Adjective (Relative) Clauses

Exercise 1: Editing with Adjective Clauses

Combine the following sentences and use an adjective clause.

Steps:

• Locate a series of two sentences that refer to the same person or thing: Who/what is the second sentence referring to in the first sentence? Box the two nouns/pronouns/phrases (a “referent”).

• Change the referent in the second sentence to a marker word.

• Move the clause directly next to the head noun in the first sentence

• Commas or no commas?

• Non-identifying/non-defining: Use commas with head nouns that are names and personal pronouns

• Identifying/Defining: Do not use commas if the clause defines the head noun

1. (a) As a formerly incarcerated person, I believe this move is a positive one.

(b) I am now an endocrinologist and professor at two world-renowned medical institutions.

2.  (a) The organization helped push for the change on the Common Application.

(b) I lead the organization.

(c) It is called From Prison Cells to PhD.

3. (a) A person could become tomorrow’s medical doctor.

(b)   They once sold illegal drugs on the street.

4. (a) I now help train students.

(b) They want to be doctors.

5. (a) Although I was a successful student athlete and received a near full scholarship to play football for Lindenwood University, I found it difficult to get out of the rug business.

(b) The school is a Division II college football program.

6. (a) Suffice it to say, there were people in the drug world.

(b) They wanted me to keep moving drugs.

7. (a) A 2003 analysis of several studies found that obtaining higher education reduced recidivism by 43 percent.

(b) It is the rate of returning to prison.

8. (a) Nearly 30 percent of America’s incarcerated are released each year.

(b) It is about 690,000 people.

9. (a) I was rejected from all but one school.

(b) It was Saint Louis University.

10. (a) I had a mentor from Saint Louis University.

(b) He served on the admissions committee.

11. (a) There are things that should be done to remove barriers for incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people.

(b) They wish to pursue higher education.

12. (a) When the government removed Pell funding from prisons by issuing the “tough on crime” Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the vast majority of colleges stopped.

(b) They were offering courses in prison.

13. (a) However, the current Second Chance Pell pilot funding accounts for 0.1 percent of the total $28 billion of Pell funding.

(b) It is being directed to prisons.

14. (a) A 2015 study found that nearly 66 percent of would-be graduates did not finish their application.

(b) They disclosed a conviction on their college application.

Exercise 2: Reducing Adjective Clauses

Combine the following sentences and use an adjective clause.

Steps:

1. Underline the adjective clauses in each sentence and box the head noun or phrase.
2. Determine whether or not you can reduce the adjective clause

• Identifying clauses cannot be reduced. They do not use commas.
• Non-identifying/non-defining clauses can be reduced
  • o Remove the marker word
    • Identifying/defining: Change the verb to a gerund (-ing)
    • Non-identifying/non-defining: Remove the auxiliary or BE (am, is, are, was, were) verb if there is one
  • o Avoid reducing when you have a head phrase or when the independent clause and dependent clauses have different verb tenses.

3. Keep the commas the same as the original.

1. As a formerly incarcerated person, who is now an endocrinologist and professor at two world-renowned medical institutions, I believe this move is a positive one.

2. The organization which I lead which is called From Prison Cells to PhD helped push for the change on the Common Application.

3. A person who once sold illegal drugs on the street could become tomorrow’s medical doctor.

4. I now help train students who want to be doctors.

5. Although I was a successful student athlete and received a near full scholarship to play football for Lindenwood University, which is a Division ll college football program, I found it difficult to get out of the rug business.

6. Suffice it to say, there were people in the drug world who wanted me to keep moving drugs.

7. A 2003 analysis of several studies found that obtaining higher education reduced recidivism by 43 percent, which is the rate of returning to prison.

8. Nearly 30 percent of America’s incarcerated, which is about 690,000 people, are released each year.

9. I was rejected from all but one school, which was Saint Louis University.

10. I had a mentor from Saint Louis University who served on the admissions committee.

11. There are things that should be done to remove barriers for incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people who wish to pursue higher education.

12. When the government removed Pell funding from prisons by issuing the “tough on crime” Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the vast majority of colleges which were offering courses in prison stopped.

13. However, the current Second Chance Pell pilot funding, which is being directed to prisons which is $30 million, accounts for 0.1 percent of the total $28 billion of Pell funding.

14. A 2015 study found that nearly 66 percent of would-be graduates who disclosed a conviction on their college application did not finish their application.

Adverb Clauses

Exercise 1: Recognizing Adverb (Subordinate) Clauses

Remember “BOBUB IS WA WA WA”

Before

Once

Because

Until

By the time

If

Since

When

After

While

As

Whenever (and other -ever words)

Although (though, even though)

1. Read through the article again and highlight the adverb clauses you see.
2. Notice the punctuation. When and where should you use a comma?

Writing activity:

1. Summarize the article “From Prison to Professor” in one paragraph:

• Begin with: In “Title of the Article”, the name of the writer + verb + main point of the article.
• Explain who the speaker is and what happened to him that prompted them to write the article.
• Retell the main points from the article, in your own words.

1. Use at least five adverb clauses in your summary. Highlight them and double check your punctuation.

Reduced Dependent Clauses

Exercise 1: Noticing Reduced Dependent Clauses: Adjective (relative), Adverb (subordinate), and Noun

Dependent clauses are often added to independent clauses to create layers of meaning within a sentence. Using dependent clauses also offers an opportunity to create complex sentences, which add variety to the rhythm and flow of a paragraph.

Sometimes a writer chooses to use a full clause structure that includes a marker word and subject-verb units.

Examples of full clauses from “From Prison to Professor”

Adjective Clause: Beginning in 2019, the Common Application – an online form that enables students to apply to the 800 or so colleges that use it – will no longer ask students about their criminal pasts. (paragraph 1)

Adverb Clause: When I stood in front of that judge, school was not really my thing. (paragraph 12)

Noun Clause: My prosecuting attorney once stated that I had no hope for change. (paragraph 6)

Often, though, a writer uses reduced clause structures to add this information, especially when BE verbs (am, is, are, was, were) are being used instead of action verbs. It is not always necessary to reduce clauses. If you are not sure if a reduction works in your own writing, it is always best to use the full clause.

Examples of reduced clauses from “From Prison to Professor”

Reduced Adjective Clause (“appositive”): Beginning in 2019, the Common Application – (which is) an online form that enables students to apply to the 800 or so colleges that use it – will no longer ask students about their criminal pasts. (paragraph 1)

Reduced Adverb Clause: While incarcerated, I applied to six biomedical graduate programs. (paragraph 18)

Reduced Noun Clause: There was a time not so long ago when some in the legal system believed (that) I did not deserve a chance. (paragraph 6)

Exercise 1: Noticing Reduced Dependent Clauses: Adjective (relative), Adverb (subordinate), and Noun

Read through “I Went from Prison to Professor” again. See if you can find:

• Ten more full adjective clauses (there are 11 total)

• Ten more full adverb clauses (there are 12 total)

• Eight more noun clauses

• Eight more reduced adjective clauses (there are 10 total)

• One more reduced adverb clause

• Four more reduced noun clauses (there are 5 total)

Other things to notice:

• Where are the independent clauses? How do the other pieces attached to them support their meaning?
• Where are the commas with which adjective clauses? Are they defining or non-defining?
• Where are the commas with the adverb clauses? What’s the rule?