Adverbial clauses

A wide variety of different conjunctions are used to introduce adverbial clauses. Common conjunctions used to introduce adverbial clauses are given below.

Adverbial clauses of time: when, after, before, as soon as

• He had left before I arrived.
• He fell in love with a French girl when he was at university.
• As soon as he received the telegram, he left for his native place.

Adverbial clauses of reason: because, as, since

• She was upset because she had lost her job.
• As he was in a bad mood, I decided not to disturb him.
• Since he hasn’t paid the dues, we will not renew his subscription.

Adverbial clauses of purpose: so that, in order that

• I started early so that I would not get stuck in the traffic.

Adverbial clauses of contrast: although, whereas

• Although he works three jobs in a day, he doesn’t earn enough to support his family.
• Alice is sociable whereas her younger sister is quite reserved.

Adverbial clause of comparison: as if, as though

• He brought her up as if / as though she was his own child.

Adverbial clause of condition: if, provided (that), so long as, in case

• If we miss the last bus, we will have to walk home.
• If you find my keys, please leave it on my table.
• I will lend you some money provided that you pay me back by Sunday.
• You can go out to play provided that you finish your homework first.
• You can borrow my car so long as you return it before 10 pm. (OR You can borrow my car provided that you return it before 10 pm.)