A clause is a sequence, or group, of related words containing a subject (at least an understood subject) and a predicate (verb), as well as any necessary modifiers; and every sentence, no matter how short, contains at least one clause. For example, “Tom danced” is a clause, but so is “Tom danced all night long.” The second clause, however, contains the modifying adverbial phrase “all night long,” which tells how long Tom danced.
Some clauses are independent and can stand by themselves as sentences because they express a complete thought; for example, “Tom danced all night long.” Other clauses, however, are dependent upon independent clauses to give them full meaning and, as a result, cannot stand alone as sentences; for example, “When Tom danced all night long,” or “Where Tom danced all night long.”
Four Sentence Classifications
There are four classifications for sentences:
- Simple
- Compound
- Complex
- Compound/Complex
Each type of sentence contains a different distribution of clauses.
Clauses in Simple Sentences
A simple sentence consists of one independent clause and contains no dependent clauses, as in the previous example: “Tom danced.” A simple sentence may, however, contain a compound subject and/or a compound verb, but it is still only one clause, for example:
- Tom and Bob went hiking last Saturday and soon became lost. (“Tom and Bob” is the compound subject; “went and got” is the compound verb.)
Clauses in Compound Sentences
A compound sentence is composed of two independent clauses that are linked with either a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) or a conjunctive adverb (however, nevertheless, moreover, etc.), for example:
- Tom and Bob went hiking last Saturday, but they soon became lost.
- Tom and Bob went hiking last Saturday; however, they soon became lost.
Clauses in Complex Sentences
A complex sentence contains an independent clause and at least one dependent (or subordinate) clause, for example:
- When Tom and Bob went hiking last Saturday (dependent), they soon became lost and are still wandering around in the woods (independent).
Clauses in Compound-Complex Sentences
A compound/complex sentence is made up of at least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause, for example:
- Tom and Bob went hiking last Saturday (independent); however, they soon became lost (independent) because Tom insisted on using his new compass (dependent).
Adjectival, Adverbial, and Noun Clauses
Dependent (subordinate) clauses can be adverb clauses, noun clauses, or adjective clauses.
A noun clause usually fills a noun slot within the sentence, meaning that it acts in the following roles:
- Subject
- Direct object
- Indirect object
- Object of a preposition
- Subject complement
An adjective clause modifies a noun, and answers these questions:
- Which one?
- What kind?
- How Many?
- Whose?
An adverb clause modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb and answers these questions:
- How or in what manner?
- When?
- Where?
- How often?
- To what extent or degree?
The Role of Relative Clauses
An adjective clause that is introduced by a relative pronoun (this, that, who, whom, whoever, whomever, whose, which, what, whichever, whatever) is also called a “relative clause.” The relative pronouns are used to introduce subordinate clauses, for example:
- The Atlanta Falcons, which happens to be Tom’s favorite team, is playing the New Orleans Saints this weekend at Atlanta Stadium. (The clause beginning with “which” is an adjectival clause modifying “Atlanta Falcons” and answering the question, “Which team is Tom’s favorite?”)
- When the weather permits, Tom likes to grill hamburgers on the deck. (The introductory clause beginning with “when” is an adverbial clause modifying the verbal phrase “likes to grill” by answering the question: “When does Tom like to grill?”)
Some writers might wonder why it’s important to understand the different types of clauses and their functions within sentences; however, many grammarians argue that writers who possess such knowledge are better equipped to imbue words with power and authority than those who believe it inconsequential.
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