The relative pronoun whose can be used in Adjective Clauses when it is important to show possession. In Adjective Clauses, whose must be followed by a noun. It can be used for both people and things:
- The study whose results show a high mortality rate was very interesting.
- I work for a clinic whose MA went to high school with my father.
- We need a vaccine whose side-effects are small.
- That patient whose sample we tested is healthy.
Where can be used in Adjective Clauses to describe a place. When can be used to describe a time. Both when and where are only used in Adjective Clauses as objects.
- Let's visit the morgue where bodies are stored.
- This country where we come from has a prevalence of Malaria.
- Before you enter college is when you should get vaccinated.
- They weren’t alive in the early 1980s when the CDC began calling the world’s newest viral epidemic AIDS.
In spoken or less-formal English, prepositions such as at, in, which, about etc.usually go at the end of Adjective Clauses. In more formal English, we can use the following patterns:
- preposition + whom
- preposition + which
- The pharmacist who we were talking about actually came in to the room five minutes ago. (Spoken / Less-Formal)
- The pharmacist about whom we were talking actually came in to the room five minutes ago. (Formal)
- We visited the morgue which we saw a cadaver at. (Spoken / Less-Formal)
- We visited the morgue at which we saw a cadaver. (Formal)
Exercise
Using what you have learned about adjective clauses, complete the activity.