Saturday, July 15, 2006

What is a Clause ?

Clause: A group of Subject - Predicate construction is called a Clause. 
OR 
A Subject and a Predicate form a clause
OR 
Such a group of words which forms part of a sentence, and contains a Subject and a Predicate, is called a clause.
  • He has a chain which is made of gold(which - subject; is made of gold - predicate).
  • I think that you have made a mistake. (you - subject; have made a mistake - predicate).

Independent Clause: can stand alone or makes a coomplete sense in itself.

Note: A simple sentence has just one clause, called an independent clause.

Dependent Clause or Subordinate ClauseThe dependent clause cannot stand alone as a short but complete sentence.
  • When Ram writes stories, he observes other people closely(Ram - subject; when writes stories - predicate). The word when signals that additional words are needed to complete its meaning.

Links:

What is a clause?
Subject and Predicate