Short Note on Types of Clauses

A combination of words that has a subject and a verb that are related to one another and form a connection is called a clause. This link is extremely important; rather than just being a random collection of words, a phrase provides information about what the subject in question is doing or how it is behaving. As a rule, but not always, a clause can serve as its own sentence since it conveys an action or a state of being. However, a clause cannot always work on its own.

A clause (or clauses) might be the only part of a sentence, or there can be numerous clauses. One thing that distinguishes a sentence from another is that it must have a subject and a verb that are connected to one another. Because clauses take on a wide variety of responsibilities in English, there are a plethora of structural and combinative options available to choose from.

Putting English Clauses Into Categories

When it comes to articulating a whole notion, a clause sits between a phrase and a sentence in the hierarchy of grammatical structures. In many contexts, a clause might act as though it were its own independent phrase. On the other hand, a sentence is unable to. The following is a concise explanation of the distinction between a phrase and a clause:

• Phrase: Meows so loudly
• Clause: That cat meows so loudly.

In this particular instance, the phrase can function as a sentence on its own. It is also possible for it to be included into a more sophisticated statement. Take, for instance

• When that cat is hungry, she makes such a loud meowing sound

How exactly do the various clauses in English function?

There are three various roles that clauses can play in a sentence: they can serve as adverbs, adjectives, or nouns respectively.

The following is an illustration of a noun clause

• She completely understood everything he said.

In this particular instance, everything that he said is a dependent clause, but it performs the function of a noun since it conveys the particular “thing” that she, the subject of the sentence, knows. It is possible to substitute anything he said with his explanation, and the phrase will still make perfect sense:

• She completely understood his explanation.

Try substituting the sentence in question for a noun in order to determine whether or not it is a noun clause. If the statement still makes sense, it got a noun clause. Here are two further instances of noun clauses that are exemplified by the substitution of nouns:

• They remembered what the keynote speaker covered.
• They remembered the keynote speaker’s presentation.

• I don’t know how the company handles on boarding.

• I don’t know their on boarding process.

Types of Clauses

Independent Clauses

A clause is considered to be independent if it is able to function as its own complete sentence when taken by itself. Consider some of the following examples:

• I love eating cookies.
• My dog barks a lot.
• The kids ate lunch.
• His vehicle is green.

As can be seen, independent clauses do not make for very lengthy or difficult phrases. Even while they might very well be components of more complicated phrases, by and large, we refer to them as simple sentences. There are also compound sentences, complicated sentences, and compound-complex sentences, which are all subcategories of complex sentences. A singular arrangement of independent clauses and dependent clauses gives rise to every conceivable variety of sentence. In a moment, we’ll delve into the many ways in which clauses may be joined together to form new sorts of sentences.

Dependent Clauses

In contrast, a dependent clause is not a proper sentence. The term “subordinate clause” can also be used to refer to dependent clauses. These clauses are dependent on other clauses that are independent in order to clearly communicate the topics being discussed. The following are some illustrations of dependent clauses:

• When I grow up
• Although he sings well
• The mouse that was hiding

It is necessary to link the following dependent clauses with independent clauses in order to make them into complete sentences:

• 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.

The dependent clause is placed before the independent clause, and the commas that divide the two sentences help to clarify their order. When you are writing, keep the following in mind: In complicated sentences, a comma is placed after the dependent clause every time it occurs first in the phrase.

Conclusion

One of the characteristics of written English is the clause. A clause, in its most basic definition, is a set of words that consists of a subject and a verb. A sentence is composed of its several clauses. They are word clusters that consist of a subject and a verb in one package. They can take on the role of the main clause, the coordinate clause, or the subordinate clause. Because a clause is one of the fundamental building blocks of written English, it is essential for youngsters to have a firm grasp on the concept. 

There are four primary kinds of clauses that may be utilised in a sentence. These are the main/independent clause, the subordinate clause, the adjective clause, and the noun clause. Each of these can be utilised individually or in combination. In contrast, the subordinate clause could not be utilised on its own to form a complete sentence in the same way that the independent clause could. In order for it to be correct, it needs to be combined with another clause, which is as follows: “When the man broke into the house, the dog barked at him.”