UNIT IV: MEANS OF SENTENCE EXPANSION-SUBORDINATION

Subordination involves the linking of units at different levels

I went to the cinema because I wanted to see “Monsters Inc”

Superordinate. Subordinate.

FORMAL INDICATORS OF SUBORDINATION

Subordination is marked by some signal contained in the subordinate rather than superordinate
clause. Such a signal may be a number of different kinds: it can be a subordinating conjunction; a wh-
element; the item that; inversion; or (negatively) the absence of a finite verb form.

Subordinators (or more fully SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS) are perhaps the most important
formal devise of subordination.

1) Subordinating conjunctions (subordinators)= They are divided into 4:

 Simple subordinators: (just a simple word) after, (al)though, as, because, that, before, if, once,
since, till, unless, when(ever), where(ever), whereas, etc. SSC
 Compound subordinators: (consist of more than one word). Ending with that- in that, so that,
in order that, such that, except that, for all that. Ending with optional that- now (that),
providing (that), provided (that), supposing (that), considering (that), given (that), etc. Ending
with as- as far as, as long as, as soon as, so long as, etc. Ending with than- sooner than
(infinitive), rather than (infinitive). CSC
 Correlative subordinators: if… then, as… so, more/-er/less… than, no sooner… than, etc.
 Borderline subordinators: if only, supposing, the moment (that), immediately.
2) Wh- words= They are initial markers of subordination in interrogative wh-clauses, in relative wh-
clauses and in conditional-concessive wh-clauses. The subordinating wh-words are:
who/whom/whose, which, where, when, whether, how, what and why, together with the
compound words whoever, whichever, wherever, whenever, whatever and however. These wh-
words functions as the clause elements: subject, object, complement or adverbial. They are not
conjunctions. There is, however, some overlap between wh-elements and subordinators, where,
for example, appearing in both lists.
Eg: This is the house (which I saw yesterday) ---- The clause is functioning as an adjective of house,
and “which” is the Od within the clause.
He graduated (when I was in Europe) ------ “When” doesn’t have a meaning here and the clause
functions as adverbial, that’s why is a SSC.
3) The item that= Is the relative pronoun that (to be distinguished from the subordinating
conjunction that) is a subordination marker in restrictive relative clauses.
Eg: Sheila visited the house (that he had bought). ------ The whole clause resembles an adjective
and is a relative clause.
Sheila knew (that he had bought a house). ------- The whole clause resembles a noun (Od) and
“that” has no function here, that’s why is a nominal clause and, therefore, a SSC.
4) Absence of finite verb form= Is itself an indicator of subordination, since non-finite and verbess
clauses are generally subordinate. It can be divided into:
 -Ing participle: Sheila likes (travelling abroad).
 -ed participle: (The exams finished). Sheila travelled abroad.
  To-inf: After the exams, Sheila wanted (to travel abroad).
 Bare inf: All Sheila wanted was (travel abroad).
5) Subject-operator Inversion= Is a marker of subordination in some conditional clauses, where the
operator is had, were or should.
Eg: (Had I known more), I would have refused the job.
It also appears in concessive clauses.
Eg: (Happy though she was), she didn’t want to let anyone go to the trip.

CLASIFICATION OF SUBORDINATE CLAUSES Points of view Structural

Functional

 Functional classification of subordinate clauses= The function in the sentence The class of
word they resemble.
1) Nominal clauses: Subject, Od and Complement.
2) Adverbial clauses: Adverbials (adjuncts, disjuncts or conjuncts)
3) Adjectival clauses: Postmodifiers.
 Structural classification of subordinate clauses= The structure of the clause.
1) Finite: (conjugated). Eg: She was fascinated (when she arrived in England).
2) Non-finite: She went to England (to do a summer course).
3) Verbless: (The exams over), Sheila went to England to do a summer course.

NOMINAL CLAUSES

There are six types That clauses

Wh-interrogative clauses

Yes/no interrogative clauses

Exclamative clauses

Relative clauses

Non-finite clauses

1) Nominal that clauses= They can occur as Subject (That she is still alive is a consolation), Real
subject (It is obvious that she is jealous), Direct object (I told him that he was wrong), Subject
complement (The assumption is that things will improve), Appositive (Your assumption, that things
will improve, is unfounded)- they both have the same reference- or Adjectival complement (I’m
sure that things will improve).
It cannot, however, occur as prepositional complement or as object complement.
When the that clause is object or complement, the conjunction “that” is frequently omitted in
informal use, leaving a zero-that clause.
When the clause is subject, that (which cannot be omitted) can be paraphrased by “the fact
that….”. ------- (The fact) that she is still alive consoles me.
 Zero that clauses: We can have zero that clauses when they function as: direct object (I
noticed she is jealous), Complement of the subject (The problem is she is jealous), Adjectival
complement (He is glad she is jealous) and Real subject (RS) (It is obvious she is jealous).
2) Nominal wh-interrogative clauses= The dependent wh-interrogative clauses occur in the whole
range of functions available to the that clause, and in addition can act as prepositional
complement: Subject (How the book will sell depend on its author), Direct object (I don’t know
why he left her), Subject complement (The problem is who will water the plants when I’m away),
Appositive (My question, why he left her, surprised him), Adjectival complement (I’m not sure
what she prefers) and Prepositional complement (My explanation was based on what I had read).
As regards meaning, these clauses resemble wh-questions in that they leave a gap of unknown
information, represented by the wh-element.
3) Nominal yes/no interrogative clauses= Its signals of subordination are “If” and “Whether”. Eg: Do
you know if/whether the shops are open? It functions as Direct object (Can you tell me whether
she will come?
The alternative interrogation is formed with “If/whether… or”: I don’t know whether it will eain or
be sunny.
Only whether can be directly followed by or not: I don’t care whether or not she comes. *I don’t
care if or not she comes.
If cannot occur in subject position: Whether she comes or not doesn’t concern me. *If she comes
or not doesn’t concern me.
A clause beginning with whether cannot be negative: I don’t care if she doesn’t come. *I don’t care
whether she doesn’t come.
If cannot be used when the clause is a PC, only whether: It all depends on whether she’ll come. *It
all depends on if she’ll come.
The if clause cannot function as appositive: My question, whether she’ll come or not, has not been
answered. *My question, if she’ll come or not, has not been answered.
4) Nominal exclamative clauses= They express surprised and the signals are “How” and “What”. They
can function as Real subject (It’s incredible how fast she can run), Direct object (I remember what
a good time I had at your party) and Prepositional complement (I read an account of what an
impression you had made).
When we want to differentiate these clauses with the “wh-interrogative” ones, we have to use the
wh-element in exclamatives as premodifiers. And the wh-elements in interrogatives would be
central determiners or pronouns.
They didn’t know what a crime he had committed. ------what=PRMDF, a=CD
They didn’t know what crime he had committed. ---------CD
5) Nominal relative clauses= They are also introduced by a wh-element, but more common followed
by “ever”. They can function as: Subject (What he is looking for is a wife), Direct object (I’ll phone
whoever I have to, if this is necessary), Indirect object (He gave whoever came to the door a
winning smile), Subject complement (Home is where your friends and family are), Object
complement (You can call me whatever you like), Appositive (Let us know your college address
(that is, where you live in term time) and Prepositional complement (You should vote for whichever
candidate you think is the best).
The nominal relative clause is much closer to noun phrase status than other nominal clauses are. It
can normally be paraphrased by a noun phrase containing a postmodifying relative clause:
Whoever breaks this law deserves a fine -------- (“Anyone who….”)
I’ll give you however much tobacco you need --------- (“… any amount… that you need”)
Quality is what counts most ---------- (“Quality is that which…”)
Tomorrow is when it would be most convenient ------------ (“… the time when…”).
6) Non-finite clauses= We may have:
 Nominal –ing clauses: They are those dependent clauses whose signal of subordination is the
a.f.v.f. Also called “Participle clauses” can occur in the following positions: Subject (Eating
 people is wrong), Direct object (I don’t like watching TV), Subject complement (Her favourite
free time activity is watching TV), Appositive (What she likes most, watching TV, takes up most
of her time), Adjectival complement (She is happy watching TV) and Prepositional complement
(She’s never tired of watching TV).
It is the most common type of participle clause, that which has no subject, that is illustrated
above. When a subject does occur, the form it assumes is broadly as follows:
GENITIVE CASE in formal style: “I’m surprised at his/John’s making that mistake”.
OBJECTIVE CASE (for pronouns) or COMMON CASE (for other noun phrases) in informal style:
“I’m surprised at him/John making that mistake”.
It is commonly claimed that the genitive is the only “correct” form, but is fact it frequently has
a stilted effect, and is particularly unsuitable when the subject is an inanimate or abstract
noun phrase which would not normally take the genitive case; a long noun phrase with a
“group” genitive is also avoided: “The crisis has arisen as a result of recent uncontrolled
inflation’s having outweighed the benefits of devaluation”.
On the other hand, a pronoun in the objective case is disliked in subject position: “Him being a
Jesuit was a great surprise” (very informal). Many prefer to avoid both possibilities where
alternatives are available: “It was a great surprise that he was a Jesuit”.
 To-infinitive nominal clause: They are those dependent clauses whose signal of subordination
is a.f.v.f and which can occur as: Subject (To relax in a situation like this is rather difficult),
Direct object (He likes everyone to be happy), Subject complement (My wish is to be a pilot),
Appositive (His ambition, to be a straight actor, was never fulfilled) and Adjectival complement
(I’m glad to help you).
The subject of a to-inf. clause is normally preceded by for (which is perhaps acting here more
as a conjunction than as a preposition). The subject, when a pronoun, is in the objective case:
“The idea is that we should meet on Thursday.
for us to meet on Thursday. “
When the clause is Od, however, the for is omitted: “He wants me to leave (rather than *He
wants for me to leave)
 Bare infinitve and verbless clauses: Two minor types of nominal clause that we must briefly
consider are the bare infinitive clause (without to) and the nominal verbless clause.
The “to” of the infinitive is optionally omitted in a clause which, as complement, expands the
meaning of the verb DO: “All I did was (to) turn off the gas”, “What the plan does is (to) ensure
a fair pension for all”. It can occur as Subject (Relax after lunch is what you have to do) and
Subject complement (All you have to do is relax after lunch).
With a few superordinate verbs (feel, see, hear, watch, have, let, etc) the bare inf. Nominal
clause may function as Od (They let her relax after lunch).
The category of a verbless nominal clause is required to account for a type o subject which,
although superficially a noun phrase, has some of the structural as well as semantic
characteristics of a clause:
“A friend in need is a friend indeed” (proverb).
“Wall-to-wall carpets in every room is the housewife’s dream”.
They may be paraphrased with the aid of non-finite clauses:
“To be a friend in need is to be a friend indeed”
“Having wall-to-wall carpets in every room is the housewife’s dream”.
ADVERBIAL CLAUSES.

Adverbial clauses, like adverbials in general, can occur in a final, initial or medial position within the
main clause (generally in that order of frequency, medial position being rather rare). We can classify
them from two points of view: Syntactically and Semantically.

SYNTACTIC CLASSIFICATION: Adjuncts, Disjuncts and Conjuncts.

SEMANTIC CLASSIFICATION: Time, Place, Concession, Reason or cause, Purpose, Manner, Result,
Proportion, Condition, Circumstance, Comparison and Preference.

1) Adverbial clauses of time: If finite, they are introduced by one of the following subordinators:
after, as, before, since, once, till, until, when(ever), while, now (that), as long as, as soon as,
immediately, directly. Eg: “Buy your tickets as soon as you reach the station”, “When I last saw you,
you lived in Washington”, “Our hostess, once everyone has arrived, was full of good humour”.
The –ing clause may be introduced by after, before, since, until, when (ever), and while: “He wrote
his greatest novel while working on a freighter”.
-Ed clauses follow until, once, when(ever) and while: “Once published, the novel caused a
remarkable stir”.
Verbless clauses may follow as soon as, once, when(ever) and while: “When in difficulty, consult
the manual”.
2) Adverbial clauses of place: They are introduced by where or wherever: “They went wherever they
could find a job”, “Where the fire had been, we saw nothing but blackened ruins”.
Non-finite and verbless clauses occur with both the subordinators: “Where(ever) known, such facts
have been reported”, “When(ever) possible, all moving parts should be tested”.
3) Adverbial clauses of condition: Finite adverbial clauses of condition are introduced chiefly by the
subordinators If (positive condition) and Unless (negative condition): “He must be lying if he told
you that”, “Unless the strike has been called off, there will be no trains tomorrow”.
REAL AND UNREAL CONDITIONS: A “real” condition leaves unresolved the question of the
fulfillment or non-fulfillment of the condition, and hence also the truth of the proposition
expressed by the main clause. In an “unreal” condition, on the other hand, it is clearly expected
that the condition will not be fulfilled, thus: REAL: If he comes, I’ll see him. UNREAL: If he came, I’d
see him.
4) Adverbial clauses of concession: Are introduced by although or though. Other conjunctions
include while, whereas, even if, occasionally if, etc.
“No goals were scored, although it was a spectacular game”
“Even if you dislike music, you would enjoy this concert”
“Whereas John seems rather stupid, his brother is clever”
Non-finite and verbless clauses of concession are often introduced by conjunctions, but not by
whereas.
 OVERLAP OF CONDITION AND CONCESSION: Whereas conditional clauses state the dependence of
one circumstance or set of circumstances on another: “If you treat her kindly, she’ll do anything for
you”, concessive clauses imply a contrast between two circumstances; ie that in the light of the
circumstance in the dependent clause, that in the main clause is surprising: “Although he hadn’t
eaten for days, he looked strong and healthy”.
5) Adverbial clauses of reason or cause:

6) Adverbial clauses of circumstance: They express a fulfilled condition or (to put it differently) a
relation between a premise (in the subordinate clause) and the conclusion drawn from it (in the
main clause). Because since and as can convey this meaning, but in addition there is a special
circumstantial compound conjunction, seeing (that): “Seeing that the weather has improved, we
shall enjoy our game”.
Non-finite and verbless clauses are often used, but without subordinator: “The weather having
improved, we enjoyed the rest of the game”
7) Adverbial clauses of purpose:

8) Adverbial clauses of result:

9) Adverbial clauses of manner: They are introduced by (exactly) as, (just) as: “Please do it (exactly)
as I instructed (“in the way that…”)”. If an as-clause is placed initially, the correlative form so, in
formal literary English, may introduce the main clause: “(Just) as a moth is attracted by a light, (so)
he was fascinated by her”.
10) Adverbial clauses of comparison: Such examples above provide a transition to this type of clauses,
introduced by as if, as though: “He looks as if he is going to be ill”.
If there is doubt or “unreality”, the modal past is used: “He treated me (just) as if he had never met
me”.
11) Adverbial clauses of proportion: Proportional clauses are an extension of the category of
adverbial clauses of comparison; they express a “proportionality” or equivalence of tendency or
degree between two circumstances, and like other clauses of comparison just illustrated, they may
be introduced by as (with or without the formal matching correlative form so):
“As time went on, (so) their hopes began to wane”.
“As the lane got narrower, (so) the overhanging branches made it more difficult for us to keep
sight of our quarry”
The second proportionality could also be expressed in another form, in which the clauses are
introduced by the correlative items the… the, followed by the comparative form:
“The narrower the lane got, the more difficult the overhanging branches made it for us to keep
sight of our quarry”.
This restructuring can only take place, however, of both clauses contain comparative forms. The
fronting of the comparatives in both clauses here results in the kind of syntactic orderings one
finds in relative and wh-interrogative clauses:
The later you arrive (A S V), the better the food is (… C S V).
 12) Adverbial clauses of preference:

SUPPLEMENTIVE CLAUSES

Because, like non-restrictive relative clauses and and-clauses, they have the chameleon-like semantic quality
of adapting to context, these adverbial participial and verbless clauses may be designated simply adverbial
supplementive clauses. Those which have no overt subject are similar in effect to non-restrictive relative
clauses, since the “understood subject” in such cases provides a link with the main clause, rather as the
relative pronoun provides such a link in postmodifying relative clauses. Those which have no overt subject,
such as “No further discussion arising, the meeting was brought to a close” may be designated absolute
clauses, since they are not overtly bound to the main clause, even on a semantic level, by any shared element.
CONDITIONAL CLAUSES= LEER DE COPIA

RELATIVE CLAUSES

Are those subordinate clauses that function as postmodifiers in complex noun phrases and are linked to a
part or all the main clause by a relative pronoun. This relative pronoun behaves as a back pointing element
to the head of the NP (called The Antecedent).

The complex Noun Phrase

PREMODIFICATION HEAD POSTMODIFICATION

Are those items placed before Around which other All the items placed after the
the head but following components cluster head.
determiners.

Prepositional Phrases Relative Clauses Adjectival

RESTRICTIVE AND NON-RESTRICTIVE

Modification can be restrictive or non-restrictive. That is, the head can be viewed as a member of a class
which can be linguistically identified only through the modification that has been supplied (restrictive). Or
the head can be viewed as unique or as a member of a class that has been independently identified (for
example, in a preceding sentence); any modification given to such a head is additional information which is
not essential for identifying the head, and we call it non-restrictive.

In “The pretty girl standing in the corner who became angry because you waved to her when you entered is
Mary Smith” the girl is only identifiable as Mary Smith provided we understand that it is the particular girl
who is pretty, who was standing in the corner, and who became angry. Such modification is restrictive. By
contrast, if a man (in a monogamous society) says “Come and meet my beautiful wife”, the modification
“beautiful” is understood as non-restrictive. Again, “Mary Smith, who is in the corner, wants to meet you”
has a non-restrictive relative clause since Mary Smith’s identity is independent of whether or not she is in
the corner, though the information on her present location may be useful enough. In these examples, the
modification is inherently non-restrictive, since the heads in question-being treated as unique- will not
normally admit restriction. But any head can be non-restrictively modified: “The pretty girl, who is a typist,
is Mary Smith. Here, the only information offered to identify the girl as Mary Smith is the allusion to her
prettiness; the mention of her work as a typist is not offered as an aid to identification but for additional
interest.

RESTRICTIVE: Though most of the examples we usually see are restrictive, it is in the non-restrictive relative
clauses that the most explicit forms of relative pronoun are typically used. In restrictive clauses, frequent
use is made of a general pronoun that which is independent of the personal or non-personal character of
the antecedent and also of the function of the pronoun in the relative clause:

Provided the relative pronoun is not the subject of the relative clause, as in (1) and (2), a further option
exists in relative clause structure of having no relative pronoun at all: the clause with “zero” relative
pronoun. The examples (3-6) could take this form:

Some choice exists in placing a preposition which has a wh-pronoun as its complement; there is no such
choice with that and zero, where the preposition must be postposed.

The choices are summarized in the diagram:

Just as that and zero are available when the relative pronoun is dominated by a preposition, so they can be
used when the relative pronoun is part of a place, time, or cause adjunct. With place adjuncts, the
preposition must usually be expressed: “This is the university (that) he works at”.

NON-RESTRICTIVE: The loose non-restrictive relationship is often semantically indistinguishable from

coordination (with or without conjunction) or adverbial subordination, as we indicate by paraphrases of the
examples below. The repertoire of pronouns is limited to the wh-items: “Then he met Mary, who invited
him to a party”, “Here is John Smith, who(m) I mentioned the other day”, “He got lost on Snowdor, which
was enveloped in fog”, “He got lost on Snowdor, which he was exploring”.

APPOSITION