Select the best option out of the following to complete the sentence with Adjective clause.
Youth is the time _____ the seeds of character are sown.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → when
An adjective is a word that describes a noun or a pronoun, for example a tall tree, the food is tasty.
Complete sentence: Youth is the time when the seeds of character are sown. "When the seeds of character are sown" describes the noun time.
| Option | What it tells | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) where | "Where" introduces a clause after a noun of place, not of time. | This is the village where I was born. |
| (2) how | "How" speaks of manner and does not follow a noun to begin an adjective clause ("the time how" is wrong). | – |
| (3) that | "That" mostly stands for a person or thing that is the subject or object of the clause. In informal speech it is sometimes put after a noun of time, but here the clause tells when the seeds are sown, and the best and standard choice is when. | – |
| (4) when (answer) | An adjective clause describes a noun and begins with a relative word (who, which, that, when, where). After a noun of time (time, day, year, age), the relative adverb when introduces the clause. | I can never forget the day when we first met. |
Contrast: when follows a noun of time (the time when). Where follows a noun of place (the village where).