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HE Lause: Recognize A Clause When You Find One
HE Lause: Recognize A Clause When You Find One
HE Lause: Recognize A Clause When You Find One
Clauses come in four types: main (or independent), subordinate (or dependent),
adjective (or relative), and noun. Every clause has at least one subject and one verb.
Other characteristics will help you distinguish one type of clause from another.
M AIN C LAUSE
SUBJECT + VERB = C O M P LE T E T H O U G H T .
Cola spilled over the glass and s plashed onto the counter.
Remember that every sentence must have at least one main clause. Otherwise,
you have a fragment, a major error.
S UBORDINATE C LAUSE
S U B O R D I N A T E C O N J U N C T I O N + S U B J E C T + V E R B = I N C O M P LE T E
THOUGHT .
1
Whenever lazy students whine
As cola spilled over the glas s and splashed onto the counter
M A I N C L A U S E + Ø + S U B O R D I NA T E C LA U S E .
S U B O R D I N A T E C L A U S E + , + M A I N C LA U S E .
Anthony ran for the paper towels as cola spilled over the glass
and splashed onto the counter .
A DJECTIVE C LAUSE
An adjective clause will begin with a relative pronoun (such as who, whom,
whose, which, or that) or a relative adverb (when, where, or why).
R E L A T I V E P R O N O U N O R A D V E R B + S U B J E C T + V E R B = I NC O M P LE T E
THOUGHT .
2
R E L A T I V E P R O N O U N A S T H E S U B J E C T + V E R B = I NC O M P LE T E T H O U G H T .
That had spilled over the glass and splashed onto the counter
That = relative pronoun (as the subject); had spilled, splashed = verbs.
The lazy students whom Professor Russell hit in the head with a
chalk eraser soon learned to keep their complaints to
themselves.
My dog Floyd, who loves pizza crusts , eats them under the
kitchen table, where he chews and drools with great enthusiasm .
Anthony ran to get paper towels for the cola that had spilled
over the glass and splashed onto the counter .
Punctuating adjective clauses can be tricky. You must decide if the adjective
clause is essential or nonessential and then use commas accordingly.
3
A dog that eats too much pizza will soon develop pepperoni
breath.
Dog is nonspecific. To know which dog we are talking about, we must have the
information in the adjective clause. Thus, the adjective clause is essential and
requires no commas.
If, however, we revise dog and choose more specific words instead, the adjective
clause becomes nonessential and does require commas to separate it from the
rest of the sentence.
N OUN C LAUSE
Ingredients = noun.
You really do not want to know what Aunt Nancy adds to her
stew.