Sign in
What Are Relative Adverbs?
Relative Adverbs: Functions
Relative adverbs can be both the subject and the object of a sentence, and can also serve as a conjunction to connect relative clauses to nouns and pronouns in other clauses. Their main functions are as follows:
- to introduce adjective clauses.
- to join nouns and pronouns to relative clauses.
Relative Adverbs and Adjective Clauses
Relative adverbs can be used to introduce adjective clauses that provide more information about a noun in a sentence. By using a relative adverb, we can start an adjective clause that describes the noun in greater detail. Pay attention to the following examples:
Clause 1: This is the school.
Clause 2: I studied philosophy.
Now, let us see how we can connect these clauses and make them one:
The is the school
That was the day
Relative Adverb: Where
'Where' is a relative adverb of place that is commonly used to specify a location in an adverbial clause. By using 'where,' we can provide additional information about there place where an action or event is taking place. Take a look at the following examples:
That was the hospital
As you can see, the sentence is showing the location.
Is this the café
Warning!
It's important to note that relative adverbs come after nouns and modify them; otherwise, they are not considered relative adverbs, but rather nominal relative pronouns. Compare the following examples:
This is
Here, 'where' is a nominal relative pronoun.
That was the day
As you can see, 'when' is modifying the noun before it; therefore, it is a relative adverb.
Relative Adverb: When
When is an adverb of time. So we use it to specify the time in a statement. Let us take a look at some examples:
I remember the time
As you can see, the sentence is referring to a specific time.
She cannot believe there were days
Relative Adverb: Why
Another common relative adverb in English is 'why', which is used to introduce adverbial clauses of reason. It provides additional information about the cause or motivation for an action or event in a sentence. Pay attention to the following examples:
The reason
As you can see, the person is searching for a reason.
The reason
Comments
You might also like
Adverbs of Probability
Adverbs of probability indicate how certain we are about an action. In this lesson, we will learn about how and when to use them.
Adverbs of Movement and Direction
Adverb of movement or directions shows an action toward a place or points to a particular direction. In this lesson, we will learn about them.
Demonstrative Adverbs
Demonstrative adverbs emphasize the location of something in relation to the speaker. In this lesson, we will learn all about them.
Interrogative Adverbs
Interrogative adverbs are words such as 'why' and 'where' that are used to ask questions. In this lesson, we will learn more about them.
