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

• 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

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

• 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 Conjunctions

after although as as if as long as as much as as though because before by the time even even if even though	if if only if when if then in case in order to just just as now now that	once provided that rather than since so that supposing than though till unless	when whenever were whereas where if whenever wherever whether while whose whoever why
note: that, which and who are relative pronouns that can act as subordinating conjunctions in some cases

• 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."

Relative clause

• 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 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/

• 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"