WHAT IS A CLAUSE?

Sentences can be classified in terms of the kinds of clauses they contain.

​

CLAUSE: group of words with SUBJECT and VERB​

​

​

Independent Clause: Can stand alone as a complete sentence

Dependent Clause: it is an incomplete thought​

Typ​es of Sentences:

​SIMPLE

​COMPOUND

​COMPLEX

​NOUN CLAUSE

​ADJECTIVE CLAUSE

ADVERB CLAUSE

COMPLEX SENTENCES

​A dependent clause is dependent because its connecting word (because, if, so, which, that, etc.) links it to an independent clause.

Noun Clauses

Noun clauses replace the noun on a sentence.

It can refer to a person, place or thing

​

​*that clauses

*if/whether clauses

*question clauses= who, what, where, when, how ​

Sometimes we want to use a question as part of another question or a statement. A question that is changed to a noun clause is called an embedded question.

Direct Question:

How did they have the idea?

Embedded Question:

I don't know how they had the idea

​

​What was the first answer?

​I have no idea what the first answer was ​

How long ​will they wait for us?

I wonder how long they will wait for us. ​

Is she the new Prime Minister?

I can't tell if she is the new Prime Minister.​

​

AdjectivE Clauses ​

​It modifies a noun or pronoun.​

• Relative pronoun: who, whom, whose, which, or that

• Relative adverb: when, where, or why

​Men who are not married are called bachelors.

Last year we traveled to San Francisco, which is famous for its architecture.

The man that was arrested will receive a 10-year jail sentence.

Sally is the girl whose parents died.​

This is the country where the horrible war started. ​

AdjectivE Clauses ​

• Identifying: provides essential information to identify the noun

  ​

• Non-identifying: provides additional information about the noun

​A structure that honors our first president is the Washington Monument.

The monument, which stands 555 feet tall, is an imposing landmark.

AdjectivE Clauses ​

They can be seen as a combination of two sentences.

​

​¹A library is a place. ²You can find books there.

​

A library is a place where you can find books. ​

​

Adjective Clauses​ to Adjective Phrases

• He is the actor who is from the film school. -> c

• He is the actor from the film school.-> p

  ​

• I read the note that was on my book.-> c

• I read the note on my book-> p

​

Adverb Clauses ​

An adverb clause modifies a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or a sentence.

Adverb clauses always begin with a subordinator.​

Adverb Clauses ​

When he won the money, he decided to buy a car.​ (time)

​

She would have been very unhappy if she hadn't won the lottery. (condition)

​

He drove fast so that he could get to work on time. (​purpose)

​

She got a parking ticket because she parked illegally. (reason)​

​

Review of Dependent Clauses

​Read the next complex sentences. What type of dependent clause they're using ?

​

This clause answers the question "why," showing cause, so it is an adverb clause. It does not act as a subject or object, and it does not modify a noun or pronoun.

​

​

This clause answers answers the question "what?", and acts as the direct object of the verb "hope."

​

​

This clause modifies the noun "books," and modifying a noun or pronoun is the function of an adjective or (in this case) of an adjective clause. ​

​