LEARNING ACTIVITY -3

CLAUSES

A clause is the smallest grammatical unit that can express a complete thought. In some
languages it may be a pair or group of words that consists of a subject and a predicate.
Kroeger, Paul (2005)

A. Independent Clause

Independent clause (or, main clause) is a full predication that may stand alone as a sentence. It
contains the main subject and verb of the sentence.

Indonesia is a beautiful country.

I thanked the woman who helped me.
We saw several plays when we were in New York
I couldn’t hear what he said
The man stole the jewelry and he hid it in his home.
The girl who won the race is happy

1. The Usage of Independent Clause

a. Independent Clause Used Alone in Simple Sentences

 Indonesia is a beautiful country.

 John drives too fast.
 She will go to Jakarta next week.
 Do you like spinach?
 What kind of food do you like best?
 Avery famous musician from the conservatory played for one hour yesterday.
 Mary, john, George, and I went to the restaurant last night.
 The securely wrapped package of spare part of the tractor came yesterday by registered
mail

b. Independent Clause Used in Compound Sentences

Independent clause can be joined by punctuation alone, by coordinate conjunction, or by
conjunctive adverb.

John was sick; he didn’t come to school. (independent clauses joined merely by
punctuation)

John was sick so he didn’t come to school.(independent clauses joined by a

coordinate conjunction )

John was sick: therefore, he didn’t come to school.(independent clauses joined

 by a conjunctive adverb)

2. Dependent Clause

Dependent clause isa a group of words that begins with a relative pronoun or a subordinating
conjunction. A dependent clause has both a subject and a verb but (unlike an independent
clause) cannot stand alone as a sentence. Dependent clauses include adverb clauses, adjective
clauses, and noun clauses.

"A dependent clause (also called a subordinate clause) is a clause that cannot stand alone,
because something about it implies that there is more to come. On its own, a dependent
clause is left hanging, its meaning incomplete. It must be combined with an independent
clause in order to form a complete sentence.
(Stilman. 1997)

a. Functions of dependent clauses

Under this classification scheme, there are three main types of dependent clauses: noun
clauses, adjective clauses, and adverb clauses, so-called for their syntactic and semantic
resemblance to nouns, adjectives, and adverbs, respectively. In the following English examples,
dependent clauses are shown in bold:

 "What you say is not as important as how you say it."

 I found the book that she suggested to me.

 She worried because they were already an hour late.

The clause what you say in the first sentence is noun clause; it functions as noun in the
sentence. That suggested to me in the second sentence is adjective clause ; it modifies the noun
book . In English, adjective clauses typically come at the end of their noun phrases and usually
have a relative pronoun forming a relative clause. Because they were already an hour late is
adverb clause; it modifies the verb worried.

b. Structures of Dependent Clauses

The other major way to classify dependent clauses is by their structure, although even this
classification scheme does make some reference to the clause's function in a sentence. This
scheme is more complex, as there are many different ways that a dependent clause can be
structured. In English, common structures include the following:

Many dependent clauses, such as "before he comes" or "because they agreed," consist of a
preposition-like subordinating conjunction, plus what would otherwise be an independent clause.
These clauses act much like prepositional phrases, and are either adjective clauses or adverb
clauses, with many being able to function in either capacity.

Relative clauses, such as "which I couldn't see," generally consist of a relative pronoun, plus a
clause in which the relative pronoun plays a part. Relative clauses usually function as adjective
clauses, but occasionally they function as adverb clauses; in either case, they modify their
relative pronoun's antecedent and follow the phrase or clause that they modify.

Fused relative clauses, such as "what she did" (in the sense of "the thing she did"), are like
ordinary relative clauses except that they act as noun clauses; they incorporate their subjects into
their relative pronouns.

Declarative content clauses, such as "that they came," usually consist of the conjunction that
plus what would otherwise be an independent clause, or of an independent clause alone (with an
implicit preceding that). For this reason, they are often called that-clauses. Declarative content
clauses refer to states of affairs; it is often implied that the state of affairs is the case, as in "It is
fortunate that they came," but this implication is easily removed by the context, as in "It is
doubtful that they came."

Interrogative content clauses, such as "whether they came" and "where he went" (as in "I
don't know where he went"), are much like declarative ones, except that they are introduced by
interrogative words. Rather than referring to a state of affairs, they refer to an unknown element
of a state of affairs, such as one of the participants (as in "I wonder who came") or even the truth
of the state (as in "I wonder whether he came").

Small clauses, such as "him leave" (as in "I saw him leave") and "him to leave" (as in "I wanted
him to leave"), are minimal predicate structures, consisting only of an object and an additional
structure (usually an infinitive), with the latter being predicated to the former by a controlling
verb or preposition.

An adverb clause typically modifies its entire main clause. In English, it usually precedes (in a
periodic sentence) or follows (in a loose sentence) its main clause. The following adverb clauses
show when (with the subordinating conjunction "when") and why (with the subordinating
conjunction "because"):

 "When she gets here, all will be explained."

 "She worried because they were already an hour late."

The line between categories may be indistinct, and, in some languages, it may be difficult to
apply these classifications at all. At times more than one interpretation is possible, as in the
English sentence "We saw a movie, after which we went dancing," where "after which we went
dancing" can be seen either as an adjective clause ("We saw a movie. After the movie, we went
dancing.") or as an adverb clause ("We saw a movie. After we saw the movie, we went
dancing."). Sometimes the two interpretations are not synonymous, but are both intended, as in
"Let me know when you're ready," where "when you're ready" functions both as a noun clause
(the object of know, identifying what knowledge is to be conveyed) and as an adverb clause
(specifying when the knowledge is to be conveyed).

Here are the examples of sentences consist of independent and dependent clauses.

 "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

(Philo)
 "Never forget me, because if I thought you would, I'd never leave." (A. A. Milne)
 "It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all." (Laura Ingalls
Wilder)
 "If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"
(Albert Einstein)
 "Never play cards with a man called Doc. Never eat at a place called Mom's. Never sleep
with a woman whose troubles are worse than your own."
(Nelson Algren)
 "We learn what we have said from those who listen to our speaking."
(Kenneth Patchen)
 "I still need the camera because it is the only reason anyone is talking to me."
(Annie Leibovitz)
 "It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was."
(Anne Sexton)
 "When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people; as I grow older, I admire kind
people." (Abraham Joshua Heschel)
 I thanked the woman who helped me.
 We saw several plays when we were in New York
 Because he was sleepy, he went to bed.
 I couldn’t hear what he said.
 The girl who won the race is happy
(Betty Schramper Azar)

Exercise 1.
Phrase or Clause?

1. Opening the gate, Jose let his dog into the yard.
a. Phrase
b. Clause
2. It is too bad that Ms. Fraser will not be teaching next year.
 a. Phrase
b. Clause
3. The player who hits the winning run will be the MVP for the game.
a. Phrase
b. Clause
4. The girl whose leg was broken last year will be running in the big race tomorrow.
a. Phrase
b. Clause
5. After listening to the students, Mr. Johnson changed his mind about the assignment.
a. Phrase
b. Clause
6. After the game, the team went out for ice cream.
a. Phrase
b. Clause
7. Vicky's dog went missing on the last stormy night.
a. Phrase
b. Clause
8. They all started walking toward the mall.
a. Phrase
b. Clause
9. Chelsea was waiting in front of the movie theater.
a. Phrase
b. Clause

10. Whenever I don't have any homework, I like to go for a bike ride after school.
a. Phrase
b. Clause
11. If the story doesn't have any vampires in it, Katie won't read it.
a. Phrase
b. Clause
12. This job would be fun if the boss was nicer.
a. Phrase
b. Clause
13. There could be a problem if our pitcher is late for the game.
a. Phrase
b. Clause
14. In the art supplies cupboard, you should find the brushes you need.
a. Phrase
b. clause
15. Did you look for your binder under your bed?
 a. Phrase
b. Clause

Exercises 2

Identifying independent clause

1. The doctor told Charlie to lose weight and exercise vigorously for forty-five minutes a day.
a. This sentence has two independent clauses.
b. This sentence has no independent clauses.

c. This sentence has one independent clause.

2. The doctor was worried that Charlie was putting on too much weight

a. The section in underlined is an independent clause.

b. The independent clause is "The doctor was worried."

c. This sentence has no independent clause.

3. Charlie has a hard time sticking to a diet; he really loves rich, sweet desserts.

a. This sentence has two independent clauses.

b. This sentence has one independent clause.

c. This sentence has no independent clauses.

4. In fact, the last time he tried to lose weight, he ended up actually gaining weight.

a. "he ended up actually gaining weight" is the only independent clause.

b. The section underlined is the independent clause.

c. This sentence has two independent clauses.

5. Charlie has decided to hire a personal trainer because he is worried about his heart.

a. The section underlined is an independent clause.

b. This sentence has two independent clauses.

c. "Charlie has decided to hire a personal trainer" is the independent clause.

6. His new personal trainer, whose name is Adriana Bongiorno, thinks Charlie may be

a lost cause.

a. The part in underlined is not an independent clause.

b. The part in underlined is not a dependent clause.

c. This sentence has two independent clauses.

7. That she can make him do the exercises but not stick to the diet.

a. The part in underlined is the independent clause.

b. This sentence has two independent clauses.

c. This sentence has no independent clause.

8. He is very good as long as Miss Bongiorno is around, but he goes to the freezer for ice-cream
when she leaves.

a. This sentence has three independent clauses.

b. This sentence has two independent clauses.

c. This sentence has one independent clause.

9. Charlie must learn that eating all those sweets may give him a temporary pleasure but that it's
not good for his heart and that he would feel better about himself if he stopped eating all those
rich and sweet foods that are not good for him.

a. The independent clause has three words.

b. The independent clause begins with the first "that."

c. This sentence has several independent clauses.

10. Miss Bongiorno is starting to make a difference, though, and Charlie is starting to

make some progress.

a. This sentence has one independent clause.

b. The clause following "though" is a dependent clause.

 c. This sentence has two independent clauses.

Exercises 3

Select the option that best describes the arrangement of clauses within each sentence.
Sometimes the description will refer to only the underlined part of a sentence. Read all the
options carefully before making your choice.

1. Before Raul bought his new car, he remembered that his grand mother might give him her old
sedan.

a. The independent clause is “Before Raul bought his new car.”

b. The independent clause in this sentence contains only two words.

c. There are two independent clauses here.

2. Alicia’s began to hurt, and her mother made a doctor’s appointment for her.

a. The underlined part is the sole independent clause here.

b. The real independent clause begins with “and.”

c. This sentence contains two independent clauses.

3. Zipping around the park in her little sportster, Judith began to feel, at last, like a millionaire.

a. The underlined part is the independent clause.

b. There is no independent clause.

c. The independent clause begins with “Judith.”

4. Although Jerry had taken several courses in computer science, he couldn’t solve the problem
with his hard drive.

a. The underlined part is the independent clause.

b. The independent clause begins with the word “he.”

 c. The sentence contains two independent clauses.

5. The Celtics have begun their long journey back to championship basketball, working
seriously on fundamentals and beginning to attract new fans to the game.

a. The sentence is one long independent clause.

b. The sentence contains two independent clauses

c. Only the underlined part is the independent clause.

6. Ernesto wanted to the night studying, but his wife had another ideas.

a. The sentence contains two independent clauses.

b. Only the underlined part is an independent clause.

c. The sentence is one long independent clause (with a compound verb)

7. The crowd began to clap and cheer as the team entered a cloud of smoke

a. The sentence contains two independent clauses.

b. The independent clause begins with the word “as.”

c. The underlined part is the independent clause.

8. Gordy worked his way up to middle management but kept on wishing for a better job.

a. The underlined part of the sentence is the independent clause.

b. The sentence is one independent clause.

c. The sentence contains two independent clause.

9. Geraldo began to leap around the room when his wife fed him jalapeno peppers.

a. The independent clause is the part of the sentence not underlined.

 b. The independent clause is the part of the sentence that is underlined.

c. The sentence contains two independent clauses.

10.Hector signed the contract but never agreed to purchase the CD’s.

a. This sentence contains two independent clauses.

b. The underlined part is the complete independent clause.

c. The entire sentence is one independent clause.

Exercises 4

Identify the subordinate clause of the following sentences by underlining the clause!

1. The police arrested the man who had robbed the First National Bank.
2. One of the elephants which we saw at the zoo had only one tusk.
3. Now that Peggy has a car, she can drive to school.
4. We can leave for the airport as soon as the taxi gets here.
5. I like to read when I go to bed at night until I get sleepy.
6. The professor to whom you spoke yesterday is not here today.
7. The doctor is with a patient whose leg was broken in a accident.
8. John said that he was leaving next week.
9. Where he is going is a secret.
10. The club will give whoever wins a prize.

Exercise 5

Complete the sentences with the words in brackets. Place time expressions at the end of
the sentences.

1. She is in great form because (every week / goes / she / to the gym).
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2. I think (likes / Susan / you).
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3. I can't talk to you because (time / do not have / I / now).
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4. We are glad that (at home / did not leave / we / our umbrella).
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5. I will miss him when (to Chicago / moves / he).
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6. They don't know where (have left / the key / they).
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7. Ring me if (have / you / a problem).
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8. I'd like to know why (her holiday / does not spend / she / in France).
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9. They told him that (wanted to play / they / tennis).
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10. He was reading the paper while (she / in the garden / was working).