Relative Adverbs

Have you ever received an invitation to a party? What information was in it? Most often the information found in an invitation includes why the party is happening. Is it for a birthday, graduation, or something else? It also tells you when the party is going to happen and where it's going to take place. Without this information, you'd be wandering around day after day looking in random places to find the party.

In the same way that party invitations describe the why, where, and when of a party, relative adverbs provide information about the people, places, or things found in a sentence. They're also used to join sentences or clauses, which are groups of words that have a subject and a verb but that are not complete sentences.

There are three relative adverbs that can be used in a sentence:

• why

• where

• when

Let's explore each of the relative adverbs and their purpose in a sentence.

Using Why

The relative adverb 'why' provides more information about the reason that an event happened or will happen. It takes the place of the words 'the reason for which' or 'for which' in a sentence. For example:

Do you know why I want the new Intergalactic Laser Tag game for my birthday?

In this case, 'why' helps link the clause 'do you know' to the item the person would like for his or her birthday. This creates a question focused on the reasons behind someone's desire for the laser tag game. Do you really need a reason to buy a laser tag game, though? Everyone knows laser tag is awesome!

Take a look at this sparkly picture. Can you think of a sentence about this picture that uses the relative adverb 'why'?

Here's one example:

Joy wondered why no one else at the 4th of July party wanted to light sparklers with her.

Using Where

The relative adverb 'where' helps to answer the question of location in a sentence. It takes the place of the words 'in which' or 'at which.' For instance:

Sarah showed us the water park where she wanted to have her Sweet 16 party.

The word 'where' connects two sentences together to tell you where Sarah wanted to have her party. Sounds like Sarah wants to make a splash with her friends by having her party at a water park!

The boys in this picture look like they're having fun. Can you think of a sentence about the picture that uses the relative adverb 'where'?

One possibility is:

Eric and Joe blew their noisemakers where the other party guests couldn't hear them.

Using When

The relative adverb 'when' provides information about the timing of something occurring. 'When' takes the place of the words 'on which' or 'in which.'

For example:

The birthday party got really crazy when the clowns started throwing stinky fish at people.

In this example, the word 'when' connects two sentences to tell you the timing of when the birthday party got out of hand. Sounds like those clowns definitely made a stink.

Now, can you think of a sentence about this picture of cupcakes that uses the relative adverb 'when'?

How about this one:

Lily was surprised when she saw her beautiful birthday cupcakes.

Lesson Summary

There are three relative adverbs: 'why,' 'where,' and 'when.' Relative adverbs link sentences and/or clauses together and provide additional information about the subject of a sentence. These adverbs tell you more about the time, location, and reasons for something occurring.