Clauses,Sentence and sentence structure,Noun Clauses,Adverb Clauses

Clauses

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What is a clause?

A clause is a group of words that consists of a subject and a predicate. There are two major types of clauses:

• Independent clauses
• Dependent clauses

Independent clauses

An indpendent clause, also called a main clause, is like a sentence. It consits of a subject and a predicate and can stand alone like a sentence.
Examples:

• She died last week
• He likes her.

Dependent clauses

A dependent clause, also called subordinate clause, has a subject and a verb but, unlike a dependent clause, it cannot stand alone as a sentence.

• because I am in love.
• that you lent me.
• who is over there.

  Sentence and sentence structure

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  What is a sentence?

  In grammar, a sentence is the basic grammatical unit. It contains a group of words and expresses a complete thought.
  A sentence consists of a subject and a predicate. For example in the sentence "Bill writes good poems" Bill is the subject of the sentence and writes good poems is the predicate.

  Simple and complex sentences

  Simple sentences contain one clause:
  

  • The girl is learning how to drive

  Complex sentences contain more than one clause.
  

  • The girl who is learning how to drive is still twelve years old.
  • She faced the whole trouble with courage and managed to solve the problem all by herself.

  Types of sentences

  There are four types of sentences:

  1. Declarative sentenceApplicants will be answered in due time. (It makes a statement.)
  2. Imperative sentenceShow me your photo album, please. ( Gives a command or makes a request.) 
  3. Interrogative sentenceDo you like this photo? (Asks a question.) 
  4. Exclamatory sentenceWhat a beautiful dress she is wearing ! (Shows strong feeling)

Adjective Clauses

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What is an adjective clause?

An adjective clause (also called  adjectival clause) is a dependent clause which modifies a noun and usually begins with a relative pronoun (which, that, who, whom, whose) or a relative adverb (where, when, why).

Examples:

• Students who work hard get good grades.
  → The adjective clause who work hard modifies the noun students.
• The book which you lent me is very interesting.
  → The adjective clause which you lent me modifies the noun the book.
• Leila, whose father is a famous poet, invited me to her birthday party.
  → The adjective clause whose father is a famous poet modifies the noun Leila.
• My grandmother remembers the days when there were no personal computers.
  → The adjective clause when there were no personal computers modifies the noun the days.

There are two types of adjective clauses:

• restrictive or defining clauses
• non-restrictive or non-defining clauses

Restrictive / Defining Clauses

Restrictive (also called defining) clauses give essential information about the noun. These clauses don't require commas.

Examples

• The man who is standing there is a secret agent.
• The writer who won the Nobel Prize is from Colombia.

Non-restrictive / non-defining clauses

Non-restrictive (also called non-defining) clauses give extra or non-essential information about the noun. These clauses require commas.

Examples

• Fast food, which most people love, is not very healthy at all.
• My uncle, who is a farmer, lives in the countryside.

Adverb Clauses

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What is an adjective clause?

An adverb clause (also called  adverbial clause) is a dependent clause (or subordinate clause) which functions as an adverb.

Types of adverb clauses

There are many types of adverb clauses:

Type	Example
Place	He thinks he will be happy where he has recently moved.
Time	He wrote the book when he was 25.
Manner	The kids cleaned the room as we wanted.
Reason	I forgave him because I liked him.
Purpose	They bought a piece of land so that they can build a bigger house.
Concession	Although he is very old, he runs fast.
Condition	If I had a lot of money, I would travel around the world.
Comparison	He can run as fast as a world champion.

Noun Clauses

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What is a noun clause?

A noun clause (also called  nominal clause) is a dependent clause that plays the role of a noun. A noun clause can function as:

• a subject
• an object

Examples

• What you have done pleased so many fans. (What you have done → subject)
• Whoever comes first will score a point. (Whoever comes first → subject)
• I think  that he is the best match for her. (that he is the best match for her → object)
• You know what you have done. (what you have done → object)