47. SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS INTRODUCING ADJECTIVE CLAUSES
(who, whom, which, that, whose, when, where)
Subordinating conjunctions are words or phrases that introduce dependent clauses in a sentence.
Adjective clauses are dependent clauses used to do what an adjective does: modify or describe a noun.
The seven subordinating conjunctions that introduce adjective clauses are: who, whom, which, that, whose, when, where.
FUNCTION
EXAMPLES
Use who, whom, or that if the adjective clause is
describing a person.
Mr. Rogers, who claimed to be innocent, was sentenced to
three years in prison.
The criminal to whom the pardon was given expressed his
gratitude.
The man that was arrested was later proven to be innocent.
Use which or that if the adjective clause is
describing a thing or idea.
The proposal that has been made to build a swimming pool
has several benefits.
The swimming pool proposal, which the community
supports, has several benefits.
Use whose to show possession.
The man whose daughter is missing is in severe shock.
Dr. Gupta, whose patients mostly have Attention Deficit
Disorder, is an expert on the disease.
Use when and where if the adjective clause is giving
information about a time or place. Remember to add
a subject after
when or where.
I became a doctor in the early eighties, when there were a
few cases of AIDS.
The criminal was sent to a prison where there were
thousands of prisoners.
Adjective clauses can identify a noun or just provide extra information about the noun.
Identifying adjective clauses are necessary to complete the meaning of the sentence.
Non-identifying adjective clauses simply add more information.
REMEMBER
EXAMPLES
For identifying adjective clauses:
Use any subordinating conjunction to introduce
the clause.
Make sure not to use a comma before the
subordinating conjunction (this is how the reader
knows that the adjective clause is identifying the
noun).
The person who gave me the bad news is the committee
chairman.
(The adjective clause identifies the person.)
The proposal that I supported didn’t pass. (The adjective
clause identifies the proposal.)
The man whose daughter was just hit by the car is standing
over there.
(The adjective clause identifies the man.)
For non-identifying adjective clauses:
Use any subordinating conjunction except that to
introduce the clause.
Make sure to use a comma before the
subordinating conjunction (this is how the reader
knows that the adjective clause is just providing
extra information.)
Correct: The 1989 Financial Aid proposal, which he supported,
did not pass. (The proposal is already identified as the 1989
Financial Aid proposal.)
Incorrect: The 1989 Financial Aid proposal, that I supported,
did not pass. (You can not use the conjunction that to introduce
an adjective clause that just gives more information.)
Created in 2007 at the Center for English Language Support, John Jay College, on a U.S. Department of Education Page 1 of 1
(Title V Collaborative) Grant awarded to John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Queensborough Community College
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