Adjectives, Adjective Phrases and Adjective Clauses

Study the following sentences.
1. Both of the birds were black.
2. The traveler was tired.
3. They are good friends.
4. The unknown traveler stayed the whole night.
5. They could have a good conversation.
• Black, tired, good, unknown, and whole are adjectives.
• An adjective can be placed after an article or before
a noun.
• An adjective can modify nouns as Subjects or
Objects.
• The adjectives placed after to be are Predicate.
1. the eggs in the nest
2. the traveller feeling tired
3. the dragon ascending to heaven
4. the millipede deceiving the cock
• An adjective phrase can follow a noun.
• The phrase the eggs in the nest = the eggs that are in the
nest; the traveler feeling tired = the traveler who is feeling
tired, and so on.
1. The traveler who passed by, ...
2. The dragon that borrowed the horns, ...
3. The traveler whom the birds met, ...
4. The horns that the cock loaned, ...
• An adjective clause, which contains a subject and a
verb, can follow a noun. It describes the noun.
• Who and whom are used for people.
• That is used for people or things
1. The tree whose branch was cut down, ...
2. The traveller whom the birds saw, ...
3. The bird which has a beautiful voice, ...
The italicized words explain the nouns. The clauses can also
be written as follows:
1. The tree's branch was cut down.
2. The birds saw the traveler.
3. The bird has a beautiful voice.