Tabla de Contenidos
There are several ways to interpret what a sentence is. Certain definitions suggest that a sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a period; other definitions more inclined towards the meaning indicate that the sentence is a set of words that has a complete meaning. Within the types of sentences we find the simple, compound and complex. And, in English grammar, it is within complex sentences that we find clauses. While clauses may also make complete sense, grammatically they rank below sentences in their organizational hierarchy.
The clauses
Clauses are groups of words that contain a subject and a verb. Unlike Spanish, in English the subject cannot be tacit in the clause. Simple sentences, for example, are clauses:
John eats chocolate (John eats chocolate).
Types of clauses
The clauses are mainly divided into independent and dependent. The simple sentence that we saw in the previous example is about an independent clause. The dependents need another clause that allows them to maintain a logical sense within the sentence, for example:
- John eats the chocolate that his mother brings him. (John eats the chocolate that his mother brings him)
In this case the clause that his mother brings him is dependent on the principal John eats the chocolate .
The dependent clause usually fulfills several functions within the sentence, such as adjective, adverb and noun.
Practical exercises
Identify the dependent clause in the following sentences in English. The answers are at the end of the article.
- My friend who lives in Miami looks like Tom Cruise.
- (My friend who lives in Miami looks like Tom Cruise.)
- You should not mention the incident that we had last year.
- (You must not mention the incident we had last year).
- He lost his project when he arrived.
- (He lost his project when he arrived).
- The boy who has green glasses is the leader.
- (The guy who wears green glasses is the leader.)
- Let’s find a chair that is not broken .
- (Let’s find a chair that isn’t broken.)
- We all have to stop when we have the red light .
- (We all must stop when we have a red light.)
Observations
- Within a complex sentence with two or more clauses, these are usually joined by a relative pronoun ( who, that, when, where) .
- The main clauses are also known as independent while the subordinate ones are known as dependent.
- Main clauses can be simple sentences, but dependent or subordinate clauses cannot.
- In the oral register, the subordinate clauses can lose the relative pronoun that linked them to the main one.
Exercise Answers
- My friend who lives in Miami looks like Tom Cruise .
- (My friend who lives in Miami looks like Tom Cruise.)
- You should not mention the incident that we had last year .
- (You must not mention the incident we had last year ).
- He lost his project when he arrived .
- (He lost his project when he arrived .)
- The boy who has green glasses is the leader.
- (The guy who wears green glasses is the leader.)
- Let’s find a chair that is not broken .
- (Let’s find a chair that isn’t broken .)
- We all have to stop when we have the red light .
- (We all must stop when we have a red light ).
References
- Castrejón, J. (2001). Restrictive and non-restrictive clauses in English . Available at: https://www.inglesmundial.com/Avanzado/Leccion14/Gramatica.html
- Hernandez, Alvarado and Rodriguez (2000). Conformation of relative clauses in Spanish . Available at: https://repositorio.una.ac.cr/handle/11056/17495
