On a test, my son was given this question:

People waiting for passsenger arrivals paced back and forth, which showed their anxiety. Adjective or Adverb Clause? He choose adjective because of the 'which' and because he felt it was modifying 'people waiting for passengers'. Our book lists 'which' under adjectives, but not under adverbs. He missed this question and doesn't understand the difference very well.
Thank you,
Patty

You need to reread that sentence carefully to see what the problem is. It's a poorly written sentence, for one thing. There is no one noun to which "which" is referring.

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/pronouns1.htm
Scroll down and read about relative pronouns.

Your son was right to consider a clause beginning with "which" to be an adjective clause. It should be. But this one seems to be modifying "paced back and forth" which makes it more adverbial in its use. As I said, it's a poorly written sentence, and I'd ask the teacher about it.

The clause is definitely an adverb clause, modifying paced. The problem is "which" -- ordinarily used as a relative pronoun introducing an adjective clause.

After checking several websites, however, I found one that includes "which" as a subordinate conjunction.

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/grammar/advcls.htm

http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/grammar_subordinate.html

A great way to get to Vancouver, British Columbia, is by train.

Is 'train' the subject or "way" or even Vancover, BC? And is 'to get' or 'is' the predicate?
Thank you,
Chris

The main verb is "is" and the complete predicate is "is by train." Everything else is part of the complete subject.

After this, when you need to post a new question, please use the Post a New Question link.

Thank.

The question your son encountered is testing his understanding of adjective and adverb clauses, specifically in regard to the word "which" in the given sentence. Let me explain the difference between adjective and adverb clauses and how to identify them.

Adjective Clauses:
An adjective clause is a dependent clause that acts as an adjective, providing additional information about a noun or pronoun. It modifies or describes a noun or pronoun within the sentence. Adjective clauses usually begin with relative pronouns such as "who," "which," "that," or "whose."

In the given sentence, the phrase "which showed their anxiety" is modifying the noun phrase "people waiting for passenger arrivals." It provides more information about the people, specifically their actions, showing that they were anxious. This makes it an adjective clause as it modifies the noun phrase.

Adverb Clauses:
An adverb clause, on the other hand, functions as an adverb within a sentence. It provides information about the verb, adjective, or adverb, and often answers questions such as how, when, where, why, or to what extent. Adverb clauses often begin with subordinating conjunctions like "when," "where," "because," "although," or "since."

In the given sentence, if the phrase "which showed their anxiety" modified a verb, adjective, or adverb, it would be an adverb clause. However, since it is modifying the noun phrase "people waiting for passenger arrivals," it is functioning as an adjective clause.

Therefore, your son correctly identified it as an adjective clause because it is modifying the noun phrase "people waiting for passenger arrivals." The provided book may not list "which" under adverbs because "which" primarily functions as a relative pronoun introducing adjective clauses.

It's possible that there was some confusion or ambiguity in the test question or the way it was framed. It's important for your son to keep practicing and reviewing the concepts of adjective and adverb clauses to strengthen his understanding and improve his performance in future.

I hope this explanation helps! If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.