Clause: A group of words which forms a grammatical unit and contains a subject and finite verb.

It forms a sentence or part of a

sentence and often functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb.

I have spent the money.

I have spent the money which you gave me.

Types of clauses:

Independent clause: An independent clause is a clause that can stand on its own as a distinct sentence.

I love eating cookies.

My dog barks a lot.
The kids ate lunch.

Dependent clause: In contrast, a dependent clause is not a complete sentence. Dependent clauses are sometimes known as
subordinate clauses. As their name implies, these clauses depend on independent clauses to clearly express ideas.

When I grow up,

Although he sings well,
the mouse that was hiding

To turn these dependent clauses into full sentences, you need to combine them with independent clauses:

When I grow up, I want to be a doctor.

Although he sings well, he hates karaoke.
I searched through the basement and found the mouse that was hiding.

Dependent clauses are of 3 kinds:

1. Noun clause: functions as a noun to add more details to a sentence | to identify whether a clause is a noun clause, try
replacing it with other nouns or pronouns.

- How, that, what, whatever, when, where, whether, which, whichever, who, whoever, whom, whomever, why…

John eats what his chickens lay.

(Compare this to "John eats eggs.")

Tom can invite whomever he chooses.

(Tom can invite her.)

How the boy behaved was not very polite.

What was not very polite?

He didn't know why the stove wasn't working.

What didn't he know?

2. Adjective clause: modifies nouns or pronouns and answer questions such as "which?" or "what type of?" | the purpose of
an adjective clause is to clarify or add detail about a noun, noun phrase or pronoun.

- Begins with a relative pronoun, which connects them to the word they describe. This comes directly before the relative
pronoun in the sentence. Relative pronouns include the words that, where, when, who, whom, whose, which and why.

John eats eggs that his chickens lay.

(Compare this to "John eats free-range eggs.")

I can remember the time when cell phones didn't exist.

Charlie has a friend whose daughter lives in China.
The tomatoes that I grew in my garden were very tasty.
3. Adverbial clause: which functions as an adverb | modifies verbs or verb phrases | answers questions about verbs or verb
phrases that relate to time, location, purpose, and condition | addresses questions of "why?," "when?," "where?," "to what
degree?," or "under what conditions?"

John eats eggs when his chickens lay them.

(Compare this to "John eats eggs regularly.")

Until I get paid, I can’t buy new tennis shoes.

I will go by car so that I can take more luggage.
He is older than his brother.
Siam will come to your party if you promise to let his band play.