English 1 (Accelerated)

  • Parts of Speech
  •  Parts of a Sentence
  •  Phrases
  •  Clauses

Chapter 4

The Clause

Rules:

Independent and Subordinate Clauses

  • 4a. A clause is a group of words that contains a verb and its subject and is used as part of a sentence.

Kinds of Clauses

  • 4b. An independent (or main) clause expresses a complete thought and can stand by itself.
  • 4c. A subordinate (or dependent) clause does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone.

The Uses of Subordinate Clauses

  • 4d. An adjective clause is a subordinate clause used as an adjective to modify a noun or pronoun.
    • Example: Across the street is the house where I was born. (“where I was born” modifies the noun “house.”
  • 4e. An adverb clause is a subordinate clause that modifies a verb, an adjective, or an adverb.
    • Example: Before the game started, Bryan and I ate lunch in the stadium. (“Before the game started” modifies the verb “ate.”
  • 4f. A noun clause is a subordinate clause used as a noun.
    • Example: What she said surprised me. (“What she said” replaces the noun “words.”

Sentences Classified According to Structure

  • 4g. Classified according to structure, there are four kinds of sentences: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex.
    1. A simple sentence has one independent clause and no subordinate clauses. It has only one subject and one verb, although both may be compound.
    2. A compound sentence has two or more independent clauses but no subordinate clauses.
    3. A complex sentence has one independent clause and at least one subordinate clause.
    4. A compound-complex sentence contains two or more independent clauses and at least one subordinate clause.

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