Welcome to this week's writing lesson from

 MyEnglishTeacher.net

How's the grammar?  You may have learned that when you write adjective clauses, use when with time words and where with place words.  However, that is only part of the story.  There are some simple rules to remember.  Look at the above examples.  We used when with time (a time word) and where with place (a place word).  Are the above sentences correct?  NO.  Let us explain.  

In this lesson, we will discuss adjective clauses.  We strongly recommend you read our first lesson on adjective clauses in order to thoroughly understand this lesson.  We will republish part of the first lesson about adjective clauses here.  

Adjective clauses are adjectives.  However, they look like sentences because they have verbs and nouns.  Take a look at the following sentences with adjectives.  

All of the words in red are adjectives.  They are describing the nouns (the words in blue).

Here are some more examples:

Notice that these adjectives have verbs (recommended, taught, and ride).  In fact, these adjectives look like small sentences!  In some languages, this grammar is correct.   In English, however, the above 3 sentences are INCORRECT!  The problem is that when the adjective has a verb (and looks like a small sentence), it canNOT be before the noun.  When the adjective has a verb (like the above examples), they are placed AFTER the noun.  In addition, these types of adjectives are called adjective clauses. 

As we said above, adjective clauses are adjectives, but they look like sentences because they have verbs and nouns. Because they look like sentences, put the adjective clause after the noun, like these:

THERE IS STILL A PROBLEM.  When you use adjective clauses, you often need a word that connects the noun with the adjective clause.  The word acts like glue and keeps the noun and the adjective clause together.  This word is called the relative pronoun.  For our purposes, let’s call it the RP (relative pronoun).

So, here are the rules:

Using these rules, we get:  

If the noun you are describing is a word of time or a place, you can use other words.

In the first sentence, which word do we want to describe and add an adjective clause to?  Day.  Is day a time word?  Yes.  Then add that, which, or when.

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Again, notice that the preposition in remains in the sentence with that and which; it is not in the sentence with where.  Also notice that the preposition in can be before which or at the end of the adjective clause; prepositions can never be before that.

We have already said that there is a problem with them.  Everything seems okay.  Time is, of course, a time word; place is a place word.  Though many books give complicated grammar rules that are very difficult to remember, we offer you this simple rule: the word after when and where (in adjective clauses) canNOT be a verb.  Now, look at the words after when and where in the above two sentences.  What are they?  They are verbs.  Hence, you cannot use when and where in these adjective clauses.  Just use that or which.  As a result, we get the following corrected sentences:

When the noun is a proper name (begins with a capital letter) and is a place word, use where.

South Korea is a proper name, so use where.  

However, if the word after where is a verb, then use which. 

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Quiz time

Directions: For each of the following, put the 2 sentences together by using an adjective clause.  There may be more than one answer.  (Hint:  First, decide which word you want to describe.  Then, add the adjective clause to that word.)

1.  1492 is the year.  Columbus discovered North America in that year.

2.  Beijing is the place.  That place has an area in a park called English Corner.

3.  English Corner is a pretty section in a local park.  In English Corner, people speak only English.

4. I come from a city.  In that city, you can go dancing all night long.

5.  Thursday, December 17, 1903 is the day.  On that day, history was made because it was the first successful trip in a self-propelled, heavier-than-air flying machine.

     English Corner is a pretty section in a local park which people speak only English in.

     Mount Everest, which is the highest mountain in the world, is very dangerous to climb.