Fun Easy English - new american english grammar Voice of America VOA Everyday Three Reasons to Learn Relative Adverbs lesson.

Classroom	Pronunciation	Reductions	Grammar	Conversation	Reading	Listening	Vocabulary	Activities	Videos
Idioms	Slang	Acronyms	Phonics	Portmanteau	Words	Handwriting	Alphabet	Surveys	Tests
Holidays	Movies	Everyday	Environment	Learning	News	Places	Flashcards	Study	Literacy
World	America	History	Drive	Education	Teaching	Dictionary	Resources	About	Contact

Home - Grammar - Everyday Grammar - Three Reasons to Learn Relative Adverbs

Three Reasons to Learn Relative Adverbs

Three Reasons to Learn Relative Adverbs

The lesson includes an audio program explaining this grammar topic, the script for the audio program, a words in this story section, and other important information.

Audio Program

Listen to the audio program explaining this grammar topic. Then read the following written information.

Three Reasons to Learn Relative Adverbs

From VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar.

In an earlier program, we talked about the relative pronouns who, that, and which. We promised to give you more details about how to use relative clauses. In this episode, we look at how the relative adverbs where, when, and why are used.

Let's take a look at how relative adverbs work. An adverb is a word that describes a verb, an adjective, another adverb or a sentence. It is often used to show time, manner and place, or degree. The relative pronouns where, when, and why act as adverbs when they join sentences or clauses. Take these two sentences:

    This is a swimming pool.
    I used to swim in the pool.

Notice how you can put the sentences together with the word where:

    This is the pool where I used to swim.

Another way to say that is "This is the pool in which I used to swim." That is a formal way and is usually only found in writing. We use the relative adverb where to show the place of an action.

The relative adverb when tells about the time of an action. Let's look at an example from The Logical Song by the rock group Supertramp.

    When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful,
    A miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical.
    …
    And they showed me a world where I could be so dependable,
    Clinical, intellectual, cynical.

The singer says that life was wonderful when he was young. Later, he uses another adverb to show the world where he could be dependable. A more formal way to say that would be "They showed me a world in which I could be dependable."

We often want to tell the reason for an action. This week, President Obama visited Alaska (see our article on his hike up a glacier) and talked about melting ice. So much ice is melting in Alaska, he said, that sea levels are rising quickly. Here's how he put it:

"The pace of melting is only getting faster. It’s now twice what it was between 1950 and 2000 -- twice as fast as it was just a little over a decade ago. And it’s one of the reasons why sea levels rose by about eight inches over the last century, and why they’re projected to rise another one to four feet this century."

President Obama made one sentence from these two ideas:

    Ice is melting very quickly.
    Sea levels rose about eight inches in the last 100 years.

His speech has another clause with a relative adverb that combines these ideas:

    Ice is melting very quickly.
    Scientists predict that sea levels will rise even more.

The words "the reason" or "the reasons" often appear before the relative adverb why, but sometimes they are left out, as in President Obama's speech: "… and why they’re projected to rise another one to four feet this century."

Are you ready to try some sentences on your own? Put together these sentences with relative adverbs:

    The coffeehouse is in my neighborhood.
    He got a job in a coffeehouse.

Is your answer like this?

The coffeehouse where he got a job is in my neighborhood.

Here's another one:

    I got home from work.
    I saw the dogs playing in the yard.

One way to put these ideas together is,

    I saw the dogs playing in the yard when I got home from work.

Finally, let's put these two sentences together.

    The dogs frightened the cat.
    The cat ran up the tree.

Combine these ideas as:

    The dogs are the reason why the cat ran up the tree.

You will sometimes hear that instead of why after the word reason as in,

    The dogs are the reason that the cat ran up the tree.

We leave you with Earth Wind and Fire singing Reasons

    I can't find the reasons
    But my love for you it won't disappear
    Can't find the reasons, why I love you, my baby

I'm Jill Robbins.

And I'm Jonathan Evans.

Dr. Jill Robbins wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Words in This Story

adverb - n. a word that describes a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or a sentence and that is often used to show time, manner, place, or degree
dependable - adj. able to be trusted to do or provide what is needed; able to be depended on
melt - v. to change or to cause (something) to change from a solid to a liquid usually because of heat
project - v. to plan, calculate, or estimate (something) for a time in the future

Additional Information

Now it’s your turn. Write a sentence with a relative adverb in the Facebook comments section below.

Source: Voice of America

Grammar Tips

Can You Catch These Native Speaker Mistakes?
(Beginner - Listening)

An audio lesson to help with your understanding of common mistakes. The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed. Click here to visit the lesson page with the written script for this audio program.

Commonly Confused Words: Part One
(Beginner - Listening, reading)

A video lesson to help with your understanding of commonly confused words.
The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Click here to visit the lesson page.

Commonly Confused Words: Part One
(Beginner - Listening)

An audio lesson to help with your understanding of commonly confused words. The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed. Click here to visit the lesson page with the written script for this audio program.

Commonly Confused Words: Part Two
(Beginner - Listening, reading)

A video lesson to help with your understanding of commonly confused words.
The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Click here to visit the lesson page.

Commonly Confused Words: Part Two
(Beginner - Listening)

An audio lesson to help with your understanding of commonly confused words. The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed. Click here to visit the lesson page with the written script for this audio program.

Search Fun Easy English