Anyone who’s made it through a basic English class can probably identify nouns, adjectives, and adverbs.
These essential parts of speech form the backbone of sentences and add a little spice by allowing us to modify the other words. A car becomes a new small red car, and a simple shirt turns into her favorite patterned shirt.
When it comes to the adjective, adverbial, and noun clauses, though, many students can find themselves confused. So just what are these clauses, and how can you tell if you’re using them correctly?
任何上过基础英语课的人可能都能认出名词、形容词和副词。
这些基本的言语部分构成了句子的主干，并通过允许我们修饰其他词语而增加了一些调料。一辆汽车变成了一辆新的小红车，一件简单的衬衫变成了她最喜欢的图案衬衫。
不过，当涉及到形容词、副词和名词分句时，许多学生会发现自己感到困惑。那么，这些从句到底是什么，你如何判断你是否在正确使用它们？
Know Your Grammar Terms了解你的语法术语
Before we take a closer look at these troublesome constructions, you need to make sure that you understand a few basic grammar terms.在我们仔细研究这些麻烦的结构之前，你需要确保你了解一些基本的语法术语。
- Adjective
A word that modifies a noun. In the phrase “new small red car,” the words new, small, and red are all adjectives that specify the car we’re talking about.形容词
修饰名词的一个词。在 “新的小红车 “这个短语中，新、小、红三个词都是形容词，指明了我们所谈论的汽车。 - Adjective phrase
A group of words that together modify a noun. This phrase will include at the very least one adjective along with adverbs or prepositional phrases. In the sentence “The very quiet girl was afraid of snakes,” the phrases very quiet and afraid of snakes are both adjective phrases that modify girl. 形容词短语
一组共同修饰一个名词的词。这个短语至少包括一个形容词，以及副词或介词短语。在 “非常安静的女孩害怕蛇 “这个句子中，非常安静和害怕蛇这两个短语都是修饰女孩的形容词短语。 - Adverb
A word that modifies a verb or an adjective. In the phrase “The very big dog barked loudly,” very (which modifies the adjective big) and loudly (which modifies the verb barked) are both adverbs.副词
一个修饰动词或形容词的词。在 “非常大的狗大声地叫 “这个短语中，非常（修饰形容词大）和大声（修饰动词叫）都是副词。 - Adverb phrase
A group of words that together act as an adverb. In the sentence “She left the party quite suddenly,” the phrase quite suddenly is acting as an adverb and modifies the verb left. 副词短语
一组共同充当副词的词。在 “她突然离开了聚会 “这个句子中，”突然 “这个短语充当副词，修饰动词 “离开”。 - Clause
A group of words that contains both a subject and a verb. If that sentence can stand on its own (She left the party early.), then it’s called an independent clause. If the clause can’t stand as its own sentence (If you leave now…), then it’s called a dependent clause. 分句
一组同时包含主语和动词的词。如果这个句子可以独立存在（她提前离开了聚会。），那么它就被称为独立句子。如果该句子不能作为独立的句子（如果你现在离开……），则称为从句。 - Noun
A person, place, thing, or idea.名词
一个人，一个地方，一个事物，或一个想法。Adjective Clauses形容词性分句
Now that we’ve gone over adjectives and clauses, it should be pretty easy to figure out what an adjective clause is. As the name suggests, it is a clause that acts as an adjective. These are always dependent. They can’t stand on their own as sentences but are instead attached to independent clauses in order to modify nouns.既然我们已经讨论过了形容词和句子，那么要弄清楚什么是形容词句子应该是很容易的。顾名思义，它是一个充当形容词的句子。这些句子总是从属的。它们不能作为句子独立存在，而是与独立分句相连，以修饰名词。
Take a complex sentence such as “The table that we bought last week is already broken.” Here, the clause that we bought last week is an adjective clause that modifies table.以一个复杂的句子为例，如 “我们上周买的桌子已经坏了”。 这里，”我们上周买的 “是一个修饰桌子的形容词从句。
Adjective questions
How can you tell if a clause is an adjective one? It’s pretty simple: once you have identified a dependent clause, try to identify the noun it’s modifying. Adjective clauses can tell one of several things about that noun:
形容词问题
如何判断一个分句是否是一个形容词分句呢？这很简单：一旦你确定了一个从句，就试着确定它所修饰的名词。形容词从句可以说明关于该名词的几件事中的一件。。
- What kind?哪一种？
- How many?多少个？
- Which one?哪一个？
Let us look at the previous example!让我们来看看前面的例子!The table that we bought last week is already broken.我们上周买的那张桌子已经坏了。
In this particular sentence, “that we bought last week” is answering the question “which one?” by telling us which table we’re talking about. Here are a few examples where adjective clauses are in bold and the modified noun – in italics to tell you more about the topic.在这个特定的句子中，”我们上周买的 “是在回答 “哪一张？”的问题，告诉我们说的是哪一张桌子。这里有几个例子，形容词从句用粗体字，修饰的名词–用斜体字来告诉你更多关于这个主题的信息。
- The student who gets the highest grade will receive a prize. (Which one?)
- She gave her extra ticket to the girl whose ticket never arrived. (Which one?)
- They drove by the house where he lives. (Which one?)
- We need to find a car that gets better gas mileage. (What kind?)
- This necklace, which is one of my favorites, will look great with that dress. (What kind?)
- All the cookies that we have are stale. (How many?)
Adjective clause signifiers形容词性分句信号词
You’ll notice that all these phrases start with the same few words. These fall into one of two groups: relative pronoun and relative adverb. Looking for these words in sentences can help you locate the needed clauses.
你会注意到，所有这些短语都以同样的几个词开始。这些都属于两组中的一组：关系代词和关系形容词。在句子中寻找这些词可以帮助你找到需要的句子。
- Relative pronouns关系代词: who, whom, whose, that, which.
- Relative adverbs关系副词: when, where, why.
Punctuating adjective clauses
You may also have noticed that in some examples above the adjective clause is set off by commas. How can you tell if it needs to be punctuated or if it can be left alone? The key is to look at what role the clause plays in the sentence. If it’s necessary – that is, if the sentence doesn’t make sense without it – then you don’t need to use commas. By removing the adjective clause from the first example above, we lose a necessary piece of information that changes the meaning of the sentence:
形容词性分句的标点
你可能还注意到，在上面的一些例子中，形容词句被逗号隔开了。你如何判断它是否需要加标点，或者是否可以不加？关键是要看这个分句在句子中起什么作用。如果它是必要的，也就是说，如果没有它，句子就没有意义，那么你就不需要使用逗号。把上面第一个例子中的形容词分句去掉，我们就失去了一个必要的信息，改变了句子的含义。
- The student who gets the highest grade will receive a prize. – The student will receive a prize.
On the other hand, when we remove the adjective clause here, the main idea of the sentence remains intact:另一方面，当我们去掉这里的形容性从句时，句子的主旨仍然保持不变。
- This necklace, which is one of my favorites, will look great with that dress. – This necklace will look great with that dress.
When the adjective clause isn’t necessary to the sentence, it should be set apart by commas.当形容词句对句子不是必需的时候，应该用逗号把它分开。
Generally, if the adjective clause is needed to clear up any ambiguity about which noun is being talked about. I.e., we need it in order to know which student will receive the prize – so it’s essential. If we already know which specific noun we’re talking about (i.e., this necklace), the adjective clause is just adding more information. Meaning it is not essential to the sentence. Often, this distinction is unclear. But, you could make a case, either way, so don’t worry too much if you have trouble identifying essential and inessential clauses.一般来说，如果形容词从句需要清除关于哪个名词的任何模糊之处。也就是说，我们需要它来知道哪个学生将获得奖金–所以它是必不可少的。如果我们已经知道我们谈论的是哪个具体的名词（例如，这条项链），那么形容词从句只是增加了更多的信息。意味着它对句子来说不是必要的。通常情况下，这种区别是不明确的。但是，你可以用两种方式来说明问题，所以如果你在识别必要和非必要句子方面有困难，也不必太担心。
Adverb Clauses
A close cousin of the adjective clause, the adverbial one, functions in much the same way, except it modifies nouns or adjectives. In the sentence, “I’ll be working until we finish the project,” the clause until we finish the project is an adverbial clause that modifies the verb phrase be working.
副词性分句（状语从句）
副词句是形容词句的近亲，其功能与形容词性分句大致相同。在 “我会一直工作到我们完成这个项目 “这个句子中，直到我们完成这个项目是一个副词句，修饰动词短语be working。
Adverb questions
Adverbial clauses can be identified by several specific questions they answer. They will tell you one of a few things about the verb of the main sentence:状语从句可以通过它们回答的几个具体问题来识别。它们会告诉你关于主句动词的几件事中的一件。
- How?
- When?
- Why?
- Where?
- To what degree?
- 怎么做？
什么时候？
为什么？
在哪里？
到什么程度？
In the above example – I’ll be working until we finish the project – the phrase until we finish the project tells us when we’ll be working. Here are a few more examples with the adverbial phrase in bold and the word being modified in italics:在上面的例子中–我会一直工作到我们完成这个项目–这个短语直到我们完成这个项目，告诉我们什么时候会工作。下面是另外几个例子，副词短语用黑体字，被修饰的词用斜体字。
- My sister will come to the party even if she’s tired. (How?)
- I’ll wash the dishes after I eat dinner. (When?)
- She scrubbed the floor until it was spotless. (When?)
- Because you got here late, you’ll need to fill out these forms. (Why?)
- Rather than buying a new car, she chose to have her old one fixed. (Why?)
- Wherever you go, I’ll find you. (Where?)
- Alex will enjoy the movie more than his sister will. (To what degree?)
- The hostess wouldn’t seat us because the restaurant was closed. (Why?)
- The seeds will take root wherever there is enough light. (Where?)
Adverbial clause signifiers状语从句信号词
Adverbial clauses start with subordinate conjunctions. Those are words that join together an independent and dependent clause while indicating which is the subordinate (or secondary) clause.副词性从句以从属连接词开始。这些词将独立句和从属句连接在一起，同时表明哪个是从属（或次要）句。
Subordinate conjunctions从属连接词。:
- after
- although
- as
- because
- before
- even if
- even
- though
- if
- in order
- that
- once
- provided
- that
- rather
- than
- since
- so that
- then
- though
- unless
- until
- when
- whenever
- where
- whereas
- wherever
- whether
- while
- why
Punctuating adverbial clauses状语从句的标点
Like adjective clauses, adverbial ones are sometimes set off by commas. However, in this case, it’s their placement in the sentence that determines how they’re punctuated. Clauses that begin the sentence should be separated from the main clause with a comma. Those added at the end of the main clause do not need one。与定语从句一样，状语从句有时也用逗号隔开。但是，在这种情况下，它们在句子中的位置决定了它们的标点方式。句子开始的分句应该用逗号与主句分开。在主句末尾添加的句子则不需要。
- Rather than buy a new car, she chose to have her old one fixed.
- She chose to have her old car fixed rather than buy a new one.
Nominal or Noun Clauses名词或名词性从句
At this point, you can probably guess that a noun clause is a clause that acts as a noun.说到这里，你大概能猜到名词性从句是指充当名词的从句。
Also called nominal clauses, these dependent clauses can function in a sentence just like any other noun. They can be a subject, subject complement, direct object, indirect object, the object of a preposition, or an appositive. I.e., “Why you ate all that cake is a mystery to me.” Here, the clause why you ate all that cake is acting as a noun and is the subject of the sentence.这些从句也被称为名词性从句，在句子中可以像其他名词一样发挥作用。它们可以是主语、主补语、直接宾语、间接宾语、介词的宾语，或同位语。例如，”你为什么吃了那么多蛋糕对我来说是个谜”。 在这里，”你为什么吃了那么多蛋糕 “这个从句充当了名词，是句子的主语。
Because nominal clauses act like nouns, there’s no set of particular questions they answer, since they’re not modifying any other words in the sentence. Below are some examples of the nominal clauses in italics and the function of the noun in parentheses.因为名词性从句像名词一样行事，所以它们没有一套特定的问题可以回答，因为它们没有修饰句子中的任何其他词语。下面是一些例子，斜体字是名词性从句，括号里是名词的功能。
- Where you want to go is up to you. (subject充当主语)
- Whether you open the present now or later depends on when your parents get here. (subject充当主语)
- Your art project can be whatever you want. (subject complement充当主语补足语)
- Give the ball to whomever asks for it first. (indirect object充当简介宾语)
- Hand whatever food you have over to the teacher. (direct object充当直接宾语)
Nominal clause signifiers名词性从句信号词
Noun clauses start with interrogatives (words that ask questions) or expletives (words that explain relationships).名词性从句以疑问词（提出问题的词）或填充词（引导词）（解释关系的词）开始。
- Interrogatives: who, whom, what, which, why, when, where, whoever, whomever, whatever.
- Expletives引导词: that, whether, if.Conclusion
It is extremely important for any student to know the qualities and differences between adverbial and adjective clauses. And how they all stand apart from the noun clause. You need to achieve the level of knowledge where you don’t even stop to check with the grammar book. So you better study hard and grind those rules!对任何学生来说，了解定语从句和状语从句的特质和区别是极其重要的。 以及它们是如何与名词性从句分开来的。你需要达到的知识水平是，你甚至不需要停下来检查语法书。所以，你最好努力学习，磨练这些规则!
English is a beautiful but complex language. With time, you can master it to the point of writing your own novels, let alone essays and research projects. Good luck! 英语是一种美丽但复杂的语言。随着时间的推移，你可以掌握它，达到写自己的小说的程度，更不用说论文和研究项目。祝你好运