Focus on Adjective Clauses:

Adjective Clauses follow the nouns they modify. Restrictive adjective clauses limit the noun. That is, they give essential information that defines or identifies the noun. Nonrestrictive adjective clauses give extra information about specific nouns. For this reason, they are set off with commas.

An adjective clause begins with a relative pronoun that may be a subject, object, or possessive form. The relative pronouns are who (refers to a person), that (refers to a person or thing), which (refers to an object or thing only), and whose (the possessive form). Who, that, and which can be the subject of an adjective clause. Whom, that, and which can be the object of an adjective clause. Study the examples below. Underline the adjective clause in each. What is the sentence function of each relative pronoun? Why are commas used or not used?

1. Entomologists are scientists who study insects.
2. Insects that harm fruits and vegetables are classified as pests.
3. Jason Zagreb, who works for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, works for the Pest Exclusion Branch of the CDFA.
4. Dr. Beetle, whom Jason studied under in grad school, recommended him for the job.
5. Jason, whose degree is in entomology, was happy to get the job.
6. The Pest Detection and Emergency Projects Branch, whose surveys help detect infestations, reports directly to the head of the CDFA.
7. Indian walking sticks, which came from India and recently infested San Diego, look like twigs on branches.
8. For this reason, these insects, which are 14 inches long, were not easily detected.

Combine sentences based on the article, “Ardi May Rewrite the Story of Humans.” Make the second sentence the adjective clause. Place it and punctuate it correctly.

1. Ardi was an early hominid.

Her skeletal remains were found 15 years ago.

2. Pieces of her skeleton can tell us a lot about how human life began.

Pieces of her skeleton were found in Ethiopia.

3. Ardi was about 4 feet tall and weighed around 110 pounds.

Ardi is 1 million years older than Lucy.

4. Lucy was found in 1974.

Lucy is another fossilized hominid. (Use which.)

5. A fossil is a part of a plant or animal.

It lived millions of years ago.

6. The two fossils were only 45 miles apart.

They were both found in Ethiopia.

7. Ardi had a prehensile toe. (The adj. clause will NOT define or identify.)

It was separated from her other toes.

8. Prehensile refers to a tail or foot. (The adj. clause WILL define a term.)

It can curl around things and hold on to them.

9. Yohannes Haile-Selassie says that the discovery of Ardi “further confirms that Ethiopia is the cradle of civilization.
Yohannes Haile-Selassie is a paleontologist.

10. Paleontologists are scientists.

They study fossils of early life forms.

11. Ardi and Lucy were both hominids.

Hominids is the term used for early humans.

12. The modern human being is the only hominid.

It is still in existence.

13. The nickname Ardi comes from the term Ardipithecus Ramidus.

Ardipithecus ramidus is the name of the species.

14. Ardi is the oldest fossil.

She was found with bones of 35 other members of her species.

15. Ardi’s skeleton was put together from 125 pieces.

Ardi’s skeleton is more primitive than Lucy’s.

16. Australopithecus afarensis is the species. (The relative pronoun will be the object of the clause.)

Lucy belonged to this species.

17. Lucy moved around on 2 feet. (The first clause will modify Lucy.)

She had a small brain and large black teeth. (The second clause will modify teeth.)

The teeth let her eat a wider variety of foods.

18. Homo erectus came after Ardipithecus and Australopithecus.

Homo erectus is the modern human species.

19. Humans share the same genetic codes as chimpanzees .

Humans evolved from earlier primates.

20. Fossils hold the key to human evolution.

Fossils are becoming more scarce.

21. Scientists now believe there were different lines of primates.

These lines could have split in different directions.

22. Tim White thinks Ardi and Lucy show where people came from.

Tim White led the Ardi research team.

23. Scientists are still looking for the “last common ancestor.”

This ancestor could be linked to both modern humans and modern chimps.

24. The last common ancestor was probably a species.

This ancestor lived 6 to 7 million years ago.

25. Ardi is not that common ancestor.

She is the closest scientists have come to discovering that species.

Developed by K. Hanson for ESL Lab.