On 11-Aug-09, at 1:12 PM, Scott Woods wrote:
>
> 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"?

Following the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, I would say  
that 'where they had been sitting' is a relative clause functioning  
as a modifier in the NP 'the rock where they had been sitting'. And  
'where' is a relative preposition functioning as an adjunct of  
spacial location within the relative clause.

Best,
Brett

-----------------------
Brett Reynolds
English Language Centre
Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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