Clauses in English Grammar 

Look at the sentences below.

When I heard the disturbance, I dropped the files that I had been examining, then ran out into the corridor.I let the door slip from my fingers and it closed behind me.

In the first sentence it appears that there are as many as four separate segments which look like partial sentencesconnected to each other in different ways:

When I heard the disturbance,I dropped the filesthat I had been examining,then ran out into the corridor.

In the second sentence there are two segments:

I let the door slip from my fingersand it closed behind me.

We can call these segments clauses. Many sentences are short - they contain only one segment or clause. Thesesingle-clause units are called simple sentences. Examples of simple sentences might include:

She has already read this book.The policeman asked me for some identification.The postman didn't arrive.No one knew the way.Why did he do it?Where did you last see your father?How much does this cost?Have you put the cat out?Will Bill be staying?Did they finish painting the house?

 As you can see, it is not possible to divide any of these up into smaller segments that look like sentences. However,many sentences, both in the spoken and the written language, are often longer and more complicated than thissimple type; such sentences are called multiple sentences. Sentence 2 (above) is an instance of a sentence whichcan be broken down into smaller segments or clauses.

Main clauses

Look at the three multiple sentences below:

Harry put the phone down and he stood up.I gave him my address, but he didn't contact me.We could go to the cinema or we could stay at home.The sentences can be divided into clauses as follows, and the main clauses are in bold.

Harry put the phone down (and) he stood up.I gave him my address, (but) he didn't contact me.We could go to the cinema (or) we could stay at home.

In all three sentences each of the main clauses (those without the connecting words and , but and or ) can stand onits own as an acceptable sentence - they all act as complete sense units in their own right. Clauses which can standon their own in this way and have equal importance are referred to asmain clauses; this will, of course, also includesimple sentences, which contain only one clause. Sentences which are constructed using the linking

 

words and , but , or and the few words which can be used in the same way, like also, too, yet , are called compoundsentences. These linking words for compound sentences are known ascoordinators since they serve to connectmain clauses on an equal footing.

Subordinate clauses

The construction of compound sentences is essentially quite straightforward since we only have to take two or moresimple sentences and insert a basic coordinatingword likeand , but and or . There are, however many more ways inwhich clauses can be connected to each other to form longer sentences. The following are just a few examples of how clauses can be conjoined. The main clauses are in bold.

 After he left work, he headed straight for the hotel .We're going to have to take the train because the car's broken down.If you heat water, it boils.

 Although she's the best in the class, she did badly in the exams.While I'm out, could you tidy up a bit ?If you examine the sentences carefully, you will notice that only one of the clauses in each sentence can stand aloneas a complete idea; these are shown in bold. The remaining clause in each sentence feels unfinished when used onits own. For example a native speaker would find the sense of 'although she's the best in the class' to be incompletewithout a second clause expressing an unexpected contrast, in this case 'she did badly in the exams'. The clausewhich can stand alone is called a main clause, while the clause which depends on the main clause is said tobe subordinate.

The range of linking words used with subordinate clauses is much wider than with the linkers in compoundsentences. A short list would include:

Time : after, before, as soon as, while, when, asCause : because, since, as,Condition : if, provided that, as long as, unlessConcession : although, though, even thoughRelative : which, who, that, where, whoseThese different types of sentence structure will be examined in more detail in other sections of this guide. Sentenceswhich are made up of clauses joined in this way are known as complex sentences. Here is an example:When I heard the disturbance,I dropped the filesthat I had been examining,then ran out into the corridor.The main clause here is b since this can be used on its own as a complete sense unit. Note that every sentenceneeds a subject telling us who or what is doing the action. In these sentences the subject is in bold:

The man was clearly in pain.The child was sitting beside the door of my old car.The old olive tree was still producing wonderful olives.The man wearing the old red hat was walking slowly down the road.One feature of the levels of sentence and clause is that they both need to include a person(s) or thing(s) carrying outsome sort of action. The word denoting the action in a sentence or clause is called a verb, while the person or thingperforming the action is typically a noun acting as the subject. The presence of this structure subject + verb,indicates that the collection of words is either a sentence or a clause; without this structure, a string of words isreferred to as a phrase.

 

Phrases in English grammar 

 A phrase can consist of just one word, but usually it will contain more than one. Examples include:

the unseen intruder the files that I had been examining the chance to clear my namecouldn't believehad lost Quite carelessly about midnight from my fingersBecause of this one stupid mistake

The most important point about phrases is that they do not include verbs that can change according to the timereference and in many cases they do not have a subject either. Unlike clauses, they can never stand alone assentences.Phrases are often classified into four basic types, taking their names from what is considered to be the class of themost important word in the phrase. There are seven word classes; these are:the verb the noun the adverb the preposition the adjective the pronoun the conjunction

The respective phrase types are named, unsurprisingly, the verb phrase, noun phrase, adverbphrase andprepositional phrase. The adjectival phrase and pronoun phrase are of minor interest to us heresince the former usually comprises short, simple phrases like, very sad , old enough, too sudden, while the latter areused in only a small number of expressions like, they all , almost no one, I myself etc. The conjunction (wordslikeand, but, so) is a special case in that it does not form a phrase, but helps to connect clauses into larger structures.

The class of the most important word in any phrase will decide what type of phrase it is. This important word is oftenreferred to as the head of the phrase. In the following examples, the head word is given in bold:a. the unseen intruder  b. the files that I had been examining c. the chance to clear my named. couldn't believe e. had lost  f. Quite carelessly  g. about midnight h. in the blue suit i. off the table

The first three extracts have a noun as their head word; they are all, therefore, noun phrases (from this point on I willrefer to them as NP).

In d. and e. the head word is a verb (believe and lost ), so they are verb phrases (VP).Extract f is an adverb phrase (AP) with two adverbs - the second is the main adverb, while quite qualifies it.The last three are all prepositional phrases (PP) as they start with prepositions.