Clauses

Clauses: In English grammar, a clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb. It can either be a complete sentence on its own or part of a larger sentence.

There are two types of clauses: independent clauses and dependent clauses.

An independent clause, also known as a main clause, is a group of words that can stand alone as a complete sentence. It expresses a complete thought and contains both a subject and a verb. For example, “I went to the store.”

A dependent clause, also known as a subordinate clause, is a group of words that cannot stand alone as a sentence. It depends on an independent clause to form a complete thought. It contains a subject and a verb but does not express a complete thought. For example, “because I was hungry.”

Dependent clauses can be used to provide additional information about a subject, such as time, place, or reason. They can be introduced by subordinating conjunctions like “because,” “although,” “when,” “while,” or “if.”

For example, “I went to the store because I was hungry.” In this sentence, “because I was hungry” is a dependent clause that provides the reason for going to the store.

It’s important to note that dependent clauses cannot stand alone as complete sentences, but they can be combined with independent clauses to create complex sentences.

For example, “I went to the store because I was hungry, but I didn’t find anything I wanted to eat.” In this sentence, “because I was hungry” and “but I didn’t find anything I wanted to eat” are both dependent clauses that are combined with the independent clause “I went to the store” to create a complex sentence.

Understanding the different types of clauses and how they function in a sentence is important for constructing clear and effective sentences in English.

Table of Contents

Types of Clauses:

There are two main types of clauses: independent clauses and dependent clauses.

Independent clauses:

An independent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a predicate and expresses a complete thought. It can stand alone as a sentence, and it does not depend on any other clause to make sense. For example:

The sun is shining.
She went to the store.
He played basketball with his friends.

Dependent clauses:

A dependent clause, also known as a subordinate clause, is a group of words that contains a subject and a predicate but does not express a complete thought. It cannot stand alone as a sentence and depends on an independent clause to make sense. For example:

After she finished her homework, she watched TV.
Because he was tired, he went to bed early.
Although it was raining, they decided to go for a walk.

There are three types of dependent clauses:

Adverbial clauses:

These clauses modify the verb in the independent clause and answer questions such as when, where, why, how, or to what extent. For example:

When I finish my work, I will go for a run.
Although she studied hard, she didn’t pass the test.

Adjectival clauses:

These clauses modify a noun or a pronoun in the independent clause and often begin with a relative pronoun such as who, whom, whose, that, or which. For example:

The book that I read was very interesting.
The person who called me was my friend.

Noun clauses:

These clauses function as a noun in the independent clause and often begin with words such as that, whether, or if. For example:

She doesn’t know if she can come to the party.
He asked whether we wanted to go to the movies.

Understanding the different types of clauses is important in English grammar as it helps to form clear and concise sentences, and also helps to identify and correct any grammatical errors.