An adverbial clause (sometimes referred to as an adverb clause) is a group of words that, together, functions as an adverb. This means that the clause describes or modifies a verb, adjective, or another verb. Making it highly confusing when referencing this with other types of clauses.
An adverbial clause is a group of words that function together as an adverb in a sentence. They are used to describe or modify a verb, adjective, or another adverb.
They are ‘subordinate’ clauses that give the reader more information about a particular action – why it happened, how it happened, when it happened, and under what circumstances something happened.
An adverbial clause begins with a subordinating conjunction and always contains a Subject and a Predicate.
Subordinate conjunctions are words that are used to join a subordinate clause (dependent clause) to an independent clause. Some of the most common subordinate conjunctions include:
| Before | If | When | That |
| After | As if | Where | So (that) |
| Although | Even if | Whenever | Than |
| Even though | As far as | While | Though |
| Since | As long as | Why | Provided (that) |
| Unless | As soon as | Whether | Rather than |
Let’s understand the use and purpose of adverbial clauses through this example:
Here, “because it was raining last night” is an adverbial clause as it tells us ‘why’ we did not have school today.
Here ‘after Marry left’, ‘as they have a holiday home there’, and ‘Although she drove really fast’ are all adverbial clauses that explain why, when, and how did a particular action take place.
So as you can see, the main function of the adverbial clauses is to act as an ‘Adjunct’. Adjuncts are optional words or phrases that are added to a sentence to supplement it. They are used to add value to the sentence by providing the reader with additional information about the action – something that standard adverbs fail to do.
As you see, here all the clauses marked in bold are adverbial clauses as they are:
Unlike other clauses, adverbial clauses are dependent clauses that cannot stand on their own. That is, when written alone, as an independent sentence, they make no sense. They are dependent on the main clause for completion and are used to provide readers with additional information about the event, i.e., the time, purpose, place, and cause of action.
The adverbial dependent clause can be placed both before and after the main clause. When placed before the main clause (independent clause), it is separated by a comma (,) but when placed after the main clause, it is written without a comma.
Adverbial dependent clause + comma (,) + main clause
Main clause + adverbial dependent clause
Here are some examples of adverbial dependent clauses:
All the above phrases are adverbial clauses as they have both a subject and a verb. But none of them are complete. They need a main clause to make sense. Let’s see how:
Now after attaching an independent clause, all the adverbial clauses are making sense.
| Type | Example | Adverbial Dependent Clause |
| Time | They went shopping before going home. | before going home |
| Place | My little sister follows me wherever I go in the house. | wherever I go in the house |
| Manner | My mother treats me as if I was a child. | as if I was a child |
| Condition | We will go to the picnic if the weather is nice. | if the weather is nice |
| Purpose | Ben started early so that he can reach the office on time. | so that he can reach the office on time |
| Concession | He could be heard clearly even though he was whispering. | even though he was whispering |
| Place | When I was in Paris, I got to meet my childhood friend. | When I was in Paris, |
| Manner | As I have learned to play guitar, I am confident about winning the competition. | As I have learned to play guitar, |
| Condition | After the storm passed, we went out to survey the damage. | After the storm passed, |
| Purpose | In order to reach the office on time, Ben started early. | In order to reach the office on time |
| Concession | Although I may never succeed, I would still play the game. | Although I may never succeed, |
Adverbial clauses are also known as adverbial subordinate clauses as they cannot stand as a complete sentence. However, just like adverbs, they provide meaningful information about the main event and help the reader get answers to questions like How? When? Where? Why?
Adverbial subordinate clauses begin with specific subordinating conjunctions that try to link dependent and subordinate clauses together. Some examples of subordinating conjunctions include:
| While | Which |
| When | Whom |
| Since | Hence |
| After | Due to |
| Because | Whenever |
| As if | Before |
| In order to | Whose |
| As soon as | Therefore |
Let’s take a look at some examples to see how adverbial subordinate clauses work:
Now, this in itself is a complete sentence or clause. It has its own subject and verb. It’s suggesting: we can all go to a movie.
But sometimes this is not all we want to convey. Now look at this sentence:
Here ‘if I can find my wallet’ is an adverbial subordinate clause that suggests an action that ‘We can go for a movie only if I can find my wallet’.
So, while the subordinate clause is incomplete when it stands alone, it gives a complete and new meaning to the main (independent) clause.
Other examples include:
Let’s understand adverbial clauses better with some more examples.
As mentioned above, adverbial clauses are dependent clauses that modify the verb, adjective, clause, or another verb. But not all subordinate phrases qualify to be an adverbial clause. There are some rules and requirements to meet.
Here are some key features that an adverbial clause has:
An adverbial clause is an adjunct. They are just like what supplements are to our body – necessary but not important. They provide additional information about the sentence and enrich its value. But they are not mandatory and their removal in no way, shape, or form makes the sentence incomplete or grammatically wrong.
Let’s understand this with an example:
Here ‘after he came back from the office’ is an adverbial clause that provides additional information about the sentence. But even if we remove it, the sentence is complete:
An adverbial clause is a dependent clause that cannot stand alone as a meaningful sentence. They need a dependent clause to make complete sense. Alone, they have no meaning of their own.
In the above sentence, as if he has seen a ghost is an adverbial clause that is dependent on the main clause. Alone, it is incomplete and he has no meaning.
Adverbial clauses always start with conjunction, also known as subordinate conjunctions. The main purpose of subordinate conjunctions is to join the main clause with the subordinate clause.
The subordinate conjunctions include if, when, as, until, because, although, before, after, etc.
An adverbial clause always contains a subject and a verb. In fact, it is the presence of subject and verb that make it a clause and not an adverbial phrase.
Here, the first sentence is an example of an adverbial clause where the subordinate clause has both a subject and a verb. The second sentence is an example of an adverbial phrase as there’s neither a subject nor a verb in the subordinate phrase.
Adverbial Clauses always modify the main verb by providing additional information about the subject/ action being taken.
Here the adverbial clause modifies the verb bought by describing ‘how’ the subject bought pizza for everyone.
When it comes in front of a sentence, it is followed by a comma (,)
When adverbial clauses are written in front of the sentence, we always separate them from the main clause by putting a comma (,). Such adverbial clauses are called Fronted adverbial clauses.
Since they were waiting, we went to meet them.
After the game finishes, we’ll go for lunch.
As soon as you reach home, give me a call.
Adverbial clauses are simple subordinate statements that intend to provide readers with additional information about the main clause or sentence. They help answer at least one of the four basic adverb questions: Why? When? How? Where? They help readers understand why a particular event took place, when it took place, where it happened, and/ how it happened.
In all the above sentences, the adverbial clause is answering at least one basic question like:
No, not all adverbial clause begins with the alphabet “a”. While after, as, and although are some of the common conjunctions used in adverbial clauses, there are many other like before, because, until, if, so, wherever, and many more.
The adverbs of time provide an answer to When? That is, when did a particular event happen or how often did it occur? The following table shows the most common subordinating conjunctions for a time along with some examples:
| Conjunctions | Examples |
| when, while, until, since, before, after, as, as long as, till, until, as soon as, no sooner than | After she came home, we all went for dinner.The students were making noise in the class since the teacher was not around. As soon as he came back from the office, we all went out to eat ice cream. |
The adverbs of place state ‘where’ a particular event happened. Common conjunctions and examples include:
| Conjunctions | Examples |
| where, anywhere, everywhere, wherever | Wherever we went, we were greeted warmly by the crowd. She moved to the city where job prospects were high. Whenever I meet her, I always find her happy and smiling. They found a snake where I was sitting a day before. |
These adverbial clauses explain ‘how’ an event took place. Common conjunctions include:
| Conjunction | Examples |
| as, like, the way | She spends a lot of money as she is very rich. He always scores good marks as he is very studious. My mother asked me to pain the room the way I wanted to. |
Adverbs of comparison help us compare the subjects of two clauses (the dependent and the independent clause). The comparison is either of degree or manner. Here are some examples:
| Conjunction | Examples |
| as, than, as … as | I am a better cook than my sister.Mark can speak French as fluently as English. She wanted a beautiful dress just like her sister has. He is as smart as he is tall. |
These adverbial clauses help us understand ‘why’ a particular event took place. Common conjunctions for adverb of reason and examples include:
| Conjunction | Examples |
| since, because, as, for | I could not attend the party as I was sick.Her mother bakes a cake every Sunday as she is a professional baker. She lost her job for she was very lazy. |
These adverbs explain the ‘condition’ for something to happen. Here are the common conjunctions with examples:
| Conjunction | Examples |
| with, unless, if, only if, even if, whether or not | Unless she apologizes, I will not forgive her.He went for a drive with his friends only after her mother came back. I am going to the concert whether you like it or not. Even if we become friends again, I am never going to trust her. |
An adverb of concession helps us to draw a ‘contrast’ between the main clause and the subordinate clause. The adverbs of concession often start with the following subordinating conjunctions:
| Conjunction | Examples |
| though, although, while, even though, whereas, even if | Though the phone charges have increased, the internet charges have decreased. While I am on vacation, I am planning to visit my grandmother. Although I studied hard, I did not score good marks. |
Now that you have understood what adverbial clauses are, practice them as much as you can, and feel free to be creative. The following adverbial clauses can help you get started:
| After I return |
| Before we go |
| As soon as I am back |
| Whenever you like |
| Since it was raining |
| Wherever you go |
| Because she is a nice girl |
| So as to save money |
| In case you are hungry |
More on sentence structure:
