Building Clauses
A clause is a collection of
grammatically-related words including a predicate
and a subject
(though sometimes is the subject is implied). A collection of
grammatically-related words without a subject or without a predicate is called
a phrase.
Clauses are the building
blocks of sentences:
every sentence consists of one or more clauses. This chapter will help you to
recognise and (more importantly) to use different types of clauses in your own
writing.
Written by David Megginson
Recognising
Clauses
Consider these examples:
clause
cows eat grass
phrase
cows eating grass
What about "cows
eating grass"? This noun phrase
could be a subject, but it has no predicate attached to it: the adjective phrase
"eating grass" show which cows the writer is
referring to, but there is nothing here to show why the writer is mentioning
cows in the first place.
clause
cows eating grass are visible from the highway
This is a complete
clause again. The subject "cows eating grass" and the predicate
"are visible from the highway" make up a complete thought.
clause
Run!
This single-word command
is also a clause, even though it does seem to have a subject. With a direct
command, it is not necessary to include the subject, since it is obviously the
person or people you are talking to: in other words, the clause really reads
"[You] run!". You should not usually use direct commands in your
essays, except in quotations.
Written by David Megginson
Review:
Identifying Clauses
Some of the following
passages are clauses,
with a predicate
(and usually, a subject),
while others are simply phrases.
See if you can spot the clauses. Remember: a phrase will not have a subject and
a predicate of its own.
Written by David Megginson
Using Clauses as Nouns, Adjectives, and Adverbs
If a clause can
stand alone as a sentence, it
is an independent clause, as in the following
example:
Independent
the Prime Minister is in Ottawa
Some clauses, however, cannot stand alone as sentences: in this
case, they are dependent
clauses or subordinate clauses. Consider the same clause
with the subordinating conjunction
"because" added to the beginning:
Dependent
when the Prime Minister is in Ottawa
In this case, the clause could not be a sentence by itself,
since the conjunction
"because" suggests that the clause is providing an explanation for
something else. Since this dependent clause answers the question
"when," just like an adverb, it
is called a dependent
adverb clause (or
simply an adverb clause, since adverb clauses are always dependent clauses).
Note how the clause can replace the adverb "tomorrow" in the
following examples:
adverb
The committee will meet tomorrow.
adverb clause
The committee will meet when the Prime
Minister is in Ottawa.
Noun Clauses
A noun clause is an entire clause which
takes the place of a noun in another clause or phrase. Like
a noun, a noun clause acts as the subject or object of a verb or
the object of a preposition,
answering the questions "who(m)?" or "what?". Consider the
following examples:
noun
I know Latin.
noun clause
I know that Latin is no
longer spoken as a native language.
In the first example, the noun "Latin" acts as the direct object of
the verb "know." In the second example, the entire clause "that
Latin ..." is the direct object.
noun
Their destination
is unknown.
noun clause
Where
they are going is unknown.
The question "Where are they going?," with a slight
change in word order, becomes a noun clause when used as part of a larger unit
-- like the noun "destination," the clause is the subject of the verb
"is."
Here are some more examples of noun clauses:
about what you bought
at the mall
This noun clause is the object of the preposition
"about," and answers the question "about what?"
Whoever
broke the vase will have to pay for it.
This noun clause is the subject of the verb "will have to
pay," and answers the question "who
will have to pay?"
The Toronto fans hope that the Blue
Jays will win again.
This noun clause is the object of the verb "hope," and
answers the question "what
do the fans hope?"
Adjective
Clauses
An adjective
clause is a
dependent clause which takes the place of an adjective in another clause or
phrase. Like an adjective, an adjective clause modifies a noun or pronoun,
answering questions like "which?" or "what kind of?"
Consider the following examples:
Adjective
the red
coat
Adjective clause
the coat which I bought
yesterday
Like the word "red" in the first example, the
dependent clause "which I bought yesterday" in the second example
modifies the noun "coat." Note that an adjective clause usually comes
after what it
modifies, while an adjective usually comes before.
In formal writing, an adjective clause begins with the relative pronouns
"who(m)," "that," or "which." In informal writing
or speech, you may leave out the relative pronoun when it is not the subject of
the adjective clause, but you should usually include the relative pronoun in
formal, academic writing:
informal
The books people read were mainly religious.
formal
The books that
people read were mainly religious.
informal
Some firefighters never meet the people they save.
formal
Some firefighters never meet the people whom they save.
Here are some more examples of adjective clauses:
the meat which they ate
was tainted
This clause modifies the noun "meat" and answers the
question "which meat?".
about the movie which made him
cry
This clause modifies the noun "movie" and answers the
question "which movie?".
they are searching for the one who
borrowed the book
The clause modifies the pronoun "one" and answers the
question "which one?".
Did I tell you about the author whom
I met?
The clause modifies the noun "author" and answers the
question "which author?".
Adverb
Clauses
An adverb
clause is a
dependent clause which takes the place of an adverb in another clause or
phrase. An adverb clause answers questions such as "when?",
"where?", "why?", "with what goal/result?", and
"under what conditions?".
Note how an adverb clause can replace an adverb in the following
example:
adverb
The premier gave a speech here.
adverb clause
The premier gave a speech where the workers
were striking.
Usually, a subordinating conjunction like "because,"
"when(ever)," "where(ever)," "since,"
"after," and "so that," will introduce an adverb clause.
Note that a dependent adverb clause can never
stand alone as a complete sentence:
independent clause
they left the locker room
dependent adverb clause
after they left the locker room
The first example can easily stand alone as a sentence, but the
second cannot -- the reader will ask what
happened "after they left the locker room". Here are some more
examples of adverb clauses expressing the relationships of cause, effect,
space, time, and condition:
cause
Hamlet wanted to kill his uncle because
the uncle had murdered Hamlet's father.
The adverb clause answers the question "why?".
effect
Hamlet wanted to kill his uncle so
that his father's murder would be avenged.
The adverb clause answers the question "with what
goal/result?".
time
After
Hamlet's uncle Claudius married Hamlet's mother, Hamlet wanted to kill him.
The adverb clause answers the question "when?". Note
the change in word order -- an adverb clause can often appear either before or
after the main part of the sentence.
place
Where
the whole Danish court was assembled,
Hamlet ordered a play in an attempt to prove his uncle's guilt.
The adverb clause answers the question "where?".
condition
If
the British co-operate, the Europeans may
achieve monetary union.
The adverb clause answers the question "under what
conditions?"
Written by David Megginson
Review: Noun,
Adjective, and Adverb Clauses
See if you can determine
the function of the hilighted dependent clause in
each of the following passages. Remember that a noun clause
answers questions like "who(m)?" or "what?"; an adjective clause
answers questions like "which (one)?"; and an adverb clause
answers questions like "when?", "where?", "why?",
"with what goal/result?", and "under what conditions?".
1.
Some people buy expensive cars simply because they can.
2.
Many people hope that Canada can resolve its economic
problems.
3.
The bankers need to know what they should do.
4.
Which one is the person who stole your car?
5.
Wherever
there is a large American city,
there will be poverty.
6.
The books which the professor assigned were very expensive.
7.
Canada might give up its marketing boards if the European Community gives up its
grain subsidies.
8.
That is the place where Wolfe's and Montcalm's armies fought.
9.
Unless
the crown can make a better case,
the accused murderer will not be convicted.
10.
It is important to ask whether the wedding is formal or
semi-formal.
, Prepared by Raksmey,SRS.
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