Adverbial Clauses in English

Dialogue: Meeting at the Café

Emma: I’m so glad we could meet up today, because I haven’t seen you in weeks!
Liam: Me too! I’ve been really busy since I started my new job.
Emma: That’s great news! Tell me more about it when you have some time.
Liam: Sure! But let’s order first before the café gets crowded.
Emma: Good idea. I’ll grab us a table while you place the order.
Liam: Perfect! I’ll let you know if they’re out of anything.

Let’s order first before the café gets crowded.

What Are Adverbial Clauses?

Adverbial clauses are groups of words that act as adverbs. They give us more information about why, when, where, how, to what extent, or under what condition something happens. Adverbial clauses always have a subject and a verb, and they begin with subordinating conjunctions like because, since, when, if, or although.

Example from the dialogue:

  • "Because I haven’t seen you in weeks" explains why Emma is glad.

  • "Since I started my new job" explains why Liam has been busy.

Structure of Adverbial Clauses

  1. Subordinating Conjunction: Introduces the clause (e.g., because, since, when).

  2. Subject: The doer of the action.

  3. Verb: The action or state.

Example:

  • Because (subordinating conjunction) I (subject) haven’t seen (verb) you in weeks.

Types of Adverbial Clauses

  1. Time: Answers "when?"

    • Subordinators: when, while, before, after, since, until

    • Example: "After we finish our coffee, let’s go for a walk."

  2. Reason: Answers "why?"

    • Subordinators: because, since, as

    • Example: "I stayed home because it was raining."

  3. Condition: Answers "under what condition?"

    • Subordinators: if, unless

    • Example: "If you call me, I’ll come over."

  4. Concession: Shows contrast or an unexpected result.

    • Subordinators: although, though, even though

    • Example: "Although it was late, she kept working."

  5. Purpose: Answers "why is this done?"

    • Subordinators: so that, in order that

    • Example: "I left early so that I could catch the bus."

  6. Result: Shows the outcome of something.

    • Subordinators: so...that, such...that

    • Example: "He was so tired that he fell asleep instantly."

Practice Exercise

Fill in the blanks with suitable adverbial clauses:

  1. I’ll help you with your homework _________.

  2. She couldn’t attend the meeting _________.

  3. _________, we decided to cancel the trip.

  4. He spoke quietly _________.

Possible Answers:

  1. if you find it too difficult.

  2. because she was feeling sick.

  3. Since it was raining heavily,

  4. so that he wouldn’t wake the baby.

Quick Tips

  • Adverbial clauses are always dependent clauses, meaning they cannot stand alone.

  • They can appear at the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence. Use a comma when the adverbial clause comes at the beginning.
    Example: "Because it was late, we decided to leave."

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