauses mainly 2 types ke hote hain:

1. Independent Clause
2. Dependent Clause

Aaj seekhenge Dependent Clauses kitne types ke hote hain aur kisi sentence me kaise pahchanen ki kaun sa clause hai…

There are mainly three types of Dependent Clauses:

1. Noun Clause
2. Adjective Clause / Relative Clause /Adjectival Clause

3. Adverb Clause / Adverbial Clause

• There are many tips in this blog to help you find the right clause in a sentence.

Noun Clauses 

What is a noun clause?

A noun clause plays the role of a noun. Anytime when you use a noun in a sentence, you can also use a noun clause instead. Like all nouns, the purpose of a noun clause is to name a person, place, thing, or idea when a single word is not enough. 

(Sometimes when we want to name something, a single word isn’t enough – sometimes we need a group of words to name something. That is why we use noun clauses.)

It can be used as the subject, direct object, indirect object, object of a preposition, subject complement, or appositive.

For example:

• He didn’t realize that he was lost. (Used as an object of a verb)
• How Meera behaved was not very polite. (Used as a subject of a verb)
• She didn’t know why they were quarrelling. (Used as an object of a verb)
• I’m not interested in whatever you say. (Used as an object of a preposition)

How to Spot a Noun Clause

Tip 1: One of the easiest ways to spot a noun clause is to look for these words:

Noun clauses most commonly begin with the words that, how, if, and the “wh-” words—what, whatever, where, wherever, when, whenever, why, which, whichever, who, whom, whoever, whomever, whether, and whatever.

Tip 2: Just ask ‘What’. The answer you get that will be the noun clause.

Tip 3: To confirm if it is a noun clause, replace it with a pronoun such as he, she, it, they, that, and there etc.

Adjective / Relative Clauses 

What is an adjective clause?

Adjective clauses modify nouns and pronouns and come right after the nouns they modify. They usually begin with Relative Pronouns and answer questions such as ‘which?’ or ‘what type of?’.

For example:

• Have you seen the book that I lost?
• I have a friend whose son lives abroad.
• Mr. Vyaas, who is very kind, is my teacher.
• Meera, whom I’ve asked to come over, is going away.
• That’s the girl who sits next to me at school.
• The movie, which is my favourite of all time, is being shown on TV tomorrow night.

How to Spot an Adjective Clause

Tip 1: It starts with a Relative Pronoun (Who, whom, which, whose and that)

Tip 2: It comes right after the noun or pronoun.

Tip 3: Just ask ‘which’ or ‘what type of’.

Adverb Clauses 

What is an adverb clause?

An adverb clause plays the role of an adverb in a sentence. It begins with a Subordinating Conjunction. It answers questions such as how, when, where, why, to what extent or under what conditions. They can be placed at the beginning, middle or end of a sentence.

For example:

• I missed the train because my alarm didn’t go off. (How/Why)
• After the chores are done, we will watch a movie. (When)
• My brother, when he is hungry, starts yelling. (When)
• She was so tired that she could not stand. (How)
• You can put the box wherever you like. (Where)
• Since she has long hair, she looks beautiful. (Why)

How to Spot an Adverb Clause

Tip 1: It starts with a Subordinating Conjunction.

Tip 2: Just ask ‘how, when, where and why’.

Tip 3: If an adverb clause comes at the beginning, use a comma (,). If it comes in the middle, use 2 commas (,…,), and if it comes at the end then don’t use a comma.

Tip 4: The clauses can be switched around.

For example:

• Because my alarm didn’t go off, I missed the train.
• We will watch a movie after the chores are done,
• My brother starts yelling when he is hungry.