Properties of an Adverb Clause Here are the properties of an adverbial clause:

An adverbial clause is an adjunct. This means it can be removed without the sentence being grammatically wrong. An adverbial clause is a dependent clause. This means it cannot stand alone as meaningful sentence in its own right. An adverbial clause usually starts with a subordinating conjunction (e.g., although, because, if, until, when) An adverbial clause will contain a subject and a verb. (This is what ma es it a clause as opposed to a phrase.)

Adverb Time Clauses

When

He was tal ing on the phone when ! arrived. "hen she called, he had already eaten lunch. ! washed the dishes when my daughter fell asleep. "e#ll go to lunch when you come to visit.

$"hen# means $at that moment, at that time, etc.#. %otice the different tenses used in relationship to the clause beginning with when. !t is important to remember that $when# ta es either the simple past &' the present ( the dependent clause changes tense in relation to the $when# clause.

Before

"e will finish before $*efore# means $before that moment#. !t is he arrives. important to remember that $before# ta es either )he (had) left before ! the simple past &' the present. telephoned. "e will finish after he comes. )he ate after ! (had) left. )he began coo ing while ! was finishing my homewor . As ! was finishing my homewor , she began coo ing. *y the time he finished, ! had coo ed dinner. "e will have finished our homewor by the time they arrive. $After# means $after that moment#. !t is important to remember that $after# ta es the present for future events and the past &' past perfect for past events. $"hile# and $as# mean $during that time#. $"hile# and $as# are both usually used with the past continuous because the meaning of $during that time# which indicates an action in progess. $*y the time# e+presses the idea that one event has been completed before another. !t is important to notice the use of the past perfect for past events and future perfect for future events in the main clause. This is because of the idea of something happening up to another point in

After

While, as

By the time

time.

Until, till

"e waited until he $,ntil# and #till# e+press $up to that time#. "e finished his use either the simple present or simple past with homewor . $until# and #till#. $Till# is usually only used in !#ll wait till you finish. spo en -nglish. ! have played tennis since ! was a young boy. $)ince# means $from that time#. "e use the present perfect (continuous) with $since#. $)ince# can also be used with a specific point in time.

Since

As soon as + the moment, the second

$As soon as# means $when something happens ( He will let us now as immediately afterwards#. $As soon as# is very soon as he decides (or similar to $when# it emphasi.es that the event will occur immediately after the other. "e as soon as he has usually use the simple present for future events, decided). although present perfect can also be used. "henever he comes, we go to have lunch at /0ic #s1. "e ta e a hi e every time he visits. The first time ! went to %ew 2or , ! was intimidated by the city. ! saw 3ac the last time ! went to )an 4rancisco. The second time ! played tennis, ! began to have fun. $"henever# and $every time# mean $each time something happens#. "e use the simple present (or the simple past in the past) because $whenever# and $every time# e+press habitual action.

Whenever, every time

The first, second, third, fourth etc., ne t, last time

The first, second, third, fourth etc., ne+t, last time means $that specific time#. "e can use these forms to be more specific about which time of a number of times something happened.

!otes" An adverb time clause can come before or after the main clause. "hen it comes before the main clause, we usually separate it with a comma. 5ommas are not necessary when the adverb clause goes after the main clause.

Whenever # thin$ of her, my eyes get misty. 6y eyes get misty %henever # thin$ of her.

Tense !f you are tal ing about something that is yet to happen in the future, use a present tense in the adverb clause and a future tense in the main clause.

! will start %hen # am ready. (%&T ! will start when ! will be ready.) ! will not go until # &et my money bac$. (%&T ! will not go until ! will get my money bac .)