This is the kitchen where I cook.

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Adjective Clauses Using Where, When, Why

Intermediate

As we learned in the last lesson, adjective clauses are used to identify and provide additional information about someone or something. In this lesson, we will learn to use them to identify places, times, and reasons.

Exercise 1

Sentence Practice

Where

	Liam Do you know a place where I can find cold medicine?
	Olivia Yes, there is a drugstore where you can find cold medicine.

When

	Akio Adachi Do you remember when we will meet our client?
	Ellen Jackson Yes, next Thursday is the day when we will meet them.

Why

	Haruto I will ask the teacher the reason why he gave us a bad grade.
	Liam I want to know why he did that as well.

Grammar Focus

How do we form Adjective Clauses with 'Where'?

Use 'where' after the name of a place:

This is the house where my dog lives:

This is the spot where Sally always hides:

We can also use 'where' by itself:

This is where my dog lives.
This is where Sally always hides.

How do we form Adjective Clauses with 'When'?

Use 'when' after the name of a time.

The 21st is the day when I fly to China.

We can omit the name of the time when it is clear from the context.

The 21st is when I fly to China.
Let's talk when I arrive at my hotel.

How do we form Adjective Clauses with 'Why'?

We often use 'why' after 'the reason'.

	Ling Wow! New York is so exciting!
	Nina That's the reason why I love this city.

Again, we can use 'why' by itself, because people usually know you are referring to 'the reason':

This is why I love New York.
That's why I wanted to move here.

Exercise 2

Dialogue Practice

Read the dialogues aloud with your tutor.

At Work

	Camille Have you ever worked overtime?
	Alex Yes, last year when our website crashed, we worked overtime to fix it.
	Camille Do you remember why it crashed?

With Friends

	James I don't understand why Susan doesn't want to talk to me.
	Lauren Do you remember (a time) when you might have upset her?
	James Oh, I spilled coffee on her laptop last week. Maybe that's why she's mad at me.

At School

	Haruto Do you know when we have chemistry class?
	Liam Yes, Mondays and Wednesdays.
	Sarah Don't forget to bring your lab coat on the days when we conduct experiments!

Exercise 3

Rephrasing Sentences

Replace the words in bold with when, where or why.

This is the restaurant at which they had their first date.

Do you remember the day on which they first met?

Do you understand the reason for which he likes her?

The school in this picture is the primary school to which my son went.

Summer is the season in which my son was born.

Tell me the reason for which my son is angry with me.

Exercise 4

Sentence Building

You are showing your friend a photo album of yourself as a child. Explain the things in the pictures to them, using where and when.

Example

neighborhood, I grew up → This is the neighborhood where I grew up.

playground, I made my first friends
elementary school, I went
park, I used to feed ducks
this (moment in picture), I fell down and scraped my knee
this (moment), my family went to the beach
this (moment), my dad finally got a job
this (moment), we got a dog