Relative adverbs | Modifiers | The parts of speech

- [Voiceover] Hey grammarians.

Today we're gonna talk about three of

the relative adverbs in English.

Which is where, when, and why.

And this over here is Peggy the dragon.

And we're gonna use the story
of Peggy the dragon in order

to figure out how to use
these relative adverbs.

You may be looking at
these words and thinking

that they look an awful
lot like question words.

And you're right they are.

These are questions words.

But you can also--

so you can use them to
ask a question like,

where are you from?

Because we use the word,

where to figure out
where stuff is in space.

So you know, where figures out place.

So Peggy could respond and say

that is the cave where I grew up.

And you can see that where,

here is not being used in a question way.

It's actually connecting

the clause I grew up,

to cave.

And this is why we call
this a relative adverb.

Because the word, where,
modifies the word grew.

It's I grew up, where.

And it also connects
this whole thing to cave.

Because where did peggy grow up?

A cave.

And it connects this whole chunk

to the rest of the sentence.

To the sentence being, that is the cave.

We use the word, when, to
ask questions about time.

So if I ask Peggy you
know, you're a dragon

when did you learn to breathe fire?

Because all dragons can breathe fire

(whooshing)

She would say,

I learned to breathe fire
when I was 10 years old.

So again we're using this word, when,

to connect these two ideas.

When did she learn to breathe fire?

When she was 10 years old.

And technically, when is an
adverb that modifies was.

Finally, we use the word why

to figure out reasons for doing stuff.

So if something strange were happening

in the countryside and I
asked Peggy, oh mighty dragon

do you know why it is raining fish?

Peggy could say,

I don't know why that's happening.

So again we've go these two clauses

that is happening, and I don't know.

And, why, connects and relates them.

And why is modifying is happening here.

And there are other relative adverbs like

while, is another way to say when.

And whence, which is
archaic and nobody really

uses it but it's another way to say where.

And if you're familiar
with Romeo and Juliet

from Shakespeare, you've probably

heard the word wherefore.

You know as in,

"Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?

Deny thy father refuse thy name."

Etcetera.

And that's an old fashioned
way of saying why.

So we don't really say wherefore anymore.

We don't really say whence anymore.

But while, is another way to say when.

Where, you ask about place.

When, you ask about time.

Why, is for reasons.

These are the relative adverbs of English.

You can learn anything.

David out.