Definition
A clause is a group of related words containing a subject and a verb A clause can be usefully distinguished from a phrase, which is a group of related words that does
not contain a subject-verb relationship, such as "in the morning" or
"running down the street" or "having grown used to this harassment." A review of the different kinds of phrases might be helpful.
Words We Use to Talk about Clauses
Learning the various terms used to define and classify clauses can be
a vocabulary lesson in itself. This digital handout categorizes clauses
into independent and dependent clauses. This simply means
that some clauses can stand by themselves, as separate sentences, and
some can't. Another term for dependent clause is subordinate clause :
this means that the clause is subordinate to another element (the
independent clause) and depends on that other element for its meaning.
The subordinate clause is created by a subordinating conjunction or dependent word .
An independent clause, "She is older than her brother" (which could
be its own sentence), can be turned into a dependent or subordinate
clause when the same group of words begins with a dependent word (or a
subordinating conjunction in this case): "
Because she is older than her brother, she tells him what to do."
Clauses are also classified as [b]restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses. (The words essential and nonessential
are sometimes used and mean the same thing as restrictive and
nonrestrictive, respectively. British grammarians will make this same
distinction by referring to clauses with the terms defining and non-defining .)
A nonrestrictive clause is not essential to the meaning of the
sentence; it can be removed from the sentence without changing its basic
meaning. Nonrestrictive clauses are often set apart from the rest of
the sentence by a comma or a pair of commas (if it's in the middle of a
sentence).
- Professor Villa, who used to be a secretary for the President, can type 132 words a minute.
Review the Notorious Confusables section on the difference between That and Which for additional clarification on the distinction between
restrictive and
nonrestrictive.
Relative clauses are dependent clauses introduced by a Relative Pronoun (
that, which, whichever, who, whoever, whom, whomever, whose, and
of which). Relative clauses can be either restrictive or nonrestrictive. Review the section on Comma Usage
for additional help in determining whether relative clauses are
restrictive or nonrestrictive (parenthetical or not) and whether commas
should be used to set them off from the rest of the sentence. In a
relative clause, the relative pronoun is the subject of the verb
(remember that all clauses contain a subject-verb relationship) and
refers to (relates to) something preceding the clause.
- Giuseppe said that the plantar wart, which had been bothering him for years, had to be removed.
(In this sentence, the clause
in this color is
a restrictive [essential] clause [a noun clause — see below] and will
not be set off by a comma; the underlined relative clause [modifying
"wart"] is nonrestrictive [nonessential — it can be removed from the
sentence without changing the meaning of the sentence] and is set off by
commas.)
Some relative clauses will refer to more than a single word in the
preceding text; they can modify an entire clause or even a series of
clauses.
- Charlie didn't get the job in administration, which really surprised his friends.
Charlie didn't get the job in administration, and he didn't even apply for the Dean's position, which really surprised his friends.
A relative clause that refers to or modifies entire clauses in this manner is called a sentential clause . Sometimes the "which" of a sentential clause will get tucked into the clause as the determiner of a noun:
- Charlie might very well take a job as headmaster, in which case the school might as well close down.
Elliptical Clauses : see below .
Finally, everybody's favorite clause is the Santa Clause , which needs no further definition:
Independent Clauses
Independent Clauses could stand by themselves as discrete
sentences, except that when they do stand by themselves, separated from
other clauses, they're normally referred to simply as sentences, not
clauses. The ability to recognize a clause and to know when a clause is
capable of acting as an independent unit is essential to correct
writing and is especially helpful in avoiding sentence fragments and run-on sentences. .
Needless to say, it is important to learn how to combine independent
clauses into larger units of thought. In the following sentence, for
example,
- Bob didn't mean to do it, but he did it anyway.
we have two independent clauses — "Bob didn't mean
to do it" and "he did it anyway" — connected by a comma and a
coordinating conjunction ("but"). If the word "but" is missing from
this sentence, the sentence would be called a comma splice: two
independent clauses would be incorrectly connected, smooshed together,
with only a comma between them. Furthermore, a long series of clauses of
similar structure and length begins to feel monotonous, leading to what
is called "Dick and Jane" or primer language (after the kind of prose
that we find in first grade textbooks or "primers"). (See the section on
Avoiding Primer Language for advice and exercises on combining sentences.) It would also be helpful at this time to review the section on Punctuation Between Two Independent Clauses .
Clauses are combined in three different ways: coordination, subordination, and by means of a semicolon. Coordination involves joining independent clauses with one of the coordinating conjunctions:
and, but, or, nor, for, yet, and sometimes*
so. Clauses thus connected are usually nicely balanced in length and import.
- Ramonita thought about joining the church choir, but she never talked to her friends about it.
Subordination involves turning one of the clauses into a subordinate element (one that cannot stand on its own) through the use of a Subordinating Conjunction (sometimes called a dependent word) or a Relative Pronoun .
When the clause begins with a subordinating word, it is no longer an
independent clause; it is called a dependent or subordinate clause
because it depends on something else (the independent clause) for its
meaning. There are other ways of combining ideas — by turning
independent clauses into various kinds of modifying phrases . Again, see the section on Avoiding Primer Language .
- Although Ramonita often thought about joining the choir, she never talked to her friends about it.
- Ramonita never talked to her friends about joining the choir, because she was afraid they would make fun of her.
- Yasmin is Ramonita's sister. Yasmin told Ramonita to join the choir no matter what her friends said.
Joining these with the use of a relative clause:
Yasmin, [who is] Ramonita's sister, told Ramonita to join the choir. . . .
Semicolons can connect two independent clauses with or without the help of a conjunctive adverb (transitional expression) .
Semicolons should be used sparingly and only when the two independent
clauses involved are closely related and nicely balanced in terms of
length and import.
- Ramonita has such a beautiful voice; many couples have asked her to sing at their wedding.
- Ramonita's voice has a clear, angelic quality; furthermore, she clearly enjoys using it.
(Click on the words
semicolons and
conjunctive adverb above for further help with their use.)
Take these two quizzes on recognizing independent clauses before proceeding to the section on dependent clauses.
موضوع: Clauses: the Essential Building-Blocks 