Exercise 2

In the following sentences the noun clauses are printed in italics. Determine whether they are used as the subject, or object of the verb, as predicate complement, in apposition, or as the object of a preposition.

  1. The fact is that I was not listening.
  2. Whatever King Midas looked upon turned to gold.
  3. He acknowledged what we had suspected.
  4. We will never know what the real situation was.
  5. The fact that the wage is insufficient can be easily proved.
  6. He replied to what had been asked.
  7. The claim was that he had made a speech inciting to riot.
  8. The law that labor unions are in restraint of trade was upheld.
  9. That we cannot win by compromise is readily apparent.
  10. Labor demands that it shall have its full product.
  11. Whoever controls education controls the future.
  12. He came to where the militia was in camp.

Exercise 3

Write sentences containing noun clauses used:

  1. As the subject of a verb.
  2. As the object of a verb.
  3. As a predicate complement.
  4. In apposition.
  5. As the object of a preposition.

ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

446. A dependent clause in a complex sentence may also be an adjective clause.

An adjective clause is a clause used as an adjective, and, hence, always modifies a noun or some word used as a noun, such as a pronoun or a participle. In Lesson 22, we studied adjective clauses and found that they could be introduced by the relative pronouns, who, which, that and as, and also by conjunctions such as, when, where, whither, whence, etc. An adjective clause may modify any noun or any word used as a noun in the sentence.

1. An adjective clause may modify the subject, thus:

In this sentence the clause, who have become class-conscious, modifies the noun men, and is introduced by the relative pronoun who.

2. An adjective clause may modify the noun which is the object of the verb, as:

Here the clause, which fought for their rights, is an adjective clause introduced by the pronoun which, and it modifies the noun party, which is the object of the verb supported.

3. An adjective clause may also be used to modify the noun which is used in the predicate complement, as:

In this sentence the clause, which I enjoyed, is an adjective clause modifying the noun book, which is used as the predicate complement with the copulative verb was.

4. An adjective clause may also be used to modify the noun which is used as the object of a preposition, as:

Here the adjective clause, which was late, modifies the noun train, which is the object of the preposition on.

Sometimes it is a little difficult to discover these adjective clauses, for frequently the connecting word is omitted, as for example:

In this sentence, the pronoun whom is omitted; the complete sentence would read:

Whom I wanted is an adjective clause modifying the noun man.

Exercise 4

In the following sentences the relative pronouns and the conjunctions introducing adjective clauses are omitted. Rewrite the sentences using the proper relative pronouns and conjunctions. The adjective clauses are in italics.

  1. The people you are seeking are not here.
  2. I have read the book you brought.
  3. The articles you mentioned are not listed.
  4. I will go to the place you say.
  5. This is a book you should read.
  6. Those are ideals the people will readily grasp.
  7. We make Gods of the things we fear.
  8. I listened to every word he said.
  9. I should love the cause you love.
  10. The things the people demand are just and right.

Exercise 5

In the following sentences the adjective clauses are all printed in italics. Determine whether they modify the subject or the object, the predicate complement or the object of the preposition.

  1. In that moment when he saw the light he joined our cause.
  2. Other men are lenses through which we read our own minds.
  3. This is perhaps the reason why we are unable to agree.
  4. He that loveth maketh his own the grandeur that he loves.
  5. The other terror that scares us from self-trust is our consistency.
  6. There is a popular fable of a sot who was picked up dead drunk in the street, carried to the Duke's house, washed and dressed and laid in the Duke's bed, and, on his waking, treated with all ceremony like a duke and assured that he had been insane.
  7. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness.
  8. Superstition, who is the mother of fear and faith, still rules many people.
  9. We are looking for the time when the useful shall be the honorable.
  10. He who enslaves another cannot be free.
  11. He who attacks the right assaults himself.
  12. The force that is in every atom and every star, in everything that grows and thinks, that hopes and suffers, is the only possible God.
  13. He who adds to the sum of human misery is a blasphemer.
  14. The grandest ambition that can enter the soul is the desire to know the truth.