A group of words that contains a subject and a verb.
Independent clause makes sense on its own as a sentence. E.g. I went to school.
Dependent clause doesn't make sense on its own as a sentence. E.g. Although I wasn't feeling well, I went to school.
A group of words without a subject-verb component. Noun phrase e.g. best friend. Verb phrase e.g. was working. Adjective phrase e.g. very pretty. Adverb phrase e.g. really slowly. Prepositional phrase e.g. in the bin.
The sentence, as we know, is a group of words that make complete sense. Let us see the various steps that lead to a sentence. The smallest part of the written English language is the letter - , and so on. A group of letters forms a word - great, happy, table, and so on. A group of words forms a phrase or a clause.
A phrase is a group of words that either has no verb or has a non-finite verb and does not make complete sense.
Examples: a. Two pretty girls b. Ducks swimming in the pond c. To sail in the ocean d. The old Chinese lady with the wooden lantern living on the ground floor of our building. In the above examples, you can see that whether the group of words is long or short, none of them contains a finite verb and none of them makes complete sense. Such groups of words are known as phrases.
A clause is a group of words that contains a finite verb and a subject and a predicate. But it does not make complete sense.
Examples: a. The chair which was very old b. The horse which came first in the race c. That is made of silver
In the above examples, we can see that though there is a finite verb and a subject and predicate in each of the group of words, none of them makes complete sense. Such group of words are known as clauses.
A group of words, without a finite verb, doing the work of a Noun, Adjective or Adverb in a sentence is called a phrase. A phrase does not contain a finite verb but may contain an infinite verb (i.e. Participle, Infinitive, Gerund). A phrase in itself does not make complete sense, but can have meaning only in the context of the sentence. The underlined words in the following sentences are phrases:
He was a man of great courage. A stitch in time saves nine. He is coming at this very moment. She denies stealing the clothes.
A Phrase that does the work of an Adjective or modifies a Noun or a Pronoun is an Adjective Phrase. Study the following Adjectives and the Adjective Phrases:
A Phrase that modifies a Verb, an Adjective or an Adverb is called an Adverb Phrase. It may answer these questions: When, Where, Why, How and To what extent. Study the following sentences:
A Phrase that does the work of a Noun is called a Noun Phrase. Look at these sentences:
In these sentences the words in bold are the Noun Phrases used as Subjects or Objects of verbs. Usually Noun Phrases answer the question what.
A clause is a group of related words containing a subject and a predicate. Example: He laughed. A clause refers to a group of related words (within a sentence or itself as an independent sentence) which has both subject and predicate. Example: I will meet him in office. The part of above sentence 'I will meet him' is a clause because it has a subject( 1 ) and a predicate (will meet him). On the other hand, the rest part of above sentence 'in office' lacks both subject and predicate (verb). Such group of words is called phrase. A clause may stand as a simple sentence or may join another clause to make a sentence. Therefore, a sentence consists of one, two or more clauses.
Examples: He is sleeping. 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) Clauses are divided into main clause (also called independent clause) and subordinate clause (also called dependent clause).
There are two major types of clauses main (or independent) clause and subordinate (or dependent) clause.
He is buying a shirt which looks very nice. The above sentence has two clauses 'He is buying a shirt' and 'which looks very nice'. The clause 'He is buying a shirt' expresses a complete thought and can alone stand as a sentence. Such a clause is called Main or Independent clause.
While the clause 'which looks very nice' does not express a complete thought and can't stand as a sentence. It depends on another clause (main clause) to express complete idea. Such a clause is called Subordinate or Dependent clause.
Main (or independent) clause is a clause that expresses a complete thought and can stand as a sentence.
Examples: I met the boy who had helped me. She is wearing a shirt which looks nice. The teacher asked a question but no one answered. He takes medicine because he suffers from fever. He became angry and mashed the vase into pieces. In the above sentences, underlined part shows main clause. It expresses complete thought and can stand as a sentence that is why a main or an independent clause is normally referred as a simple sentence.
Subordinate (or dependent) 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.
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. In the above sentences, underlined part shows dependent clause. 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 rice) to express complete thought.
A subordinate (dependent) clause may function as a noun, an adjective or an adverb in a sentence. On the basis of their function in a sentence, subordinate clauses can be divided into following types: (1) Noun Clause (2) Adjective Clause (3) Adverb Clause
A dependent clause that 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, whomsoever.
Examples: Whatever you learn will help you in future. (noun clause as a subject) What you said made me laugh. He knows that he will pass the test. Now I realize what he would have thought. (noun clause as an object)
A dependent clause that functions as an adjective in a sentence is called an adjective clause. An adjective clause works like an 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.
A dependent clause that functions as an adverb in a sentence is called an 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 clauses in terms of 'time, frequency (how often), cause and effect, contrast, condition, intensity (to what extent)'.
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: Condition: if, unless, only if, whether, or, or not, even if, providing 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.
(Session 2025 - 26)