Clause (grammar)

Clause

• = a part of a sentence that has a subject and a verb
  • and may or may not be a complete sentence or thought

What a clause is and is not

Description	Grammatical unit	Is a clause	Is not a clause
a grammatically complete thought	Sentence		X
a grammatically complete though that is part of a larger sentence	independent clause	Y
a part of a sentence that contains a subject & a verb but is not a complete thought	dependent clause	Y
a part of a sentence that contains two or more words but does not have both a subject & verb	phrase		X

• a clause is part of a sentence
  • a sentence is a grammatically correct and complete thought
    • i.e., it contains a subject and a verb and completes a thought
      • ex. "I go." = a sentence bc it contains and subject and verb and completes a thought
      • whereas, "I send" contains a subject and verb but is not a complete thought
        • "send" is a transitive verb that requires an object, as in "I send a letter"
    • a sentence may contain one or more clauses
  • phrase = a part of a sentence that has two or more words but does not have both a subject and a verb
    • if a sentence part contains a subject and a verb, it is a clause
• note: Santa is not a clause
• sources for clauses:
  • Types of Clauses (cliffnotes.com)
  • [Clauses - Restrictive and Nonrestrictive (kentlaw.edu)
    • this source is interesting as it addresses precision in language in terms of court cases and the law

main or dominant clause

• main or dominant clause = an IC (independent clause)
• the "main" clause is the clause the creates the "main idea" of the sentence
  • = that part of the sentence that makes the complete and most important, or "dominant" thought of the phrase
    • i.e., the main clause or part of the sentence that states its primary purpose or idea
  • everything else is additional information
• for the SAT test, the "dominant /main clause" is that core idea of a sentence that is the focus of the sentence
  • SAT tests measure #Emphasis shift
  • emphasis shift measures if the correct form of the sentence "emphasizes" the core or main idea of the sentence
  • passive voice de-emphasizes the dominant clause
    • i.e. OBJECT VERB SUBJECT
  • dominant /main clauses employ direct voice, i.e. SVO

independent clause

• Independent Clause (IC)
• = a sentence part that can stand as a complete sentence and thought
  • it is a clause because it is attached to or has another clause/s attached to it (otherwise it'd just be a sentence)
• IC contains SUBJECT + VERB at a minimum (SV)
• IC usually contains SUBJECT VERB OBJECT (SVO)
• since SUBJECT VERB OBJECT form the core of a sentence there is no punctuation separating them, with the following exceptions:

1. parenthetical information (commas, dashes and parentheses) can separate SVO from each other

• • i.e., S (parenthetical info) V (parenthetical info) O
• click EXPAND for examples of parenthetical separation of S from V and O:

• parentheses: S (parenthetical info) V (parenthetical info) O
• commas: S, parenthetical info, V, parenthetical info, O
• dashes: S -- parenthetical info -- V -- parenthetical info -- O
• ex. "Alex, an experienced pilot, landed the plane expertly."
  • • S= Alex V= landed O= plane
  • other parenthetical punctuation:
  • "Alex (an experienced pilot) landed the plane expertly."
    • "Alex -- an experienced pilot -- landed the plane expertly."
  • two commas, two dashes or two parentheses = parenthetical phrase
    • ex. Alex, and experienced pilot, landed, for the second time that day, the plane expertly.
      • • this is an awkward sentence but using it here to demonstrate how commas can separate a SUBJECT VERB OBJECT if used parenthetically
    • compare this construction:
      • "Alex, an experienced pilot, landed the plane expertly." to:
      • "The experienced pilot, Alex, landed the plane expertly"
      • "The experienced pilot Alex landed the plane expertly"
    • each form creates a different emphasis
      • in this case, the parenthetical construction emphasizes that it was Alex who landed the plane and that
    • if, for example, Alex was an inexperienced pilot, we might prefer a construction that emphasizes it, so,
      • instead of, "Alex, an inexperienced pilot, landed the plane expertly."
      • we might say, "The inexperienced pilot, Alex, landed the plane expertly" or "The inexperienced pilot Alex landed the plane expertly"

• click EXPAND for example of SVO lists:

• S, S V O
• S, S and S V and V O
• S, S and S V, and V O
• S, S and S V, V and V O and O
• S, S and S V, V and V O, O and O
  • note that with commas that separate a subject, verb, and/or object the final word in the list must not be separated from the related S V or O
• ex.
  • "Alex, Nia, and Joan are all experienced pilots"
  • "Alex, Nia, and Joan relied on, used, and proved their skills by landing their planes expertly"

dependent clause

• "Dependent Clause" (DC) is a sentence part that contains a subject and a verb but does not complete a thought
• also called "subordinate clause"
  • DC clauses are therefore attached to an IC that completes the clause as a complete sentence and/or thought
  • DC clauses add information to but are not necessary for the IC to make sense
• Note: technically, a sentence part that does not contain both a noun and a verb is a phrase
  • yet non-IC sentence parts are commonly referred to as "dependent clauses" when they are actually "phrases" if they do not contain a subject + verb

Click EXPAND for examples of DC:

• "Since I ate breakfast late, I'll skip lunch"
  • "Since I ate" = an incomplete thought and so not an IC
• example of a phrase that is not a clause as it does not contain a verb:
  • "Going to the store, I realized I left my wallet at home."
    • going = an -ing verb acting as a modifier or adjective and known as a "participal"
    • therefore, "going to the store" = a "participial phrase" and is not a DC
    • see
      • Participial Phrases (yourdictionary.com)
      • gerund-phrase (gingersoftware.com)

• see:
  • Identifying Independent and Dependent Clauses (owl.purdue.edu)
  • The Difference Between Dependent and Independent Clauses (merriam-webster.com)

subordinate clause

• subordinate clause is another name for a DC
  • we usually think of a subordinate clause as one that is formed by adding a subordinating conjunction
  • however, technically there are three types of subordinate clauses:
    1. adverbial clause: defines a verb, usually in terms of time, duration, extent, or condition (if)
    2. noun clause: acts as a noun
    3. relative clause: acts as an adjective to define a noun; can be restrictive or non-restrictive (see below)
• however, here will think of subordinate clauses as those that add additional and not required, or requisite, information to the main clause
  • in this sense, subordinate clauses are preceded by "subordinating conjunctions" (see below)

subordinating conjunction

• Subordinating conjunction "subordinates" an IC into a DC
  • i.e, (SC) renders or turns an IC into a DC
  • the reason is the the SC creates the need for additional information after the SVO
  • ex. "I love baseball" = a complete sentence and thought
  • by adding a SC to the sentence, it is no longer a complete thought:
  • ex. "Since I love baseball"
    • "Since" = SC and it "subordinates the IC "I love baseball" by creating the need for additional information in order to complete the thought:
    • "Since I love baseball, I watch it every chance I get."
• Click here for list of and more on Grammar#subordinating_conjunctions (see Grammar entry)

Relative clause

relative pronouns

Pronoun	For	Rule
who	people	subject (does the action): he, she, we, they
whom	people	object (acted upon): him, her, us, them
whose	people or things	possessive form of whom: his, her, us, their
that	people or things	subject or object: adds required information (no punctuation)
which	things	subject or object: adds additional information (usually non-restrictive, ie. with a comma)
* Source: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/relative-clauses/

• a type of "adjective clause"
• = a dependent clause that contains a subject-verb, but provides additional information and is not a complete sentence of thought by itself
• the "subject" of the clause is a pronoun (thus "relative," as pronouns relate to a noun)
• relative clauses are introduced by a relative pronoun (see table)
• relative clauses can be either restrictive or non-restrictive, per below
  • ex.
    • "Sue, who is always late, showed up on time."
    • "The PG-13 movie scared me, which was surprising."
• Sources:
  • Relative Clauses (unc.edu)
  • Grammar: Relative, Restrictive, and Nonrestrictive Clauses (walenu.edu)
  • Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Clauses—What’s the Difference?(grammarly.com)
  • Comma before which (thewordcounter.com)
  • Essential and Nonessential Adjective Clauses Examples (softschools.com)

restrictive relative clause

• goes by various names: necessary, requisite or defining clause
  • technically, also an "adjective clause" since it describes a previously stated (antecedent) noun
• "necessary" or "requisite" = the idea is the clause or phrase is necessary
• "defining" = the meaning of the sentence is defined by the clause
  • or: the sentence is not a complete thought without the clause
• restrictive clauses are not separated by punctuation
  • i.e.: since the information is necessary, there is no pause
  • ex.: "Glue that sticks to both my fingers and the paper is a pain"
    • vs. "Glue, that sticks to both my fingers and the paper, is a pain"
      • since the parenthetical phrase is "non-defining" (can be removed), that would leave us with only "Glue is a pain" which lacks the defining information as to what type of glue is a pain, the kind "that sticks to both my fingers and the paper"

because: when to use a comma

• because is a subordinating conjunction and not a relative pronoun
  • normally, a subordinate clause preceding the main clause would be separated by a comma:
    • Because it rained, we stayed inside"
  • and, normally, a subordinate clause following the main clause would not be separated by a comma:
    • We stayed inside because it rained
    • the reason is because the subordinate clause is requisite (necessary) information
  • however, there are times with the subordinate clause starting with because and following the main (independent) clause can be separated by a comma
    • if the information following the because is distinct and not directly explanatory (normally, "because" offers an explanation, making it requisite)
    • ex. We didn't play in the rain, because Mom said we might catch a cold
      • here, the speaker may wish for the subordinate clause following "because" to offer additional and not requisite information
    • other examples of because preceded by a comma:
      • Even if it's scary, don't close your eyes, because you'll miss the best part!
      • Playing tennis is fun, because it means the weather is good

non-restrictive relative clause

• or "Non-defining relative clause"
• or "non-essential" clause
  • = the additional information added by the clause is not necessary (or essential) for a complete sentence or thought
• ex.: "Glue, which I hate to use, always sticks to my hands."
  • "which I hate to use" is not essential to the idea that "Glue always sticks to my hands"
• see Restrictive relative clauses for sources

Other types of clauses

adjective clause

• = a dependent clause that contains a subject and verb but acts as a modifier or adjective
• see "relative clause"

adverbial clause

• = a subordinate clause created by a subordinating conjunction and adding information to the action of a sentence:
• adverbial clauses define or add information as to how, how much, when, where, why
• examples:
  • I'm staying until the park closes
  • As my grades sank, my heart sank, as well

finite and non-finite clauses

• refer to types of clauses with verbs that either show or do not show "tense" (past, present future)
  • = not an important category, but one that grammarians refer to in the context of "tense"
• a finite clause shows tense and is usually an ICs
  • ex. "Trey sent that text yesterday"
• non-finite clause does not show tense and is usually a DC
• non-finite clause adds information to the main clause (IC), but without marking "tense" (past, present or future)
  • it is the IC that shows the tense:
  • ex. Working hard, Jeremiah finished his project on time last night"
• the utility of these
• see https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/clauses-finite-and-non-finite

noun clause

• = a clause that functions as a thing or idea (nouns)
  • ex.: "What I love to eat the most is steak"
    • ""What I love to eat the most" = a clause that operates as the subject to the verb "is"