Adverb Clauses
As you learned, adverbs can be single words such as "here", "very", and "quickly". However, adverbs can also appear as a clause. As you have learned, a clause contains a subject and a verb. Look at the following three examples to compare adverbs, adverb phrases, and adverb clauses.
| Adverb | I went boating yesterday. |
| Adverb Phrase | I went boating on Monday. |
| Adverb Clause | I went boating before "I left" on a vacation to California. |
Although you can see that all three adverb forms answer the question "when" the person went boating, the adverb clause has a subject (I) and verb (left). The word in the green is a word called the subordinator. The subordinator connects the main sentence with the adverb clause by showing how they relate.
Types of Subordinators
There are many types of subordinators which answer different questions. The table below summarizes the types of adverb clauses we will be learning throughout this unit and the subordinators that correspond to each type of clause. Refer back to this table if you ever forget the types of adverb clauses... because there are a lot of them.
| Type of Adverb Clause | Examples | Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| time | after when once before by the time whenever |
When you complete your assignment, you should hand it in to the teacher. You can come over whenever it is most convenient for you. |
| reason | since because as on account of the fact that |
Since Rebecca got into college, she will be moving out of the house.
He probably won't come to the concert tonight because he hates crowds. |
| place | anywhere where everywhere |
My brother likes going anywhere I take him. Where there is sunlight, there are shadows. |
| contrast | Although even though though even if in spite of the fact that despite the fact that while |
She succeeded in school despite the fact that she had cancer. Although John became a very successful businessman, he never forgot about his family and friends. |
| comparison | than as much as as many as |
There are far more fans of Electronic Dance Music than there were in the past. |
| condition | if unless in case provided (that) |
Most people, if they don't have any learning disabilities, will be able to complete this course in less than six weeks. |
| result | so that in order to |
In order for John to become successful at school, he needs to learn how to prioritize his assignments. |
Exercise
Open the exercise to begin the activity. Follow the instructions in the document.