Prof. Carla A.

ADVERBS AND ADVERBIALS

The point to remember is: adverbs are all adverbials but adverbials
are not all adverbs.

Very briefly:

He went yesterday

contains an adverb, yesterday, acting as an adverbial telling us

when he left. By some definitions, even this is really a noun acting
as an adverb.

He went by car

contains a prepositional phrase, by car, acting as an adverbial telling

us how he travelled.

She spoke hurriedly

contains an adverb, hurriedly, acting as an adverbial telling us

something about her manner of speaking.

She spoke because I prompted her

contains a subordinate clause, because I prompted her, acting as an

adverbial telling us why she spoke.

In only two of the sentences above, is the adverbial actually an

adverb (and one of those is slightly questionable).

Types of non-adverb adverbials

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 There are some punctuation issues. Adverbials, especially in the initial position are
often separated in some way from the rest of the clause. So, while:
I explained it to him in Italian
She arrives on Thursday
I ate good food while I was there
etc.
are all correctly punctuated, when the adverbial takes the initial position we need:
In Italian, I explained it to him
On Thursday, she arrives
While I was there, I ate good food
There's a bit more on adverbial positions in sentences and the punctuation below.

Adverbials come in three flavours. Consider the following sentences, focusing on the
bit in black:

I saw him yesterday afternoon.

Obviously, he didn't seem happy.

He isn't happy yet he gets on with life.

In sentence 1, we have an adjunct

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 o Adjuncts are integrated into the sentence but their removal leaves a well-
formed and understandable sentence although we lose some information.
In sentence 2, we have a disjunct
o Disjuncts are used to evaluate the form or the content of what is said. They
occur outside the clause structure itself. Removing them leaves a well-formed
sentence or clause but we lose the speaker's viewpoint. In this case,
compare:
He didn't seem obviously happy
where we have an adjunct giving us some extra information about the
adjective
with
He obviously didn't seem happy
where we have a disjunct expressing the speaker's attitude to the proposition
that he didn't seem happy
In sentence 3, we have a conjunct
o Conjuncts are also outside the clause structure and connect ideas in
sentences or between sentences. We can rephrase Sentence 3 as
He isn't happy. However, he gets on with life
The word However is still a conjunct

Adjuncts are integral to the clause.

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 By far the most common and flexible adverbials are adjuncts because they perform a
wide range of functions in English.

viewpoint
in expressions such as
Politically, the man was inept
or
Economically, the country is in trouble
the speaker is fronting the adverbial to draw attention to the view of the situation
which is important. Often, this means putting the adverbial first. Another, non-
adverb, example is
As far as studying is concerned, I'm really lazy.
Note that these are not examples of disjuncts (see below) because the adverbial will
not necessarily apply to the whole following text or express the speaker's view of how
a statement is to be understood:
The man was politically inept
The country is in trouble economically
In both these case, the adjunct is modifying only part of the clause (the adjective in the
first case and the prepositional phrase in the second example).
Modification:
Viewpoint adjuncts allow very limited modification so, for example:
Purely economically ...
is possible but:
*Very economically ...
*Rather socially ...
*Quite chemically ...
are not available.
process
these adjuncts refer to how something is done.
Manner:
She spoke impressively
They walked hand in hand
etc.
Means:
They got here by bus
He got in without paying
Instrument:
Cut it with a saw
Delivered by hand
Usually, these adjuncts come at the end of clauses.
Modification:
Process adjuncts of manner when they are adverbs allow extensive modification:
She spoke very / extremely / exceptionally etc. impressively

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 Prepositional phrases (including those used for manner, means and instruments)
cannot be easily modified so we do not allow:
*They walked very arm in arm
*She arrived much by taxi
although a few expressions such as
He travels only / a lot by train
are possible although there is a strong argument that we are modifying the verb, not
the adjunct in these cases.
subject
these adjuncts refer to the subject of the verb and are nearly always adverbs or
prepositional phrases.
Examples are:
He is being wilfully dim
I did it on purpose
They can often be replaced by an expression using a copular verb and an adjective
such as
he appeared wilful
or
it was intentional
Commonly, these will appear directly before or after the main verb phrase but can be
fronted for emphasis. For example:
He intentionally insulted her
He left her alone deliberately
Stupidly, I forgot my keys
Modification:
Depending on the meaning of the adjuncts, modification is possible so we can have:
Very stupidly, I forgot to ask
It was wholly intentional
He left her alone quite / very deliberately
etc. but, as usual, prepositional phrases allow fewer modifications:
They did it clearly on purpose
They did it wholly / completely on purpose
are allowable but
*They did it very on purpose
is not.
place
as you might imagine, these refer to where things happen. There are two sorts and
they are usually prepositional (although clauses can be used):
Place:
She stayed in a bed and breakfast place
She slept where she had always slept
Direction:
They climbed over the hill
They went where no one had gone before
Again, these usually come at the end of a clause.
Modification:

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 Because most place adjuncts are prepositional phrases, modification is rare and
limited:
They went clear over the hill
She went right down the road
Place adjuncts have their own guide (link below).
time
again, no prizes for guessing that these refer to time but there are some different sorts:
When:
She left yesterday / after the meeting
Duration:
He stayed for a week, for hours on end, briefly
Frequency:
She goes often, every fourth Saturday
Relationship:
They are already in the house
They are not yet in the house
Modification:
Many time adjuncts which are adverbs can be modified and the range of modifiers is
quite large:
She very frequently arrives late
They spoke extremely briefly
but other time adjuncts allow no or very limited modification:
They spoke immediately / directly after the meeting
She stayed exactly for a week
although modifying the noun is more natural:
She stayed for exactly a week
Time adjuncts have their own guide (link below).
focus
these are mostly adverbs.
Limiting:
chiefly, most importantly, in particular, only, purely etc. For example:
There's a lot we can do to help, in particular with the new website
Additive:
also, in addition to, as well as etc. For example:
There's a lot to be done and we also have very little time
Again, we need to distinguish focusing adjuncts from attitudinal disjuncts (see below).
As adjuncts, these sorts of phrases and adverbs focus attention on part of the clause
only. As disjuncts, they modify the whole clause so, for example:
I chiefly came to say goodbye
the word chiefly focuses the hearer on the verb and is an adjunct which could be
replaced by only or just, for example.
However, in:
Chiefly, this is a question of finding enough money
the word chiefly applies to the whole of the following text. It is a disjunct and cannot
be replaced with only or just.
Modification:

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 These adverbials cannot be modified so you can't say *very in particular or *extremely
only etc.
They are also known as particularisers, by the way.
intensifiers
these come in different sorts but are nearly all adverbs with a few prepositional
phrases:
Emphasisers:
definitely, certainly etc. For example:
That's definitely the wrong way to talk to her
Amplifiers:
completely, very much, absolutely, entirely, deeply, heartily etc. For example:
I heartily agree
Downtoners:
partly, hardly, quite, nearly, somewhat etc. For example:
He is somewhat rude to most people, I'm afraid
Approximators:
approximately, roughly, more or less, in the region of etc. For example:
I can more or less see the point
Modification:
Emphasisers can be modified with very and most:
She will most certainly be here later
That is very definitely the case
Amplifiers and downtoners are not modified or only allow very
He is very deeply hurt
etc. and not always then because:
*She is very entirely right
is not possible.
There is a guide to these adverb modifiers on this site (link below).
sequencers
these often come at the beginning of a clause and include, e.g.:
originally, first, thirdly, in the first place, then, subsequently etc.
There is a distinction again to be made between sequencers which act as adjuncts and
those, analysed below, which act as conjuncts.
In, for example:
He made lunch and then took it to the garden to eat
the adverb then is acting as a sequencer adjunct telling us the ordering of events, not
linking the clauses (the coordinator and does the linking).
However, in:
Afterwards, he cleared up the kitchen and washed the crockery and cutlery
the adverb afterwards is a conjunct linking the first sentence (about making lunch,
above) to the second by anaphoric reference.
Another example of an adjunct sequencer appears in:
He comes from London originally
Modification:
Sequencer adjuncts are not modified so:
*Very thirdly we took the dog for a walk
or

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 *So originally he comes from France
are not acceptable.
Disjuncts disjunct
Disjuncts are outside the clause structure

These are often simple adverbs (such as honestly, candidly) but can be prepositional
phrases (e.g., from my point of view), non-finite clauses (e.g., to be honest, speaking
frankly) or finite clauses (e.g., if you ask me, if you want an honest opinion).
There are two main sorts:

style
style disjuncts indicate what the speaker / writer wishes the hearer / reader to
understand the way in which something is said. For example:
Frankly, I don't think he's up to the job
where the speaker is using the disjunct to make it clear that this is an honest opinion.
The disjunct personally shows that the speaker is not being general and seriously
refers to a lack of flippancy and so on.
attitude
attitude disjuncts indicate how the speaker / writer feels about the content of what is
being communicated. For example, in:
Arguably, that is a false conclusion
the speaker is softening the proposition by making it clear that this is not an
undeniable fact.
The disjunct obviously makes it clear that the speaker thinks something is clear to see
and of course implies that he / she thinks it is a logical deduction and so on.
Because most disjuncts can be expressed through the use of -ly adverbs, modification
is often possible so we can have, for example:
Quite arguably, ...
Perfectly frankly, ...
Purely personally, ...
etc.
However, when they are expressed as prepositional phrases or finite or non-finite
clauses, modification is not appropriate:
*Quite in my opinion, ...
*Perfectly to be frank, ...
*Purely speaking personally, ...
*Merely if you want my view, ...

We need to differentiate between viewpoint and style or attitude because the former is
expressed using adjuncts and the latter two using disjuncts. Briefly:

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 viewpoint refers to the domain in which the statement is being made (i.e., the topic the
speaker wishes to emphasise). For example,
Agriculturally, this is an important region
This is an important region agriculturally
When it comes to discussing agriculture, this is an important region
where the speaker / writer is setting the statement in context by using an adjunct
(agriculturally / When it comes to discussing agriculture)
These are adjuncts, not disjuncts.
(In some analyses, viewpoint is called angle.)
style and attitude refer to the way the speaker / writer wants to be understood and not
to the topic area.
Style disjuncts concern how the speaker / writer wants the statement to be understood.
For example,
I honestly don't believe he likes me
Honestly, I don't believe he likes me
To be perfectly honest, I don't believe he likes me
Attitude disjuncts refer to and emphasise a personal attitude, opinion or stance
concerning the statement. For example:
This is, patently, the wrong way to go about it
Arguably, this is the wrong way to go about it
Style and Attitude are expressed using disjuncts.

Conjuncts connect ideas, clauses or sentences

Conjunct or conjunction?

There is a technical and slightly arguable distinction between conjuncts and

conjunctions. The usual analysis is that conjunctions act within sentences to
coordinate two ideas or to subordinate one to the other.

These are conjunctions in black:

She called and I was delighted to see her
The arrived late because they stopped to eat
In the first case, two clauses are being coordinated (one is not dependent on the other
but additional to it). In the second case, the reason following the subordinating
conjunction because is dependent on the understanding of the main clause.

These are conjuncts (also in black) which serve to relate the second idea anaphorically
to the first. There is no sense of coordination or subordination but there is a strong
sense of cohesion:
I was out of the house at the time. Otherwise, I'd have been delighted to see her.
She did the work competently. By contrast, his work was sloppy and the result
shabby.

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 There is a guide to conjunction on this site (link below).

Modification:
Conjuncts, even when they are -ly adverbs, cannot usually be modified so we cannot
allow:
*Very firstly, ...
*Extremely for instance, ...
*More besides, ...
*Absolutely likewise, ...
*Very alternatively, ...
*More meanwhile, ...
although a few take modification with only, purely, merely and just:
Only for example, ...
Just for instance, ...
Merely incidentally, ...
Purely by contrast.
but such modification is rare and unpredictably successful.

Conjuncts can act to:

enumerate
firstly, secondly, thirdly, a), b), in the first place etc.
For example:
Primarily because I haven't the money. Secondarily because it doesn't interest me
Other examples include:
finally, lastly, for a start, to begin with, at the outset
See above for the distinction between sequencing adjuncts and sequencing conjuncts.
explain or exemplify
i.e., e.g., for instance, for example etc.
For example:
The cleverest two students, namely John and Adam, have secured their places at
Oxford
This form of conjunct is frequently used to signal apposition, i.e., co-reference as in,
for example:
The new house, that is the house on the corner, has been sold
where The new house and the house on the corner refer to the same thing.
Other examples include:
in other words, viz., that is to say, by which is meant
There is some overlap between this class and the conjuncts used to rephrase (below) as
the functions are contiguous.
add or reinforce
again, besides, to boot, moreover etc.
For example:
This is the next problem. Again, it is one of concern to us all
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 It's expensive. What's more, it is pretty poorly made.
Other examples include:
also, additionally, besides, moreover, too, what is more, further, furthermore
rephrase
better put, in other words etc.
For example:
It's out of place. In other words, you could simply say it's the wrong style
equate
equally, likewise etc.
For example:
The similarity between the sisters is striking. Likewise, between the two brothers.
Other examples include:
in the same way, by the same token
show a result
consequently, as a result etc.
For example:
He lost his wallet at the station. Therefore, I had to go and help him out.
Other examples include:
accordingly, hence, now, so, thus, as a result
For more on these, see the guide to expressing cause and effect (link below).
replace
instead, alternatively, on the other hand etc.
For example:
She didn't come with us to the pub. Instead, she stayed in and worked on her essay.
sum up
so, then, in conclusion etc.
For example:
All that means, to conclude, is that we need more time and more money
Ok, then, we are happy we have a solution
concede and contrast
anyway, nevertheless, still etc.
For example:
I think he's a bit arrogant. Still, he is very talented, I suppose.
Other examples include:
Conceding: however, only, though, yet, in any case, in any event, at any rate, at all
events, after all, all the same, on the other hand
I'll get to you as soon as I can. By seven, in any case.
Contrasting: alternatively, conversely, on the contrary, au contraire, by contrast, then
again
We can meet in the coffee shop. Alternatively, you could come to me.
to change the subject
incidentally, by the way etc.
For example:
I bought this in town yesterday. By the by(e), did you know they've made the High
Street one way?
Other examples include:
now, well, meanwhile, parenthetically, as an aside

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 Subjuncts

subjuncts

Subjuncts are one of the four types of adverbial; the others are:
adjuncts, conjuncts, and disjuncts.
There are many types of subjunct, but they are all subordinate
to other elements of clause structure. In other words, although
they are separate adverbial elements not parts of other
elements they are not as central to clause structure as, for
example, adjunct adverbials are.

The subordinate role played by subjuncts differentiates them sharply from adjuncts.
One aspect of this difference is the fact that they cannot generally be the focus of
certain grammatical operations. For example, adjuncts such as happily or sadly can
be contrasted with one another in alternative interrogation in questions such as Did
Harry smile happily or sadly when Jill told him she loved him? but if an attempt is
made to contrast subjuncts in this way as in Does Jill deeply or slightly love Harry?
the results are unacceptable.

It is often possible for the same word to act as a subjunct in one context
but not in another.

For example, in the sentence, Sadly, Sara packed her clothes and left the next
morning, the adverb sadly is acting a subjunct. However, in the sentence, Later, Sara
spoke sadly about those terrible days, it is an adjunct, and in Sadly, Sarah never
learnt the real truth, it is a disjunct.

examples from some of the sub-classes of subjuncts

viewpoint: geographically, ethnically, morally, psychologically, politically

-Jill was not injured in the attack, but psychologically it had a terrible effect on her.

courtesy: kindly, cordially, graciously, please

-Will you kindly refrain from smoking in this room?

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 subject-oriented item subjuncts: sadly, bitterly, frankly, deliberately,
reluctantly, consistently, intentionally, on purpose

-Reluctantly Jill agreed to meet Tom and talk things over.

time subjuncts: already, still, yet, just, ever, never

-As far as Jill knows, Harry has not yet spoken to his lawyer.

emphasizers: actually, certainly, clearly, definitely, indeed, really, obviously, frankly,

honestly, simply, literally

-Even Jane was surprised that Jill had actually spent the weekend with Harry.

intensifiers: absolutely, fully, thoroughly, deeply, bitterly, almost, nearly,

practically, rather, barely, hardly, enough, kind of, slightly, not at all

-Dick could hardly stop himself from laughing when he heard the story.

focusing subjuncts: alone, exactly, just, only, purely, simply, mainly,

particularly, at least, specifically, again, also, even, further, too, as well

-At the party only Dick was friendly

Absolut constructions

An absolute phrase combines a noun and a participle with any accompanying modifiers or
objects. The pattern looks like this:

Noun + Participle + Optional Modifier(s) and/or Object(s)

Here are some examples:

Legs quivering

Legs = noun; quivering = participle.

Her arms folded across her chest

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 Arms = noun; folded = participle; her, across her chest = modifiers.

Our fingers scraping the leftover frosting off the plates

Fingers = noun; scraping = participle; frosting = direct object; our, the, leftover, off the plates =
modifiers.

Rather than modifying a specific word, an absolute phrase will describe the whole clause:

Legs quivering, our old dog Gizmo dreamed of chasing squirrels.

Her arms folded across her chest, Professor Hill warned the class about the penalties of
plagiarism.

We devoured Aunt Lenora's carrot cake, our fingers scraping the leftover frosting off the
plates.

(Combine the two sentences below: turn the second sentence into an absolute phrase
and place it in front of the first sentence.)
The storks circled above us.
Their slender bodies were sleek and black against the orange sky.
(Combine the two sentences below: turn the second sentence into an absolute phrase
and place it after the first sentence.)
On the tops of the hills, the grass stands at its tallest and greenest.
Its new seed plumes rise through a dead crop of last year's withered spears.
(Create two absolute phrases by eliminating the words in bold.)
Odysseus comes to shore, and the skin is torn from his hands, and the sea water is
gushing from his mouth and nostrils.
(Combine the three sentences below: turn the second and third sentences into absolute
phrases, and position them at the start of the sentence to establish a clear cause-effect
relationship.)
Norton vowed never to marry again.
His first marriage ended in divorce.
His second marriage ended in despair.
(Omit when, and turn the main clausein boldinto an absolute phrase.)

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 When the double giant Ferris wheel circles, the swaying seats are more frightening
than a jet plane flying through a monsoon.
(Combine the following four sentences into a single sentence with a present participial
phrase and two absolute phrases.)
All afternoon the caravan passed by.
The caravan shimmered in the winter light.
Its numberless facets were gleaming.
The hundreds of wagon wheels were turning in the dust in slow and endless motion.

(Combine the following five sentences into a single sentence with a present participial
phrase and three absolute phrases.)
Six boys came over the hill.
The boys were running hard.
Their heads were down.
Their forearms were working.
Their breaths were whistling.
(Begin your new sentence with "The buildings sit empty," and turn the rest of the
sentence into an absolute phrase.)
Jagged pieces of glass stick out of the frames of the hundreds of broken windows in
the buildings that sit empty.
(Combine these sentences by replacing the period with a comma and eliminating the
word in bold.)
Proud of my freedom and bumhood, I stood in the doorway of the boxcar, rocking
with the motion of the train.
My ears were full of the rushing wind and the clattering wheels.
(Combine these three sentences by turning the first sentence into an absolute phrase
and the third into a subordinate clause beginning with "where.")
His hair was wet from the showers.
He walked in the icy air to Luke's Luncheonette.
There he ate three hamburgers in a booth with three juniors.
Compare your revised sentences with the sample combinations below.

ANSWERS TO PRACTICE EXERCISES

Here are the sentences that served as models for the exercises above. Keep in mind
that more than one correct response is possible.

Their slender bodies sleek and black against the orange sky, the storks circled above
us.
On the tops of the hills, the grass stands at its tallest and greenest, its new seed plumes
rising through a dead crop of last year's withered spears.
Odysseus comes to shore, the skin torn from his hands, the sea water gushing from his
mouth and nostrils.

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 His first marriage having ended in divorce and his second in despair, Norton vowed
never to marry again.
The double giant Ferris wheel circles, the swaying seats more frightening than a jet
plane flying through a monsoon.
All afternoon the caravan passed by, shimmering in the winter light, its numberless
facets gleaming and the hundreds of wagon wheels turning in the dust in slow and
endless motion.
Six boys came over the hill, running hard, their heads down, their forearms working,
their breaths whistling.

The relative pronouns:

The relative pronouns are:

Subject Object Possessive

who whom, who whose
which which whose
that that

We use who and whom for people, and which for things.
We use that for people or things.

We use relative pronouns to introduce relative clauses, which tell us more about
people and things.

2. Relative clauses to postmodify a noun

We use relative clauses to postmodify a noun - to make clear which person or thing we
are talking about. In these clauses we can have the relative pronoun who, which,
whose or that

as subject (see Clauses Sentences and Phrases)

Isnt that the woman who lives across the road from you?
The police said the accident that happened last night was unavoidable
The newspaper reported that the tiger which killed its keeper has been put down.

WARNING:
The relative pronoun is the subject of the clause.

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 We do not repeat the subject:

*The woman who [she] lives across the road

*The tiger which [it] killed its keeper

as object of a clause (see Clauses, Sentences and Phrases)

Have you seen those people who we met on holiday?
You shouldnt believe everything that you read in the newspaper.
The house that we rented in London was fully furnished.
The food was definitely the thing which I enjoyed most about our holiday.

Sometimes we use whom instead of who when the relative

pronoun is the object:

Have you seen those people whom we met on holiday?

When the relative pronoun is object of its clause we sometimes

leave it out:

Have you seen those people we met on holiday?

You shouldnt believe everything you read in the newspaper.
The house we rented in London was fully furnished.
The food was definitely the thing I enjoyed most about our holiday.

WARNING:
The relative pronoun is the object of the clause.
We do not repeat the object:

Have you seen those people who we met [them] on holiday?

The house that we rented [it] in London was fully furnished.
The food was definitely the thing I enjoyed [it] most about our holiday.

as object of a preposition. When the relative pronoun is the object of a preposition we

usually put the preposition after the verb.:
You were talking to a woman >>> Who was the woman who you were talking to?
My parents live in that house >>> Thats the house that my parents live in.

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 You were talking about a book. I havent read it. >>> I havent read the book which
you were talking about.

When the relative pronoun is the object of a preposition we

usually leave it out:

Who was the woman you were talking to?

Thats the house my parents live in.

Sometimes we use whom instead of who:

Who was that woman whom you were talking about.

When we use whom, which or whose the preposition sometimes

comes at the beginning of the clause:

I havent read the book about which you were talking.

We can use the possessive form, whose, in a relative clause:

I always forget that womans name >>> Thats the woman whose name I always
forget.
I met a man whose brother works in Moscow.

3. Times and places

We also use when with times and where with places to make it clear which time or
place we are talking about:

England won the world cup in 1996. It was the year when we got married.
I remember my twentieth birthday. It was the day when the tsunami happened.
Do you remember the place where we caught the train?
Stratford-upon-Avon is the town where Shakespeare was born.

... but we can leave out the word when:

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 England won the world cup in 1996. It was the year we got married.
I remember my twentieth birthday. It was the day the tsunami happened.

4. Giving additional information

We use who, whom, whose, and which (but not that) in relative clauses to tell us more
about a person or thing.

as subject (see Clauses, Sentences and Phrases)

My uncle, who was born in Hong Kong, lived most of his life overseas.
I have just read Orwells 1984, which is one of the most frightening books ever
written.

WARNING:
The relative pronoun is the subject of the clause.
We do not repeat the subject:

My uncle, who [he] was born in Hong Kong, lived most of his life overseas.
I have just read Orwells 1984, which [it] is one of the most frightening books ever
written.

as object (see Clauses, Sentences and Phrases)

We saw the latest Harry Potter film, which we really enjoyed.
My favourite actor is Marlon Brando, who I saw in On the Waterfront.

we can use whom instead of who as object:

My favourite actor was Marlon Brando, whom I saw in On the Waterfront.

WARNING:
The relative pronoun is the object of the clause.
We do not repeat the object:

We saw the latest Harry Potter film, which we really enjoyed [it].
My favourite actor is Marlon Brando, who I saw [him] in On the Waterfront.

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 as object of a clause :
He finally met Paul McCartney, whom he had always admired.
We are going back to Venice, which we first visited thirty years ago.

We can also use who as the object.

He finally met Paul McCartney, who he had always admired.

WARNING:
The relative pronoun is the object of the clause.
We do not repeat the object:

He finally met Paul McCartney, whom he had always admired [him].

We are going back to Venice, which we first visited [it] thirty years ago.

as object of a preposition:
He decided to telephone Mrs. Jackson, who he had read about in the newspaper.
Thats the programme which we listened to last night.

We sometimes use whom instead of who:

He decided to telephone Mrs. Jackson, whom he had read about in the newspaper.

The preposition sometimes comes in front of the relative

pronoun whom or which:

He decided to telephone Mrs. Jackson, about whom he had read in the newspaper.
Thats the programme to which we listened last night.

5. Quantifiers and numbers with relative pronouns

We often use quantifiers and numbers with relative pronouns:

many of whom - most of whom - one of which - none of whom

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 some of which - lots of whom - two of which - etc.

We can use them as subject, object or object of a preposition.

She has three brothers, two of whom are in the army.

I read three books last week, one of which I really enjoyed.
There were some good programmes on the radio, none of which I listened to.

6. Using "which" to give more information

We often use the relative pronoun which to say something about a clause:

He was usually late, which always annoyed his father.

Weve missed our train, which means we may be late.

What Are Noun Clauses? (with Examples)

A noun clause is a clause that plays the role of a noun. For example (noun clauses
shaded):
I like what I see.
I know that the tide is turning.
I've met the man who won the lottery.
(Not all agree this is a noun clause. See Note on the right.)
Compare the three examples above to these:
I like cakes.
I know London.
I've met Madonna.
The words in bold are all nouns. This shows that shaded clauses in the first three
examples are functioning as nouns, making them noun clauses.

Like any noun, a noun clause can be a subject, an object, or a complement.

In a sentence, a noun clause will be a dependent clause. In other words, a noun clause
does not stand alone as a complete thought.
Examples of Noun Clauses
Here are some examples of noun clauses:
A person who trusts no one can't be trusted. (Jerome Blattner)
(This noun clause is the subject of the sentence.)
(Not all agree this is a noun clause. See Note on the right.)
That he believes his own story is remarkable. (Jerome Blattner)

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 (This noun clause is the subject of the sentence. Be aware that starting a sentence with
a noun clause starting That is acceptable, but it grates on lots of people's ears. As a
result, many writers prefer to precede it with "The fact".)
Ask your child what he wants for dinner only if he's buying. (Fran Lebowitz)
(This noun clause is the direct object of ask.)
He knows all about art, but he doesn't know what he likes. (James Thurber, 1894-
1961)
(This noun clause is the direct object of know.)
It is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended from man. (H L
Mencken, 1880-1956)
(This noun clause is the direct object of believe.)
I never know how much of what I say is true. (Bette Midler)
(This noun clause is an object of a preposition.)
Man is what he eats. (Ludwig Feuerbach)
(This noun clause is a subject complement.)
My one regret in life is that I am not someone else. (Woody Allen)
(This noun clause is a subject complement.)

An economist is a man who states the obvious in terms of the incomprehensible.

(Alfred A Knopf)
(This noun clause is a subject complement.)
(Not all agree this is a noun clause. See Note on the right.)

Interactive Test

Your scorecard:

Q1: Click on the one with a noun clause in italics:

A: Basic research is what I am doing when I don't know what I am doing. (Wernher
von Braun)
B: Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect. (Steven Wright)

Click for a printable version of this test.

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 Common Starts to Noun Clauses
Lots of noun clauses in English start with that, how, or a "wh"-word (i.e., what, who,
which, when, where, why). For example:
I know that it happened.
I know how it happened.
I know why it happened.
Definition of a Noun Clause
A noun clause is a clause that functions as a noun. However, for many, that definition
is too generic. A multi-word noun will often contain another type of clause, usually an
adjective clause, which provides the verb required for a clause. In the examples below,
the multi-word nouns are shaded, and internal clauses are in bold.

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