A clause means a part of a sentence having a subject and a predicate of its own.
The above underlined sentence has two clauses. They are:
i. Principal clause
ii. Subordinate clause.
Thus, the sentence "We know that Hazi Mohammad Mohsin was a very
kindman," contains two clauses
ii. Subordinate clause.
Thus, the sentence "We know that Hazi Mohammad Mohsin was a very
kindman," contains two clauses
(i) We know,
(ii) that Hazi Mohammad Mohsin was a very kind man.
Of these two, the first one stands by itself, but the latter depends on the other clause.
The clause that is dependent on another clause to make a complete sense is called a Subordinate or Dependent clause.
The clause that is dependent on another clause to make a complete sense is called a Subordinate or Dependent clause.
- The Principal clause can make a complete sense by itself. It does not
have to depend on any other clause.
- A sentence having two principal clauses is called a Co-ordinate clause.
Here are some examples of isolated sentences showing the different clauses:
a. I know where he is.
b. The pen that father gave me is lost.
c. He cannot do this unless you help him.
d. What he says is unknown to me.
e. The man worked very hard and grew tired
f. This is what I say.
g. Listen to what your teachers say.
h. You cannot prosper unless you work hard.
i. When you have ?nished your lessons, you can play games.
J. The man is poor but he is honest.
(Note: Two simple sentences may be combined into a complex or compound sentence having two clauses).
Subordinate Clauses
Subordinate clauses are of three kinds:
1. Noun clause: It does the work of a noun.
2. Adjective clause: It does the work of an adjective.
3. Adverbial clause: It does the work of an adverb.
Noun Clause : A Noun Clause usually contains the conjunction ‘that’, or an intenogative pronoun or an intenogative adverb. The conjunction ‘that’ may remain expressed or understood.
Examples:
(i) I know that he is well.
(ii) They say (that) he left home.
(iii) That he is ill is known to us.
(iv) I know what he wants.
(V) I asked him if/whether he was there.
(vi) We know why he did it.
(vii) What he says is true.
(viii) Your success depends on how you prepare yourself.
(iX) When he will come is uncertain.
(X) The news that he is dead is a rumour.
In all the sentences above, subordinate clause works as a noun.
Position of Noun Clause in a sentence :
a. A subject to a verb: That he stole the book is clear.
b. An object to a verb: I know that she has read the book.
c. A complement to an object : I informed her what was to be informed.
Note : Two kinds of complement - Subjective Complement and Objective Complement.
Subjective Complement: The man is honest.
Objective Complement: We elected him chairman.
d. A complement to the subject: The fact is that we didn't go there.
e. In apposition: The news that he was injured is false.
f. An object to a preposition : It depends on what you really wants.
I have no knowledge of where we are going.
