Welcome to our lesson on attributive clauses. An attributive clause is a subordinate clause that modifies a noun or pronoun in the main clause. It acts like an adjective, providing more information about what we call the antecedent. Let's look at an example to understand this better.
Now let's explore relative pronouns, which are the words that introduce attributive clauses. The main relative pronouns are who, whom, whose, which, and that. Who refers to people as the subject, whom refers to people as the object, whose shows possession, which refers to things or animals, and that can refer to people or things. Let's see some examples of how these work.
Besides relative pronouns, we also have relative adverbs that introduce attributive clauses. The main relative adverbs are where, when, and why. Where refers to places, when refers to time, and why refers to reasons. These adverbs connect the attributive clause to the antecedent and function as adverbials within the clause itself. Let's look at examples of each type.
Now let's look at complete examples to see how attributive clauses work in full sentences. The structure is always main clause plus attributive clause. In our first example, the teacher is the antecedent, and who teaches English is the attributive clause that gives us more information about which teacher we're talking about. In the second example, the place is the antecedent, and where we first met tells us more about this specific place.
To summarize what we have learned about attributive clauses: They are subordinate clauses that modify nouns or pronouns in the main clause. They are introduced by relative pronouns like who, which, that, or relative adverbs like where, when, why. Their main function is to provide additional information about the antecedent, making our descriptions more specific and detailed. Mastering attributive clauses is essential for effective communication in English.