48 Noun Phrases 3. The senator from California expressed her concern about the problem. 4. A reporter in China broke the story about the peace talks. 5. The door in the dining room really needs a new coat of paint. 6. They had a big victory despite all the odds. 7. A new painting by the English painter Turner has just been discovered. 8. I had no illusions about my chances. 9. The witness to the crime refused to testify. 10. We couldn’t understand his motive for lying. 11. The rim of the cup was chipped. 12. It was no time for indecision. 13. The waiting period in the clinic is nearly an hour. 14. It seemed like we visited every old church in the city. 15. The period just after sunset is the most dangerous time to drive. It is not very diffi cult to recognize prepositional phrases. It is more diffi cult to fi gure out whether they are adjectival (noun modifi ers) or adverbial (modifi ers of verbs and other adverbs). Adjectival and adverbial prepositional phrases look exactly alike. For example, compare the prepositional phrase with friends in the following sentences: We had a nice dinner last night with friends. A nice dinner with friends is always a great pleasure. In the fi rst sentence, with friends is adverbial, but in the second sentence, with friends is adjectival, modifying the noun dinner. The only way to reliably identify adjectival prepositional phrases is by testing the prepositional phrase by third-person pronoun substitution. When a prepositional phrase (along with the noun) can be replaced by a third-person pronoun, that phrase must be a noun modifi er. Likewise, when a prepositional phrase cannot be replaced by a third-person pro- noun, that prepositional phrase is adverbial. Here is the third-person pronoun replacement test applied to the two example sentences given above: it We had a nice dinner last night with friends. It A nice dinner with friends is always a great pleasure. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 48 3/16/09 12:33:59 PM Post-Noun Modifi ers 49 As you can see, the third-person pronoun substitution test shows that the prepositional phrase is not adjectival in the fi rst sentence because it is outside the boundaries of the third-person pronoun substitution. In the second sentence, however, the the third-person pronoun it can be substituted for the noun and prepositional phrase, proving the prepositional phrase is part of the noun phrase and thus a noun modifi er. Exercise 4.3 Underline all the prepositional phrases in the following sentences. Above each prepositional phrase write Adj if it is adjectival or Adv if it is adverbial. If it is adjectival, confi rm your answer by using the third-person pronoun substitution test. Adv Adj In the last quarter, we expect to see an improvement in our earnings. In the last quarter, we expect to see it. 1. The road by our house is being paved. 2. The frozen chickens in the supermarket are not very good. 3. Breakfast will be served in the main dining room. 4. Their discovery of an error has caused the company to restate its earnings. 5. A restaurant in our neighborhood serves really good Chinese food. 6. After much debate, we decided to consult a specialist in toxic waste removal. 7. We fi nally found the book we wanted online. 8. The star of the show was a young singer from Australia. 9. Ignorance of the law is not a valid defense in court. 10. Visitors from China are always welcome in our company. 11. The fl oor in the cabin was rough, unfi nished wood. 12. The popularity of his book was a big factor. 13. During the night, there was a fi re that caused some damage. 14. He has the heart of a lion and the brain of a jellyfi sh. 15. At lunchtime, I bought a new coat at the mall. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 49 3/16/09 12:33:59 PM 50 Noun Phrases Adjective (relative) clauses Adjective clauses (also known as relative clauses) have their own internal subject-verb agreement structure (like independent clauses), but unlike independent clauses, adjectives clauses can never stand alone as independent sentences. Adjective clauses are thus a type of dependent clause. Adjective clauses are always attached to the nouns that they modify. Here are some examples with the noun being modifi ed underlined and the adjective clause in italics: The book that I need is not in the library. I answered all of the questions that I could. The editorial, which had appeared in the Times, was the talk of the town. The man who introduced the speaker is the vice-president of the society. Alice Johnson, who is the head of personnel, will be at the interview. The students whom I was talking about earlier are all in their fi rst year here. We interviewed the parents whose children participated in the study. Did you fi nd a place where we can park overnight? We need to pick a time when we can all meet. We can always identify adjective clauses by the third-person pronoun replacement test. Adjective clauses are the only type of dependent clause that will be inside the boundaries of the third-person pronoun substitution. Here is the third-person pronoun test applied to all of the above examples of adjective clauses: The book that I need is not in the library. It is not in the library. I answered all of the questions that I could. I answered all of them. The editorial, which had appeared in the Times, was the talk of the town. It was the talk of the town. The man who introduced the speaker is the vice-president of the society. He is the vice-president of the society. Alice Johnson, who is the head of personnel, will be at the interview. She will be at the interview. The students whom I was talking about earlier are all in their fi rst year here. They are all in their fi rst year here. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 50 3/16/09 12:34:00 PM Post-Noun Modifi ers 51 We interviewed the parents whose children participated in the study. We interviewed them. Did you fi nd a place where we can park overnight? Did you fi nd it? We need to pick a time when we can all meet. We need to pick it. Exercise 4.4 Underline the adjective clauses in the following sentences. Confi rm your answer by using the third-person pronoun replacement test. The opera that we saw was sung in Russian. It was sung in Russian. 1. We are going to refi nance the mortgage that we have on our house. 2. Most of the staff who work at my offi ce will be attending the offi ce party. 3. The place where the pipe connects to the water line is badly corroded. 4. We talked to the subjects whom we had previously identifi ed. 5. Ralph, whom you met on your last trip here, will take you around. 6. They examined the building where the meetings would be held. 7. That week was a period when everything seemed to go wrong. 8. They asked us to redo the tests that we had done earlier. 9. It was a memorial to the pioneers who fi rst settled this area. 10. We took them to the laboratory, which is in the basement. 11. They took pictures of the river where the bridge had washed out. 12. I didn’t know the person whom they were discussing. 13. We had an adventure that we certainly had not planned on. 14. My parents, who live in a small town, always enjoy visiting the city. 15. The manager, whom we had contacted earlier, approved our check. 16. Some fans whose enthusiasm knew no limits climbed up on stage. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 51 3/16/09 12:34:00 PM 52 Noun Phrases 17. Berlin, which had been a divided city, is now open to everyone. 18. Our friends went to a museum where there was free admission on Mondays. 19. That was the moment when I knew we were in big trouble. 20. The yogurt, which had been in our refrigerator for months, had to be thrown out. The internal structure of adjective clauses Virtually all languages have adjective clauses. The internal structure of adjective clauses in Eng- lish, however, is unusually complicated. All adjective clauses must begin with a special pronoun called a relative pronoun. (The term relative pronoun refers to the fact that these pronouns are used only in forming relative clauses.) The choice of which relative pronoun to use is governed by two factors: (1) the role of the relative pronoun inside its own adjective clause (i.e., whether the relative pronoun is a subject, object, possessive, adverb of space, or adverb of time), and (2) the nature of the noun that the adjective clause modifi es. This noun is known as the antecedent of the relative pronoun. We will examine both of these factors in more detail. Role of the relative pronoun inside its own clause. We choose between who, whom, and whose depending on the role the relative pronoun plays. If the relative pronoun plays the role of subject, we must use who. If the relative pronoun plays the role of object, we must use whom. (The m in whom is historically the same object marker as in him and them.) If the relative pronoun is posses- sive, we must use whose. In the following examples the relative pronoun is in italics and the entire adjective clause is underlined. Relative pronoun plays the role of subject He is a person who will always do the right thing. In this sentence, who is the subject of the verb do. Please give your dues to Ms. Walker, who is the treasurer of the organization. Here who is the subject of the verb is. The musicians who played for us today are all from local schools. In this sentence, who is the subject of the verb played. Relative pronoun plays the role of object He is a person whom I have always admired. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 52 3/16/09 12:34:00 PM Post-Noun Modifi ers 53 In this sentence, whom is the object of the verb admired—as in “I have always admired him.” Please give your dues to Ms. Walker, whom you all met earlier. Here whom is the object of the verb met—as in “We all met Ms. Walker earlier.” The musicians, whom we selected from local schools, will play for us today. Whom is the object of the verb selected—as in “We selected the musicians earlier.” Relative pronoun as possessive Mr. Smith, whose father founded the company, has worked here many years. In this sentence, whose ϭ Mr. Smith’s. The companies whose employees are full time have done better. Here whose ϭ the companies’ employees. Those bridges whose supports were damaged in the flood have been closed. Here whose ϭ those bridges’. Exercise 4.5 The adjective clauses in the following sentences have been underlined. Replace the word(s) in parentheses with the appropriate relative pronoun. whom The actor (the actor) I met last year is now starring in a new movie. 1. Anybody (anybody) wants to leave now may do so. 2. The person (the person) you met at the reception is Paul Kennedy. 3. Jason Grant, (Jason Grant’s) daughter is a friend of Susan’s, teaches at MIT. 4. Did you ever hear from the client (the client) left a message for you yesterday? 5. The fl ower (the flower’s) name I couldn’t recall is a hydrangea. 6. This is my husband (my husband) I don’t think you have met before. 7. We need to replace the window (the window’s) glass was broken in the storm. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 53 3/16/09 12:34:00 PM 54 Noun Phrases 8. The club’s new president, (the president) has been here forever, is very popular. 9. All the employees (the employees) were hoping for a raise will be disappointed. 10. The new secretary (the secretary’s) name I can never remember left a message. 11. The drivers (the drivers) the company had hired were all new to the area. 12. We went back to the waiter (the waiter) had waited on us earlier. 13. I looked up the lawyer (the lawyer) you recommended. 14. I looked up the lawyer (the lawyer) wrote the contract. 15. I looked up the lawyer (the lawyer’s) presentation we all liked. The nature of the noun that the relative clause modifi es. The relative pronoun always immedi- ately follows the noun that relative pronoun refers to. This noun is called the antecedent of the relative pronoun. For example, look at the following sentence: We need to talk about the courses that you are going to take next term. The antecedent of the relative pronoun that is the noun courses. Even when the relative pronoun is a possessive, the possessive must refer to the possessive form of the antecedent noun. For example, in the following sentence The organization whose offices you visited was written up in a magazine. Whose refers to the possessive form of the antecedent noun organization, that is, you visited the organization’s offi ces. The nature of the antecedent also exerts control over which relative pronoun we use. • If the antecedent is human, we must use who, whom, or whose as the relative pronoun. (The choice among who, whom, and whose is governed by the role of the relative pronoun inside the adjective clause.) • If the antecedent is not human, we must use that or which as the relative pronoun. (We will discuss the distinction between that and which in great detail later in this chapter. For now, we will use that in all of our examples because the distinction between that and which is irrel- evant to our discussion of how relative clauses are formed.) • If the antecedent is a noun that refers to space (a spatial noun), we use where as the rela- tive pronoun. • If the antecedent is a noun that refers to time (a temporal noun), we use when as the rela- tive pronoun. (We can also use that.) (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 54 3/16/09 12:34:00 PM . with friends is always a great pleasure. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 48 3/16/ 09 12:33: 59 PM Post-Noun Modifi ers 49 As you can see, the third-person pronoun substitution test shows that the prepositional. sh. 15. At lunchtime, I bought a new coat at the mall. (i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 49 3/16/ 09 12:33: 59 PM 50 Noun Phrases Adjective (relative) clauses Adjective clauses (also known as relative. victory despite all the odds. 7. A new painting by the English painter Turner has just been discovered. 8. I had no illusions about my chances. 9. The witness to the crime refused to testify. 10.