Relative Adverbs in English Grammar
Relative Adverbs - used to connect the subordinate clause to the main part of the sentence
What are Relative Adverbs?
"Relative Adverbs used to connect the subordinate clause to the main part of the sentence. Like the relative pronouns, they are joining words."
"Where, when, and why are relative adverbs"
They are called relative adverbs because they relate or refer to an antecedent (that is, something that has gone before). The antecedent may be clearly stated or understood. Relative adverbs join two portions of a sentence together. Relative adverbs act as subjects or objects inside relative clauses, and at the same time they connect relative clauses to nouns or pronouns in other clauses – rather like conjunctions.
A relative adverb is used to start a description for a noun. (This description is called an adjective clause.) Where, when, and why are relative adverbs. Each one has its own role:
» Where : is an adverb of place. (It is used after nouns that refer to places.)
• I know the house where he lives.
» When : is an adverb of time. (It is used after nouns that refer to times and dates.)
• I remember the day when we first met.
» Why : is an adverb of reason. (It is used after reason.)
• Tell me why you were late home.
| Uses of Relative Adverbs "Where" - "When" - "Why": |
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Uses of Relative Adverb 'Where':
'Where' is an adverb of place, so it is used to refer to location. The place can be any kind of location, such as a country, city, geographical region, house, or shop. It replaces the preposition plus relative pronoun 'in which' or 'at which'.
• This is the restaurant where I have my dinner.
Here the adverb 'where' is used to connect the subordinate clause / have my dinner to the main part of the sentence. The restaurant is the antecedent of the relative adverb 'where'. The antecedent is clearly stated. ‘Where’ can be replaced by 'at which' (relative pronoun).
• This is the restaurant at which I have my dinner.
But sometimes, the antecedent is only understood and not openly stated.
• This is where (=the place at which) I have my dinner.
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- • I know the house where he lives.
- • I visited the city where I grew up.
- • This is the place where we first met.
- • This is the house where Tanya was born.
- • I do not know the place where he works.
Uses of Relative Adverb 'When':
'When' is an adverb of time, and so it is used to introduce a relative clause that relates to time. It replaces a preposition plus relative pronoun, in this case the words 'in which', 'at which', or 'on which', which are reserved for more formal contexts.
• (a) I remember the day when (=on which) I first saw her.
• (b) I cannot forget the years when (=during which) I was in school.
• (c) Sunday is when (=the day on which) I go to see movie.
In sentence (a) we can use 'that' in place of 'when'. ‘When’ can also be dropped altogether. eg.
• (a) I remember the day (that) I first saw her.
But we cannot replace or omit when in sentence (b) & (c).
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- • I don’t know the day when he came.
- • I remember the day when we first met.
- • That is the year when we got married.
- • I remember the day when the war began.
- • I can't remember a time when I was so happy.
Uses of Relative Adverb 'Why':
'Why' is an adverb of reason. The relative clause is thus relating to why something happened. It replaces 'for which'.
• The reason why this man comes here is not clear.
Here 'why' can be replaced with for which. It can also be omitted altogether. eg.
• There is no reason why (= for which) we should meet him.
Note : (here ‘why’ can’t be left out).
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- • Tell me why you were late home.
- • We do not know the reason why she left.
- • Do you know the reason why Disha cried?
- • I understand the reason why Alisha got the lead.
- • I don’t know the reason why Raj isn’t in class today.
More details at : http://www.englishmirror.com/english-grammar/relative-adverbs.html
