Clauses: Types and

functions of Clauses

By
Tanveer Gul
A clause is comprised of a group of words which includes
Definition
a subjectofand
a Clause
a finite verb.
A clause contains only one subject and one verb. The
subject of a clause can be mentioned or hidden, but the
verb must be apparent and distinguishable.

 Finite verbs are the actual verbs which are called the roots of
sentences. It is a form of a verb that is performed by or refers to
a subject and uses one of the twelve forms of tense and changes
according to the number/person of the subject.
Example:
 Alex went to school. (Subject – Alex – performed the action in the
past. This information is evident only by the verb ‘went’.)
 A clause “a group of words containing a
subject and predicate and functioning as a
member of a complex or compound sentence.”

– Merriam-Webster
Example:
I graduated last year. (One clause sentence)
When I came here, I saw him.
(Two clause sentence)
When I came here, I saw him, and he greeted me.
(Three clause sentence)
 Examples.
He is sleeping.      (one clause)
The kids were laughing at the joker. (one clause)

The teacher asked a question, but no one answered. 

  (two clauses)
I am happy, because I won a prize.(two clauses)

I like Mathematics, but my brother likes Biology, because

he wants to become a doctor.
  (three clauses)
 What is a Clause in a Sentence?
Clause Definition: A clause consists of a subject and a
verb and is the smallest grammatical unit that expresses a
thought.

In its simplest form, a clause in grammar is a subject plus

a verb.

The subject is the entity “doing” the action of the

sentence and the verb is the action that subject
completes.
Types of Clauses
There are two major types of clauses:

 Main (or independent) clause

 Subordinate (or dependant) clause.

Independent clauses
 As its name indicates, an independent
clause can stand on its own as a sentence.
It has a subject and a verb, and it expresses a
complete thought. An independent clause by
itself is called a simple sentence.
Examples
I will be there.
I came, I saw, I conquered.

We have arrived.

There is no smoke without fire.

He got home, slept and left for the library.

Who has read the book?
Get out now!

What a pleasant surprise this is!

She will travel to Lagos and board a flight to

London.
I saw the book but I could not buy it.
Basic Patterns of Independent Clauses
Pattern 1:
One independent clause (SV.)

 Mr. Jack eats pizza.

 I refuse.
 Basic Patterns of Independent Clauses
Pattern 2:
Two or more independent clauses.
They can be arranged in these ways:
(SV, and SV.) or (SV; however, SV.)

Connectors with a comma, the FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but,

or, yet, so

Connectors with a semicolon and comma: however,

moreover, nevertheless, nonetheless, therefore
Example:
Mr. Jack eats bread for breakfast every day, but I don’t see the
attraction.
Eating them makes him happy; however, he can’t persuade me.
 Subordinate (or dependant) clause.
Subordinate (or independent) clause is a clause which
does not express complete thought and depends on
another clause (main clause) to express complete
thought.

Subordinate clause does not express complete idea

and can’t stand as a sentence.

 A sentence having a subordinate clause must have a

main clause.
Example

           He likes Chinese rice which tastes good.

The clause “which tastes good” in above sentence is a

subordinate clause because it does not express
complete thought and can’t stand as a sentence. It
depends on main clause (he likes Chinese rise) to
express complete thought.
Examples
I met the boy who had helped me.

I bought a table that costs $ 100.

He takes medicine because he suffers from fever.

The teacher asked a question but no one

answered.
Types of Subordinate Clause

A subordinate (dependent) clause may function as a

noun, an adjective or an adverb in sentence. On the
basis of their function in a sentence, subordinate
clauses can be divided in to following types.

   1. Noun Clause

   2. Adjective Clause.
   3. Adverb Clause
   “A dependent clause that functions as a noun in a sentence is
1. Noun Clause
called noun clause.”

A noun clause performs same function like a noun in a sentence.

Example:
 What he did made a problem for his family.

In above sentence the clause “what he did” functions as a

noun, hence it is a noun clause.
 A noun clause works as a noun that acts as a subject, object,
or predicate in a sentence. A noun clause starts with
words “that, what, whatever, who, whom, whoever,
whomever”.
Examples:
 Whatever you learn will help you in future.
(noun clause as a subject)

What you said made me laugh.(noun clause as a

subject)

He knows that he will pass the test.(noun

clause as an object)

Now I realize what he would have thought.

(noun clause as an object)
2. Adjective Clause
 “A dependent clause that functions as an
adjective in a sentence is called adjective
clause.”

An adjective clause works like adjective in a

sentence. The function of an adjective is to
modify (describe) a noun or a pronoun.
Similarly a noun clause modifies a noun or  a
pronoun.
Example

He wears a shirt which looks nice.

The clause “which looks nice” in above sentence is an

adjective clause because it modifies noun “shirt” in
the sentence.
An adjective clause always precedes the noun it
modifies.
Examples:
I met the boy who had helped me.
 An apple that smells bad is rotten.
 The book which I like is helpful in preparation for test.
 The house where I live consists of four rooms.

 The person who was shouting needed help.

 Adjective clause begins with relative

pronoun (that, who, whom, whose, which, or
whose) and is also relative clause.
Adjective (relative) clauses can be restrictive
clause or non-restrictive clause
Restrictive and Non-restrictive Clauses
 Adjective (relative) clauses can be restrictive
clause or non-restrictive clause.

A restrictive clause limits the meaning of preceding

noun or pronoun.

A non-restrictive clause tells us something about

preceding noun or pronoun but does not limit the
meaning of preceding noun or pronoun.
Example
The student in the class who studied a lot passed
the test. (restrictive clause)

The student in the class, who had attended all the

lectures, passed the      test. (non-restrictive clause)

In the first sentence the clause “who studied a lot”

restrict information to preceding noun(student),
it means that there is only one student in the class
who studied a lot, hence it is a restrictive clause.
In the second sentence the clause “who had
attended all the lectures” gives us information
about preceding noun but does not limit this
information to the preceding noun. It  means there
can be several other students in the class who had
attended all the lectures.
Restrictive Clause
A restrictive clause restricts or defines the
meaning of a noun or noun phrase and
provides necessary information about the
noun in the sentence.

 It is not separated from the rest of the

sentence by commas.

Restrictive clauses are more common in

writing than non-restrictive clauses.
Here are a few examples:
The student who sits in the back of the
room asks a lot of questions.

The results that I obtained may invoke

positive social change.

The journalist whose story I read

yesterday has won prizes for her work.
When the relative pronoun functions as the object of
the sentence, it can (and usually is) omitted from the
relative clause.

Examples:
The results that I obtained may invoke
positive social change.
The article that I requested did not arrive on
time.
The participants who I interviewed met me at
the local library.
 Non-restrictive Clause
A non-restrictive clause adds additional information to a
sentence.
 It is usually a proper noun or a common noun that refers to a
unique person, thing, or event.

 It uses commas to show that the information is additional.

The commas almost act like parentheses within the sentence.

 If the information between the commas is omitted, readers

will still understand the overall meaning of the sentence.
A non-restrictive clause is also known as a nonessential
clause or phrase.
Here are a few examples:
I want to thank my father, Mohsin Kamal, for all
of his love and support.
 Withthe non-restrictive clause omitted: I want to
thank my father for all of his love and support.

The hypothesis, which I tested throughout the

research, was rejected.
 Withthe non-restrictive clause omitted: The
hypothesis was rejected.
I have found the article, which I have been
looking for.
 With the non-restrictive clause omitted: I have found
the article.
3. Adverb Clause
 “A dependent clause that functions as an adverb in a
sentence is called adverb clause”

An adverb clause like an adverb modifies a verb,

adjective clause or other adverb clause in a sentence.

 It modifies(describes) the situation in main

clause in terms of “time, frequency (how often),
 cause and effect, contrast, condition, intensity (to
what extent).”
The subordinating conjunctions used for adverb
clauses are as follows.

Time: when, whenever, since, until, before, after,

while, as, by the time, as soon as

Cause and effect: because, since, now that, as long as,

so, so that,

Contrast: although, even, whereas, while, though

Condition: if, unless, only if, whether or not, even if,

providing or provided that, in case
Examples
Don’t go before he comes.
He takes medicine because he is ill.
Although he tried a lot, he couldn’t climb up
the tree.
Unless you study for the test, you can’t pass it.
I will go to the school unless it rains.
You are safe as long as you drive carefully.
You can achieve anything provided that you
struggle for it.
What is an Adverb Clause?

An adverb clause is a subordinate

(dependent clause) that modifies a
verb, an adjective, or an adverb.
Adverb Clause :
1. Time 5. Result

2. Reason 6. Purpose

3. Concession 7. Place

4. Contrast 8. condiction
 1. Adverb Clause of Time
These clauses are introduced by when, whenever,

while, as, before, after, till, until, since and as

soon as,
• When he arrives, he will tell us the truth.

• Mary was dancing while John was singing.

• The train left as we arrived.

• I will stay with you until your mother comes home.

• After he had got the money, he left home immediately.

2. Adverb Clause of Reason
These clauses are introduced by because, since, for

and as, etc.

I was late because I could not catch the bus.

Since I was late, I took a taxi.

As the weather was bad, we cancelled the picnic

3. Adverb Clause of Contrast
These clauses are introduced by while

While Tom is a good math student, Pam does well in

English.
4. Adverb Clause of Result

These clauses are always linked with so that, so + adj. /

adv. + that and such + a + noun + that, etc.

Tom was so weak that he could not run.

It was such a strange story that no one

believed it.
6. Adverb Clause of Purpose
These clauses are always linked with so that, in order
that, for fear that, in case, etc.
6. Adverb Clause of Purpose
He arrived earlier, so that he would not be late.

They brought a lot of food for fear that they

would be hungry during the trip.

She brought the credit card in case she did not

has enough cash.

7. Adverb Clause of Place
These clauses are introduced by where and wherever.

Nobody knows where he has been to.

He travels wherever he likes.

 8. Adverb Clause of condiction
These clauses are introduced by if

If it rains tomorrow, I will take my umbrella.

 Exercise
Directions: Circle dependent clauses, and underline
independent clauses.
 
Although some people are afraid of ninjas, since they
are so deadly, I think that they’re cool. Because Ninjas
have so many enemies, they live high in trees on top of
mountains.
No one can reach them in their mountainous tree forts
unless they lower their rope ladders for them. If you
tried to climb up a ninja’s tree without the rope ladder,
you would probably get hit with a million ninja stars.
Despite their inhospitable nature, ninjas are usually
nice to children and animals.
Exercise
 Identify the clauses and point it whether it is a Noun
Clause, Adjective Clause, Adverb Clause.
a.The bankers need to know what they should do.

b. The books, which are lost, are not really necessary.

c. Whether you like it or not, you have to go to bed now.

d. Students who are intelligent get good grades.

e. No one knows he is.

f. When I was younger, I thought so.

g. He laughs best who laughs last.

h. I went to see what had happened.

i. He met a girl whose eyes were blue.

j. I shall remain where I am.

 Exercise : answers
a) The bankers need to know what they f ) When I was younger, I thought so.
should do. Ans. when I was younger-Adverb
Ans. what they should do-Noun Clause
Clause g) He laughs best who laughs last.
b) The books, which are lost, are not Ans. who laughs last-Adjective Clause
really necessary. h) I went to see what had happened.
Ans. which are lost-Adjective Clause Ans. what had happened-Noun
c) Whether you like it or not, you have Clause
to go to bed now. i) He met a girl whose eyes were blue.
Ans. Whether you like it or not- Ans. whose eyes were blue-Adjective
Adverb Clause Clause
d) Students who are intelligent get good j) I shall remain where I am.
grades. Ans. where I am-Adverb Clause
Ans. who are intelligent-Adjective
Clause
e) No one knows who he is.
Ans. who he is-Noun Clause