Download Clauses

Clauses
The building
blocks of
sentence
structure
A clause is a group of words
containing a subject and a verb,
and it is part of a sentence.
There are two major types- no
offence to Santa
Independent– can stand alone as a
sentence
 Subordinate– cannot stand alone as a
sentence

I. The independent clause

A group of word with a subject and a
verb that could stand alone as a sentence
Examples: I wanted to jump over the cliff
when my weird uncle arrived for a visit.
Godzilla is my favorite monster, but I like
Mothra as well.
II. The subordinate clause: a group of
words with a subject and verb, but it cannot
stand alone; thus, it is dependent.
It’s another wannabe: there are three types
Adjective
Adverb
Noun
A. The Adjective Clause
A group of words with a subject and a
verb that is used as an adjective
 They begin with relative pronouns
 (wh words)

 Who
 Whose
 Whom
 Which
 That

Adjective clause continued…
Will always follow the noun it refers to ..
Called the antecedent.
 Examples:

 The
girl who lives in Nebraska loves corn.
 The desk that came from Montreal is an
antique.
 She is the girl to whom I am indebted.
 The man whose coat is on the floor is cold.
Adjective clause continued…
When the adjective clause is removed, an
independent clause remains.
 If the adjective clause is not important
(non-restrictive), it is surrounded with
commas– clue proper nouns.

 Elijah
Wood, who stars in The War, appears in
the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
 The boy who stars in The War appears in the
Lord of the Rings trilogy.
B. The adverb clause
A group of words with a subject and a
verb and acts like an adverb.
 It begins with subordinating conjunctions.
Common examples:

 Since
 While
 If
 Until
because
after
as if
before
although
when
as long as
though
Adverb Clause continued…




They can modify verbs,
adjectives, and other
adverbs.
They answer the common
questions where, when,
how, how often, to what
extent, and why.
Examples: When I speak
quickly, I mumble my
words.
I must clean the yard
before I can attend the
concert.
Adverb Clause continued…




If the adverb clause
begins a sentence, it is
followed by a comma.
While my brother fishes, I
snorkel for lobster.
If the adverb clause is
located at the end, no
comma is used.
I snorkel for lobster while
my brother fishes.
C. The Noun clause…
another imposter
The noun clause has a subject and a verb and is
part of a sentence.
 It functions as a noun… Usually introduced by




That
Who
Whom
what
whoever
whomever
whatever
how
Noun Clause continued…
The noun clause functions just like a
noun.
 Location, location, location…

 Subject
… beginning
 Predicate nominative… after linking verb
 Direct object … after action verb
 Indirect object … after AV but before DO
 Object of preposition… after preposition
Noun Clauses continued…
When a noun clause is removed, a gap
may appear. HOWEVER, the remaining
information is considered an independent
clause. It’s weird but true.
 Whoever helps me will earn extra credit.
 You must play by whatever rules we
decree.

location, location, location
determines function
…At the beginning

How well you perform will determine your
grade.

Whatever you dream can come true.

What you are doing is important to me.

Subject
…after the linking verb

His goal is what he dreams.

The president will be whoever wins the election.

Our dinner is whatever we catch in the ocean.

Predicate nominative
…after the action verb

Lenny knew what to do.

Sandra sang whatever she wanted.

She did not know who it could be.

Direct object
… after the action verb but before
the direct object

Suzy mailed whoever signed up the list.

We gave whomever we wanted what we
wanted.

We tell whoever calls the sales prices.

Indirect object
…after the preposition

I will give the information to whomever I
want.

I read the labels on whatever I eat.

She gets in trouble for what she wears.

Object of the preposition
III. Sentence Structure

A. Simple Sentence: one independent
clause

Could have compound subjects or verbs–
length is not necessarily a clue
 1.
The boy with blue hair and the girl with a
crew cut dated for several months in the the
fall.
 2. Bob jumped for joy.
B. Compound Sentence
Two or more independent clauses
 Length is not a clue

 Bob
ran and Sue jumped
 a); b):
c),conjunction
 We stormed the Bastille, and then we set the
prisoners free.
C. Complex Sentence

One independent and one or more
subordinate clauses
 Bob
fell when I entered the room.
D. Compound complex

Two or more independent and one or
more subordinate clauses.

Bob ran and Suzy danced after I sang my
song.