Unit 18: Adverb Clauses

Presenters: Yoselyn Ayala Yubel Suarez Manuel Cubedo

Life would be mighty dull if all clauses were independent. -Unknown

Presentation Outline

Background Knowledge What are Adverb Clauses? Why are Adverb Clauses Important? Adverb Clauses

Reason

Contrast

Condition Time Place Comparison Result

Problems Students Face Tips

What is a clause?

Definition

According to the Websters II New Riverside Dictionary, a clause is a group of words containing its own subject and a form of a verb. (Pg. 130).

For Example:

English teachers are the best.

Types of Clauses

Needs another sentence to be fully understood.

Even though English teachers are boring,

Can stand alone as complete sentences.

they still need love and respect.

Helpful Hint

There are only three kinds of dependent clauses:

Adverb Clauses

Adjective Clauses
Noun Clauses

Lets start with adverb clauses because they are the most common and easiest to recognize.

What are Adverb Clauses?

Adverb Clauses are dependent clauses.

They answer questions like:

When? Where?

Why?
To what degree? Under what circumstances?

If you are new to this whole business, it is nice to know that there are certain words which introduce adverb clauses.

They are called subordinating conjunctions.

Subordinators

These subordinators establish the relationship between the events or conditions in the Independent Clause and those in the Dependent Clause.

Why is it important?
Speakers and writers use adverb clauses to combine thoughts and show connections between ideas. Adverb clauses are also used to vary our writing styles.

For Example:

You can be an excelent teacher if you put your mind to it.

Adverb Clauses of Reason

Adverb Clauses of Reason are used when you want to explain why something happens.
-because, since, on account of the fact that.

For example:

Students should listen to their English teacher because they might learn something of life altering significance.

Adverb Clauses of Contrast

Adverb Clauses of Contrast are used when you want to make two statements, one which contrasts with the other and makes it appear unexpected or surprising.
-Although, even (though), whereas, and while.

For example:

Even though English teachers are boring, they still need love and respect.

Adverb Clauses of Condition

Adverb Clauses of Contrast answer the question under what condition.

-if, unless, in case,

For example:

The world would be a better place if more people respected English teachers.

Adverb Clauses of Time

Adverb Clauses of Time are used to establish a time sequence relationship between the events or conditions in the DC and IC.
-after, as, as soon as, before, once, since, until, when, whenever, and while.

For example:

I left when the teacher started talking about clauses.

Adverb Clauses of Place

Adverb Clauses of Place indicates the place about which the verb talks about.
-where, wherever, etc.

For example:

Wherever you live, you can find an English teacher close by.

Adverb Clauses of Comparison

Adverb Clauses of Comparison is used when you compare two statements.

-than, as much as, as many as, etc.

For example:

My English teacher is as ugly as my math teacher.

Adverb Clauses of Result

Adverb Clauses of Result are used to say what happens or what may happen as a result of the action mentioned in the main clause.
-so that, in order that.

For example:

The teacher spoke so loudly in order that everybody would hear him.

Problems Students face

Adverb clauses are dependent clauses. They cannot stand alone as a sentence in written English. They must be connected to an independent clause.

Incorrect: When we were in New York. We saw several plays. Incorrect: He went to bed. Because he was sleepy.

Adverb clauses are confuse with adjective clauses.

-adverb clauses answer the question of "when," "where" and "why,"

-adjective clauses answer the question of "which one."

Activity #1: Kinesthetic Clause Building

Materials needed: Many pieces of paper cut into thirds to make strips

about 3.5 inches by 8 inches long. Youll need nearly one paper strip per word in a sentence, and youll probably use 6-10 sentences in the activity.

Description: The purpose of the activity is to help students identify

clauses, choose subordinating conjunctions, notice the reversibility of

clauses in a sentence, and understand the idea of subordination. They do this by physically
becoming the sentence and moving themselves around, working out the grammar and meaning of subordinate clauses.

Activitiy #2:
Finish the Clause

One game to help students link adverb clauses together in a sentence is one that allows students to finish a sentence accordingly. For example, the teacher could start a sentence with "I sing" and ask students to finish the sentence to demonstrate an adverb clause using connecting words such as "because," "since" and "as." The game allows students to get creative with their answers.

An adverb clause is a subordinate clause that modifies where, when or how . ___________ or under what condition. But if you wanna be really smart, you have to learn how to identify it . Every adverb clause is introduce by a subordinated conjunction (after, before, until, while, becomes).

REFERENCE

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