Grammar Clause

Anyone who marvels at how a finite system like the English language can be manipulated in infinite ways will benefit from understanding grammar clauses. This knowledge is particularly helpful for students, who can use it to improve both their writing and reading comprehension, and for teachers, who can use it to call attention to specific problems in their students' writing.

Defining a Clause

Words and phrases are the parts of language that make up clauses. Clauses are units of grammar that contain at least one predicate (verb) and a subject. A clause, therefore, contains a single verb group.

A clause is different than a phrase. A clause is a group of words with a verb and a subject. A phrase does not have a verb and subject.

A simple sentence contains only one clause. Here are some examples of simple sentences that are each comprised of a single clause:

• Darby played.
• Jamie cooked the dinner.
• A man in Cincinnati swam in the river.
• Sammy will excel on the varsity team.
• Jennifer has been dreaming during class.

A verb group can consist of a single word (such as played, cooked, and swam) or combine multiple words (as in will excel and has been dreaming). The essential component of a clause is the verb; and a clause only contains one verb or verb group.

Clause Functions

There are two main types of clauses: Independent and Dependent

Independent Clauses

An independent clause could be a sentence by itself or could be combined with other clauses.

Here are some examples of independent clauses (provided by Capital Community College) The independent clauses are italicized.:

• Glaciers often leave behind holes in the ground.
• These holes are called kettles, and they look just like scooped-out pots.

Dependent Clauses

A dependent clause cannot be a sentence by itself. If it was by itself it would be a sentence fragment. It needs to be combined with an independent clause to be a full sentence.

Here are some examples of independent clauses (provided by Capital Community College) The independent clauses are italicized and the dependent clauses are underlined.:

• Kettle holes resultwhen a large block of ice is left behind the glacier and then melts away, leaving a large depression.

Connecting Clauses

Connecting Independent Clauses

You can connect two independent clauses in several ways:

1) By adding a comma and a conjunction such as:

• And - Joe was afraid of bears and he ran quickly when he saw a bear approaching.
• But - The boy wanted to go to the movies but he had already spent his allowance.
• Or - You can start the fire with charcoal lighter or you can use a charcoal chimney.
• Nor - He wasn't interested in going to the party nor was he invited.
• Yet - The woman was late for the meeting yet she still stopped to freshen her lipstick.
• So - The little girl wanted to please her parents so she did everything they told her to do.

2) By using a semicolon

3) By using a semicolon and a conjunctive verb such as:

• However
• Moreover
• Nevertheless
• As a result
• Consequently

Connecting Dependent Clauses

Typically there are no connector words or punctuation when dependent clauses are combined with independent clauses.

Importance of Clauses

By using clauses correctly you can quickly and easily improve the quality of your writing and your ability to communicate with your reader. With a clause you can direct the attention of the reader so that your sentence is understood. You will also avoid incorrectly using dependent clauses as sentence fragments.