1. What is an adjective Clause?

An adjective clause is a dependent clause which takes the place of an adjective in another clause or phrase. Like an adjective, an adjective clause modifies a noun or pronoun, answering questions like "which?" or "what kind of?" Consider the following examples:

Adjective

the red coat

Adjective clause

the coat which I bought yesterday

Like the word "red" in the first example, the dependent clause "which I bought yesterday" in the second example modifies the noun "coat." Note that an adjective clause usually comes after what it modifies, while an adjective usually comes before.

In formal writing, an adjective clause begins with the relative pronouns "who(m)," "that," or "which." In informal writing or speech, you may leave out the relative pronoun when it is not the subject of the adjective clause, but you should usually include the relative pronoun in formal, academic writing:

informal

The books people read were mainly religious.

formal

The books that people read were mainly religious.

informal

Some firefighters never meet the people they save.

formal

Some firefighters never meet the people whom they save.

Here are some more examples of adjective clauses:

the meat which they ate was tainted

This clause modifies the noun "meat" and answers the question "which meat?".

They're talking about the movie which made him cry

This clause modifies the noun "movie" and answers the question "which movie?".

They are searching for the student who borrowed the book

The clause modifies the pronoun "student" and answers the question "which student?".

Did I tell you about the author whom I met?

The clause modifies the noun "author" and answers the question "which author?".

2. Restrictive & non restrictive clauses

Do the following pairs of sentences mean the same thing?

1a My uncle, who lives in London, is very rich.

2b My uncle who lives in London is very rich.

2a The policies, which were unpopular, were rejected by the voters.

2b The policies which were unpopular were rejected by the voters.

3a My niece, whose husband is out of work, will inherit the house, which I have always treasured.

3b My niece whose husband is out of work will inherit the house which I have always treasured.

The first sentence in each pair has a non-restrictive clause within two commas, and the second has a restrictive clause. A non-restrictive clause simply adds more information into the sentence and does not affect the meaning of the main clause: it is therefore bracketed off with commas (1a = an uncle who happens to live in London). Conversely, a restrictive clause defines its referent in the main clause more specifically and contributes significantly to the meaning of the sentence. Thus it is that particular uncle who lives in London who is referred to (1b). In 2a, all policies were unpopular and all were rejected, whereas in 2b only the policies that were unpopular were rejected. Note that in restrictive clauses the non-human relative pronoun is either 'that' or 'which', whereas for human referents the relative pronoun can be either 'who/m' or 'that' (the man that/whom I will marry ....).

3. A test on FORMAL ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

Directions: Combine the sentences. Use formal written English.

Use (b) as an adjective clause. Punctuate carefully.

1) (a) An antecedent is a word. (b) A pronoun refers to this word.

An antecedent ____

2) (a) The blue whale is considered the largest animal that has ever lived.(b) It can grow to 100 feet and 150 tons.

The blue whale ____

3) (a) The plane was met by a crowd of 300. (b) Some of them had been waiting for more than 4 hours.

The plane ____

4) (a) In this paper, I will describe the basic process.(b) Raw cotton becomes cotton thread by this process.

In this paper, I will describe ____

5) (a) The researchers are doing case studies of people to determine the importance of heredity in health and longevity.(b) These people's families have a history of high blood pressure and heart disease.

The researchers are doing case studies ____

6) (a) At the end of this month, scientists at the institute will conduct their AIDS research. (b) The results of this research will be published within 6 months.

At the end of this month, scientists ____

7) (a) According to many education officials, 'math phobia'(that is, a fear of mathematics) is a widespread problem. (b) A solution to this problem must and can be found.

According to many education officials, 'math phobia' ____

8) (a) The art museum hopes to hire a new administrator.

(b) Under this person's direction it will be able to purchase significant pieces of art.

The art museum ____

9) (a) The giant anteater licks up ants for its dinner.

(b) Its tongue is longer than 30 centimeters (12 inches).

The giant anteater ____

10) (a) The anteater's tongue is sticky.

(b) It can go in and out of its mouth 160 times a minute.

The anteater's tongue ____

III. Closing down by taking a quiz

I. Quiz on Attributive clause

Select one answer from the choices provided after each sentence. The words you choose should fit the blank in the sentence. Don't use the HINT buttons unless you really need them.

1. As many children came were given some cakes.

A. that B. as C. who D. whom

2. The visitors saw rows of houses the roofs are red.

A. on which B. of which C. where D. that

3. I usually take a nap after lunch, is my habit.

A. which it B. as it C. as D. that

4. Please tell me the way you did the job.

A. how B. where C. which D. in which

5 Is this museum some German friends visited the day before yesterday?

A. the one B. which C. that D. where

6. The farmer uses wood to build a house to store grain.

A. in which B. where C. that D. with which

7. I shall never forget the years I spent in the country with the farmers, has a great effect on my life.

A. when, which B. that, which C. when, that D. which, that

8. Little has been done is helpful to our work.

A. that B. what C. which D. all that

9. Perhaps this is the only market you can get such cheap goods.

A. that B. of which C. by which D. where

10. We'll put off the outing until next week, __ we won't be so busy.

A. when B. which C. at which D. in that

Key: 1~10：BBCDA ABADA

II. Period 3: A lesson plan for using language

Aims:

To learn to tell facts from opinions

To write a reply letter

To listen and speak about cultural relics

Procedures

I. Warming up

Warming up by questions

Morning, class. We always say, "We must respect facts and can't wholly depend on one's opinions". But can you tell me:

A. What does it mean when you say, "It is a fact"?

B. What does it mean when you say, "It is an opinion"?

Keys for reference:

A. A fact must be real, objective and without any personal judgment. So it can be proved.

B. An option always expresses one's own ideas. It is always subjunctive. So it has not been proved.

Warming up by questioning

Turn to page 5. Read the passage and tell me:

A. If you want to go in for law against somebody, and if you want to win, what's the most important thing you should do first?

B. What makes a judge decide which eyewitnesses to believe and which not to believe.

Keys for reference:

A. Searching for facts of course. The more, the better.

B. The evidences offered by the eyewitnesses make the judge decide which one is believable and which is not.

II. Guided reading

1. Reading and defining

Read the passage and define: What is a fact? What is an opinion? What is an evidence?

2. Reading and translating

Read the passage and translate it into Chinese paragraph by paragraph. Tom, you are to do paragraph 1, please...

3. Reading and underlining

Next you are to read and underline all the useful expressions or collocations in the part. Copy them to your notebook after class as homework.

III. Collocation from Using Language on page 5

in a trial, rather than, ...more than..., to tell the truth, agree with, It can be proved that ..., no reason to lie, a reply to a letter, think highly of, search for, return the treasure to, cost them a lot of time and money

4. Listening

Now, boys and girls, as we know, people have never stopped searching for the Amber Room. This time we'll listen to what three people say they know about the missing Amber Room. Before we listen to them, I'll present some related new words to you to help you understand them easily. Please look at the screen and read after me.

explode vt. 爆炸, Czch n. 捷克, mayor n. 市长, melt vt. 熔化, sub (sub marine) n. 潜水艇，水雷, survivor n. 幸存者, Titanic n. 泰坦尼克船

5. Sharing and Correcting

Well done. Now share your forms with your partner and tell me in the three forms: What are facts? What are opinions? Li Ming, do you want a try?

Keys: What they heard, saw, did are facts. And what they believe are opinions.

6. Reviewing

We often use some expressions to ask for opinions. What are they?

Oh, yes. What do you think of ...?

Do you believe ...?

How can you be sure of ...?

How do you know that?

And we often use some expressions to give opinions. What are they? Ok, Tom, Please. Oh, yes. They are: I think... / I don't think... I don't agree that... / I suppose that...

7. Discussing

Please look at exercise 3, and discuss which person gave the best evidence. Use the expressions above to help you. Before we discuss, let's deal with the following discussion:

A. What is the best evidence?

B. How can we know which eyewitness is most believable?

Keys:

A. The best evidence is factual and is given by a person who is believable.

B. The most believable eyewitness is the one who has nothing to gain from telling a lie.

Well done. Let's come to the discussion "Which person gave the best evidence?"

Keys fore reference:

Jan Hasek is less believable because he owns a little restaurant near the mine. If the search stopped, his business would suffer.

Hans Braun is also less believable because he is working for a company trying to find the ship which carried the treasures in the Baltic sea.

Of the three eyewitnesses, only Anna Petrov has no selfish reason for saying what she has said. In particular, she is not involved in any current effort to find the treasure. Therefore she is the most believable.

8. Reading and writing

Sometimes we may fall into or face a moral choice. That is a moral dilemma. Let's read the letter on page 7 and see what's Johann's choice and opinion. Ok, finished? Now answer the following questions:

A. What's Johann's opinion about the Amber Room?

B. What's his father's opinion about the things found by him?

C. What happened to Johann when she was a pupil?

Keys:

A. Johann thinks the people who find the Amber Room should keep it for them own.

B. His father thinks as Johann does.

C. She found a little money and kept it to himself.

9. Completing the letters A & B and then giving your own letters

・When you write your letter, you may choose to agree or not agree with the writer.

・You must give a reason why you agree or don't agree with the writer.

・Be sure to give an example from your own life so that the reader can better understand your opinion.

Ⅲ Closing down

Closing down by a debating

There is a long ancient wall around a less developed town.

It is reported it has a long history, dating back to over 5 century BC. The local government is collecting money to repair and rebuild the wall. It has cost a lot of money. Some of your classmates think it is not worth. Some think it's a good way to develop the local economy. Now Group 1 and 2 against Group 3 and 4. Let's have the debating.

Closing down by dictation

・The design for the room was of the fancy style popular in those days.

・The room served as a small reception hall for important visitors.

・The man who found the relics insist that it belongs to his family.

・The room was completed the way she wanted it .

・It was ready for the people of St. Petersburg to celebrate the 300th birthday of their city.

・After that, what really happened to the Amber Room remains a mystery.

・In a trial, a judge must decide which eyewitnesses to believe and which not to believe.

・Is it something that more than one person believes?

・A fact is anything that can be proved.

・An opinion is what someone believes is true but has not been proved.

Part Two: Teaching Resources (教学资源)

Section 1: A text structure analysis of IN SEARCH OF THE AMBER ROOM

I. Type of writing and summary of the idea

Type of writing

This is a piece of narrative writing.

Main idea of the passage

The history of the Amber Room

General idea of 1st Para

The simple description of the Amber Room

General idea of 2nd Para

The present sent to the Czar

General idea of 3rd Para