Identify the Adjective Clause in the following sentence:
They never fail who die for a noble cause.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → who die for a noble cause
An adjective is a word that describes a noun or a pronoun, for example a tall tree, the food is tasty.
Adjective clause (relative clause):
- An adjective clause is a group of words that:
- has its own subject and verb,
- describes a noun or pronoun,
- begins with a relative pronoun such as who, whom, which or that.
- This sentence: "who die for a noble cause" begins with who, has the verb "die", and tells us which people "They" are. The main clause is "They never fail". The adjective clause has been moved to the end.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: a noble cause — Incorrect. It is a noun phrase with no verb, so it is not a clause.
Option 3: they never — Incorrect. It is only part of the main clause "They never fail".
Option 4: die for — Incorrect. It is only a verb with a preposition, cut out of the clause without its relative pronoun and object.