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SeekerOfPeace Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

Confused about adverbial clause...

Could anyone explain to me, in clear, simple terms what exactly is an adverbial clause?

I'm really struggling to understand this aspect of grammar (clauses in general actually).
  

Top answer

It is just a clause which modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb.

— Mister Micawber

  • It is just a clause which modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb.
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12 Answers
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It is just a clause which modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb.
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PS: And a clause is a grammatical unit that includes at least a predicate (a verb) and an explicit or implied subject.

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Thanks for the replies.

Would the following be an adverbial clause?:

"He was fast, faster than an olympic athlete on drugs."
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SeekerOfPeaceThanks for the replies.

Would the following be an adverbial clause?:

"He was fast, faster than an olympic athlete on drugs."
No, it's not.
An adverbial clause is a clause that functions as an adverb. In other words, it contains subject (explicit or implied) and predicate, and it modifies a verb.
In your exampl
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The other member said:

"It is just a clause which modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb."

Then you say that the clause I proposed modifies the adjective. This means that, according the to first member, it is an adverbial clause.

So either I don't understand or either you or the one member is mistaken.
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It is not a clause: it has no verb.
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Ok. I see.

So if I wrote:

"He was fast, his speed was greater than a speeding train."

Would it be a adverbial clause then?

If not, could explain more in depth? Provide examples perhaps, rather than just a few words?

I don't mean to be demanding but using examples is a good way to explain something.
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Go to www.google.com.
Search for
"adverbial clause" definition
You'll find lots of definitions and examples.

Basically, dependent clauses (i.e., subordinate clauses) headed by words such as "because, since, when, although, unless, until, before, after, as long as, if, though, even though, ..." are adverbial clauses.

CJ
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So adverbial clauses are a type of subordinate clause, am I correct?
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Yes. What you have created above is a 'comma-splice' sentence ('He was fast, his speed was greater than a speeding train.')-- which means a compound sentence without a conjunction. It should read:

He was fast; his speed was greater than a speeding train.
or
He was fast, and his speed was greater than a speeding train.

Neither contains a subor
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