Last Updated June 18,1999
 


Clauses: Subordinate and Main

DEFINITIONS/GUIDES:

MEMORIZE THESE DEFINITIONS. 
YOU WILL NEED THEM.

A. A clause is a subject/verb/complement pattern and all the words that chunk to it. 

B. A subordinate clause chunks to a word or construction outside itself but within the sentence. 

C. A main clause has no such function. 

D. Every sentence must have at least one main clause. 

E. If a word functions as the object of a preposition or as the complement of another verb, it cannot function as a subject. 
 
 

GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR IDENTIFYING CLAUSES:

A. Place parentheses around each prepositional phrase.

B. Underline every subject once, every finite verb twice, and label complements (PA, PN, DO, IO). 

C. Put brackets [ ] around each subordinate clause. (See "Finding Clauses," below.)

D. Put a vertical line after each main clause.


FINDING CLAUSES:

A. There will be one clause for every S/V/C pattern. 

B. If a sentence has only one S/V/C pattern, put a vertical line after it and go on to the next sentence. 

C. If a sentence has more than one S/V/C pattern: 

1.      Check for subordinate conjunctions first. They will often indicate where subordinate clauses begin. If you have put brackets around all the clauses introduced by subordinate conjunctions, and you still have more than one unanalyzed S/V/C pattern in the sentence, go on to 2.
2. Start with the LAST S/V/C pattern and work backwards! For each clause: 
 
a. Find the last word in the clause.
b. Find the first word in the clause. (Start with the word before the subject and keeping moving toward the front of the sentence until you find a word that does not chunk to that S/V/ C pattern.
c. If the clause begins with a subordinate conjunction (See the list.), it is obviously subordinate. Put brackets around it.
d. If the clause does not begin with a subordinate conjunction, check to see if it answers a question about a word outside itself but within the sentence. If it does, put brackets around it. If it does not, put a vertical line after it.