Clause: is a group of words that contains both a subject and a verb functioning as a member of a complex or compound sentence.
Examples:
-
- I bought a new car last month. (single clause sentence)
- As I came home, I saw my mother. (Two clause sentence)
- As I came home, I saw my mother, and I greeted her. (Three clause sentence)
Types of clauses:
-
- Independent clause.
- Dependent clause.
Independent Clause: functions on itself to make a meaningful sentence and looks much like a regular sentence.
In a sentence two independent clauses can be connected by the coordinators: and, but, so, or, nor, for*, yet*.
Examples:
- She is a good girl.
- I want to buy a laptop, but I don’t have enough money. (Two independent clauses)
- He went to India and visited the Tajmahal. (Subject of the second clause is ‘he,’ so “he visited the Tajmahal” is an independent clause.)
- John smiles whenever he sees her. (One independent clause)
Dependent Clause: cannot function itself because it leaves an idea or thought unfinished. It is also called a subordinate clause. Dependent clauses help the independent clauses complete the sentence. A dependent clause alone cannot form a complete sentence.
subordinators: connect the dependent clause to another clause to complete the sentence. In each of the dependent clause, the first word is a subordinator. Subordinators include relative pronouns, subordinating conjunctions, and noun clause markers.
Example:
- When I was going to college, I had an accident.
- I know the person who won the match.
- I know that he can play the game.