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Prepositions in Adjective Clauses
An adjective clause can identify a noun. The clause comes right after the noun.Basic Patterns for Prepositions in Adjective Clauses: A. TO IDENTIFY A PERSON, AN ADJECTIVE CLAUSE CAN BEGIN WITH WHO(M), THAT, OR Ø:
person + introduction + adjective clause
subject + verb (object) + preposition
The man who(m) she writes to
The man that she writes to
The man — she writes to
The people who(m) we live with
The people that we live with
The people — we live with
The doctor who(m) I ask for
The doctor that I ask for
The doctor — I ask for
Make sure the adjective clause is right after the noun:
The man who(m) she writes to is my father.
The people that we live with are nice.
The doctor I always ask for isn't here.
My father is the man who(m) she writes to.
I really like the people that we live with.
This is not the doctor I always ask for.
B. TO IDENTIFY A THING, AN ADJECTIVE CLAUSE CAN BEGIN WITH THAT OR Ø.
thing + introduction + adjective clause
subject + verb + (object) + preposition
the book that I paid ten dollars for
the book — I paid for
the house that they are looking at
the house — they are looking at
the cities that we work in
the cities — we work in
Be sure to put the adjective clause directly after the noun.
The book that I paid ten dollars for is great.
The house they are looking at is expensive.
The cities that we work in are far apart.
I really like the book I paid ten dollars for.
They might buy the house they are looking at.
We love the cities we work in.