A Reason to Understand Adjective Clauses
2021-01-15
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1Imagine you want to answer a why question.
2For example, someone asks you:
3Why did you go to the train station?
4Your answer might use an adjective clause.
5If you do not know what that term means, do not worry.
6We will explain the idea in today's report.
7In this Everyday Grammar, we will explore adjective clauses that describe reasons.
8But first, we need to begin with a few definitions.
9What are clauses, anyway? Clauses are groups of words that have a subject and a predicate.
10Consider this example:
11English grammar is fun.
12English grammar is the subject.
13Is fun is the predicate.
14Sometimes clauses are not complete sentences.
15Sometimes they play a part in a longer, more complex sentence.
16This is where we come to adjective clauses, also called relative clauses.
17Adjective clauses are clauses that act like an adjective.
18They describe or give additional information about nouns.
19Consider this example:
20This is the book that I told you about.
21The adjective clause is that I told you about.
22It describes, or gives more information about the noun, book.
23Adjective clauses have many uses.
24They can describe nouns that refer to time, place or reason.
25When describing reasons, Americans often use adjective clauses immediately after the noun reason.
26English speakers commonly use words such as why or that to begin these clauses.
27But, sometimes they do not use any words at all!
28One common structure is the noun reason followed by an adjective clause that begins with the word why.
29Imagine a situation in which beginning science students try to find out why their experiment had unusual results.
30Perhaps one of them finds that the measurement tools have not been cleaned. He or she might say:
31This may be the reason why our results were unusual.
32The adjective clause begins with the word why immediately after the noun reason.
33In a second common structure, there are no special words that begin the adjective clause after the word reason.
34Consider the question you heard at the beginning of this report:
35Why did you go to the train station?
36You could say:
37The only reason I went there was to meet my friend.
38Or
39The reason I went to the train station was to meet my friend.
40Popular music also has many examples of this structure. Consider these words from Shania Twain.
41You're the reason I believe in love
42And you're the answer to my prayers from up above
43You might hear a third structure - the noun reason followed by an adjective clause beginning with the word that.
44Think back to our example about the train station.
45Why did you go to the train station?
46You could say:
47The reason that I went there was to meet my friend.
48You will hear English speakers use all of the structures that we talked about today.
49Sometimes you will hear them use two or more of the structures that we have talked about in the same song, speech, or discussion.
50Let's listen to a few words from Callum Scott's song, You Are the Reason.
51There goes my heart beating
52Cause you are the reason
53I'm losing my sleep
54Please come back now
55Note that Scott does not use a special word between the word reason and the words I'm losing my sleep.
56Let's listen to a few more words from Scott's song:
57There goes my mind racing
58And you are the reason
59That I'm still breathing
60I'm hopeless now
61You might be wondering why Scott used the word that in this example.
62In the other example, after all, he did not use any special word at all.
63There are a few possible explanations.
64The songwriter could have used that because it sounded better.
65Or possibly the songwriter did not want to repeat the exact same grammatical structure throughout the song.
66The next time you listen to music or shows in English, listen for how speakers describe reasons.
67Take note of when they use the word reason and when they use adjective clauses to describe it.
68With time and practice, you will use adjective clauses with great ease!
69I'm John Russell.
1Imagine you want to answer a why question. 2For example, someone asks you: 3Why did you go to the train station? 4Your answer might use an adjective clause. 5If you do not know what that term means, do not worry. We will explain the idea in today's report. 6In this Everyday Grammar, we will explore adjective clauses that describe reasons. But first, we need to begin with a few definitions. 7What are clauses? 8What are clauses, anyway? Clauses are groups of words that have a subject and a predicate. 9Consider this example: 10English grammar is fun. 11English grammar is the subject. Is fun is the predicate. 12Sometimes clauses are not complete sentences. Sometimes they play a part in a longer, more complex sentence. This is where we come to adjective clauses, also called relative clauses. Adjective clauses are clauses that act like an adjective. They describe or give additional information about nouns. 13Consider this example: 14This is the book that I told you about. 15The adjective clause is that I told you about. 16It describes, or gives more information about the noun, book. 17Adjective clauses have many uses. They can describe nouns that refer to time, place or reason. When describing reasons, Americans often use adjective clauses immediately after the noun reason. 18English speakers commonly use words such as why or that to begin these clauses. But, sometimes they do not use any words at all! 19Reason + why 20One common structure is the noun reason followed by an adjective clause that begins with the word why. 21Imagine a situation in which beginning science students try to find out why their experiment had unusual results. Perhaps one of them finds that the measurement tools have not been cleaned. He or she might say: 22This may be the reason why our results were unusual. 23The adjective clause begins with the word why immediately after the noun reason. 24Reason + 0 25In a second common structure, there are no special words that begin the adjective clause after the word reason. 26Consider the question you heard at the beginning of this report: 27Why did you go to the train station? 28You could say: 29The only reason I went there was to meet my friend. 30Or 31The reason I went to the train station was to meet my friend. 32Popular music also has many examples of this structure. Consider these words from Shania Twain. 33You're the reason I believe in love 34And you're the answer to my prayers from up above 35Reason + that 36You might hear a third structure - the noun reason followed by an adjective clause beginning with the word that. 37Think back to our example about the train station. 38Why did you go to the train station? 39You could say: 40The reason that I went there was to meet my friend. 41Different examples 42You will hear English speakers use all of the structures that we talked about today. Sometimes you will hear them use two or more of the structures that we have talked about in the same song, speech, or discussion. 43Let's listen to a few words from Callum Scott's song, You Are the Reason. 44There goes my heart beating 45Cause you are the reason 46I'm losing my sleep 47Please come back now 48Note that Scott does not use a special word between the word reason and the words I'm losing my sleep. 49Let's listen to a few more words from Scott's song: 50There goes my mind racing 51And you are the reason 52That I'm still breathing 53I'm hopeless now 54You might be wondering why Scott used the word that in this example. In the other example, after all, he did not use any special word at all. 55There are a few possible explanations. The songwriter could have used that because it sounded better. Or possibly the songwriter did not want to repeat the exact same grammatical structure throughout the song. 56Closing thoughts 57The next time you listen to music or shows in English, listen for how speakers describe reasons. Take note of when they use the word reason and when they use adjective clauses to describe it. 58With time and practice, you will use adjective clauses with great ease! 59I'm John Russell. 60John Russell wrote this story for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 61_____________________________________________________________ 62Words in This Story 63predicate - n. grammar: the part of a sentence that expresses what is said about the subject 64refer to - phrasal verb to have a direct connection or relationship to (something) 65practice - n. the activity of doing something again and again in order to become better at it