An additional piece of support for the adjectival reading comes from the fact that the where-clause sounds strange if decoupled from the NP:

Where they had been sitting, I sat down on the rock.

It doesn't sound quite as strange if 'rock' is indefinite, though, which I would take as an indication that the construction in general *can* be read two different ways (the use of the definite article strongly cues the adjectival reading, I'm guessing).

Where they had been sitting, I sat down on a rock.


Bill Spruiell
Dept. of English
Central Michigan University

-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar on behalf of STAHLKE, HERBERT F
Sent: Tue 8/11/2009 1:17 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Grammar question
 
I'd call it adjectival in the same sense that "on which they had been sitting" would be adjectival, a postnominal modifier.  Where would be a relative adverb.

Her b

From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Scott Woods
Sent: 2009-08-11 13:12
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Grammar question

Dear list,

I have a question about the following sentence: I sat down on the rock where they had been sitting.

Would you call "where they had been sitting" an adjective clause?

What would you call "where"?

Thanks,
Scott Woods


To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list"

Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/

To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
and select "Join or leave the list"

Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/


To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
and select "Join or leave the list"

Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/