Classification of clauses
- 1. CLASSIFICATION OF CLAUSES By George Lasluisa
- 2. Clauses ■ We must consider what is a clause at first. ■ So, we must consider at first sentences and phrases.
- 3. Sentences ■ A sentence is a group of words that makes complete sense by itself ■ words like – adjectives, – verbs, – nouns – etc.
- 4. Phrases ■ A phrase is a group of words that doesn’t have a subject, a predicate, finite verb . ■ Also is not independently meaningful. ■ We need to use a phrase in a sentence to add meaning to it. ■ A phrase can find use as an adjective, noun or adverb.
- 5. Clauses ■ They locate somewhat in the middle of sentences and phrases. ■ A clause is a group of words which have their own subject, predicate, finite verb. ■ And may or may not be independently meaningful. ■ clauses are of two types- – principal or independent clause and – subordinate or dependent clause.
- 6. NOW LET’S GET STRAIGHT TO CLASSFIFICATION OF CLAUSES
- 7. Independent or Principal Clause ■ An independent clause is a group of words that consists of subject, predicate, finite verb and can make complete sense by themselves. ■ An independent clause is as good as a sentence. ■ Note that, independent clauses cannot be used as nouns, adverbs or adjectives simply because they are complete sentences by themselves.
- 8. Some examples: ■ It is dark. ■ You should go. ■ He is intelligent but he is selfish. ■ I want to come but I have some work to do. ■ The group of words in bold make complete sense independently and hence are examples of independent clauses.
- 9. Dependent or Subordinate Clause ■ Dependent clauses need an independent clause to complete its meaning. ■ A dependent clause also consists of a subject, predicate and a finite verb but it is not meaningful all by itself. ■ A key point to remember is that dependent clauses, just like phrases, can be used as: – a noun, – adverb or – adjective. ■ Let’s discuss these individually.
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- 11. Noun Clause ■ A dependent clause that functions like a noun in the sentence and generally acts as the subject or verb of the object is known as a noun clause. – I think that you will like it. Here the noun clause- that you will like it, acts as an object of the verb think. – Where she went is not known to anyone. Here the noun clause- where she went, acts as a subject of the verb- is not known.
- 12. Adjective Clause ■ An adjective clause is a dependent clause that acts as an adjective and hence qualifies a noun or pronoun in a sentence. For example: – I used the notebook that had a red coloured cover. Here the adjective clause- that had a red coloured cover, tells about the noun i.e. the notebook. – The hat which was made of jute was my favourite. Here the adjective clause- which was made of jute, speaks about the noun i.e. the hat.
- 13. Adverb Clause ■ An adverb clause is a dependent clause that does the job of an adverb i.e. modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb in a sentence. Of course, adverbial clauses can be further classified according to the various kinds of adverbs. For example: – Wait here till I come back. Here – till I come back, is an adverbial clause of time. – I shall be late as I have a meeting. Here – as I have a meeting, is an adverbial clause of reason.
- 14. NOTE! ■ Keep in mind as a rule of thumb that a lot of times dependent clauses start with a conjunction. ■ This is not always true but can be of great help for identification of dependent clauses in a sentence.