What Are Adverbial Clauses? » Pyinnyar Pankhin

What are Adverbial Clauses?

Adverbial Clauses Are a Type of Subordinate Clause

Adverb clauses are subordinate clauses that act as … adverbs! The whole clause does the job of an adverb.

Quick Refresher

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

Clauses are groups of words with a subject and a verb.

Subordinate clauses cannot stand alone.

Allow me to show you how a whole clause acts as an adverb.

I walked today.

Today is an adverb modifying the verb walked.

It is telling us when I walked. When did I walk? I walked today.

Now look at this next sentence.

I walked before the sun went down.

This time, a whole clause is modifying the verb walked! Isn’t that exciting?

The clause is still telling us when I walked.

When did I walk? I walked before the sun went down.

This clause is an adverbial clause. It is a group of words with a subject and a verb, and it is acting as one part of speech, an adverb.

Subordinating Conjunctions

Adverbial clauses are introduced by special words called subordinating conjunctions. Subordinating conjunctions link adverb clauses with the word in the independent clause that the adverb clause is modifying.

Um, did I lose you there? That sounded really complex. I’m sorry about that. Let’s look at another example.

My mom smiled when I made dinner.

The independent clause is My mom smiled. The adverbial clause is when I made dinner.

When is a subordinating conjunction introducing the adverbial clause. It’s linking the word smiled from the independent clause with the whole dependent adverbial clause.

Adverb Clauses Can’t Stand Alone!

Remember how I said that adverb clauses are a type of subordinate clause and subordinate clauses can’t stand alone? Let me show you what I mean.

Here are some examples of adverbial clauses.

until I fall asleep

whenever my teacher yells

after I walk the dog

All of those groups of words are clauses. They each have a subject and a verb. But, none of them express a complete thought. In each of those examples, we are left wondering what is going on.

Now, if we attach an independent clause before or after the adverb clause, we’ll have a complete sentence that makes sense.

I listen to music until I fall asleep.

Whenever my teacher yells, I know she’s having a bad day.

I will take out the trash after I walk the dog.

Adverbial clauses need to be attached to independent clauses in order to make a complete sentence.

The Adverb Questions

Adverbial clauses answer the adverb questions. That means that the whole clause tells us these things …

How? I walk faster than David walks.
When? I walk before the sun goes down.
Where? I walk wherever the trail is paved.
Why? I walk because it makes me feel good.
To what extent? I walk more now than I walked one month ago.
Under what condition? I walk if it’s not raining.

More about Adverbial Clauses

An adverbial clause is a group of words which plays the role of an adverb. (Like all clauses, an adverbial clause will contain a subject and a verb.) For example:

Keep hitting the gong hourly. (normal adverb)
Keep hitting the gong until I tell you to stop. (adverbial clause)

In the examples above, the normal adverb and adverbial clause both tell us when the gong is to be hit. They are both adverbs of time. All adverbs (including adverbial clauses) can usually be categorised as one of the following:

Adverbs of Time

An adverb of time states when something happens or how often. An adverb of time often starts with one of the following subordinating conjunctions: after, as, as long as, as soon as, before, no sooner than, since, until, when, or while. Here are some examples:

After the game has finished, the king and pawn go into the same box. (Italian Proverb)
I stopped believing in Santa Claus when my mother took me to see him in a department store, and he asked for my autograph. (Shirley Temple)
As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live. (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

Adverbs of Place

An adverb of place states where something happens. An adverb of place often starts with a preposition (e.g., in, on, near) or one of the following subordinating conjunctions: anywhere, everywhere, where, or wherever. Here are some examples:

In a world where there is so much to be done, I felt strongly impressed that there must be something for me to do. (Dorothea Dix)
I am not afraid of the pen, the scaffold, or the sword. I will tell the truth wherever I please. (Mother Jones)

Adverbs of Manner

An adverb of manner states how something is done. An adverb of manner often starts with one of the following subordinating conjunctions: as, like, or the way. Here are some examples:

He acts like it is a joke.
We don’t have conversations. You talk at me the way a teacher talks to a naughty student.
Except for an occasional heart attack, I feel as young as I ever did. (Robert Benchley)

Adverbs of Degree or Comparison

An adverb of degree states to what degree something is done or offers a comparison. An adverb of degree often starts with one of the following subordinating conjunctions: than, as…as, so…as, or the…the. Here are some examples:

A vacuum is a hell of a lot better than some of the stuff that nature replaces it with. (Tennessee Williams)
He is as smart as he is tall.
She is not so bright as she thinks she is.

Sometimes, the verb in an adverb of degree is understood (i.e., not present). For example:

You are taller than I. ✔︎ (In this example, the verb am has been omitted. This is permissible.)
You are taller than I am. ✔︎ (This is the full version.)
You are taller than me. ✔︎ (This version is acceptable.)

Adverbs of Condition

An adverb of condition states the condition for the main idea to come into effect. An adverb of condition often starts with if or unless. Here are some examples:

If the facts don’t fit the theory, change the facts. (Albert Einstein)
If the English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur. (Doug Larson)
If all the rich people in the world divided up their money among themselves, there wouldn’t be enough to go around. (Christina Stead, 1903-1983)

Adverbs of Concession

An adverb of concession offers a statement which contrasts with the main idea. An adverb of concession often starts with one of the following subordinating conjunctions: though, although, even though, while, whereas, or even if. Here are some examples:

Although golf was originally restricted to wealthy, overweight Protestants, today it’s open to anybody who owns hideous clothing. (Dave Barry)
A loud voice cannot compete with a clear voice, even if it’s a whisper. (Barry Neil Kaufman)

Adverbs of Reason

An adverb of reason offers a reason for the main idea. An adverb of reason often starts with one of the following subordinating conjunctions: as, because, given, or since. Here are some examples:

I don’t have a bank account, because I don’t know my mother’s maiden name. (Paula Poundstone)
Since you are like no other being ever created since the beginning of time, you are incomparable. (Brenda Ueland)

Properties of an Adverbial Clause

Here are the properties of an adverbial clause:

An adverbial clause is an adjunct. (Adjunct means it can be removed without the sentence being grammatically wrong).
An adverbial clause is a dependent clause. This means it cannot stand alone as meaningful sentence in its own right.
An adverbial clause usually starts with a subordinating conjunction (e.g., although, because, if, until, when)
An adverbial clause will contain a subject and a verb. (This is what makes it a clause as opposed to a phrase.)

Exercise

QA: The fireworks show will start after the sun goes down.

_________

Select the one with an adverbial clause:

A: When the team is ready, jump into the water.

B: Jump into the water on the whistle.

__________

Select the one with an adverb of concession:

A: Although it’s cold and raining, it’s still nicer than the city.

B: You cannot take leave in the middle of the harvest.

__________

QA): Select the adverbial clause:

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AGH / Jan 2020