Sentence Structure

What is a Clause?

A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb.

• Some students work in the food pantry because they care about helping hungry people.

There are two kinds of clauses, independent and dependent.

subject

subject verb

verb

Independent Clause

An independent clause expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence.

• Some students work in the food panty.

Dependent Clause

A dependent clause does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone as a sentence.

• because they care about helping hungry people

Subordinate Clauses

A dependent clause, also known as a subordinate clause, can be joined to an independent clause to add to the complete thought that the independent clause expresses.

• Students also make bag lunches that are distributed at a shelter.

Simple Sentences

A simple sentence contains one independent clause and no dependent clauses. Remember that even a simple sentence can be quite elaborate. Each of the following sentences has only a single independent clause.

• Shawn tutors.• Benita teaches young children acrobatics

after school.

Compound Sentences

A compound sentence contains two or more independent clauses an no dependent clause. The clauses in a compound sentence must be closely related in thought.

• Shawn tutors, and he helps students learn math.Independent clause

Independent clause

Independent clauses can be joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction or by a semicolon.

• Some children have no books, and volunteers can hold book drives for them.

• Some children have no toys; volunteers can collect donated toys for them.

Coordinating Conjunctions

For Or

And But

Nor so

Yet

Don’t mistake a simple sentence with a compound predicate for a compound sentence. No punctuation should separate the parts of a compound predicate.

• The Newcomers’ Club wrote a clever script and then filmed it.

Complex Sentences

A complex sentence contains one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. Most dependent clauses start with words like when, until, who, where, because, and so that. Such a clause might tell when something happened, which person was involved, or where the event took place.

• When we visited, Mrs. Smith shared her memories of working in a shipyard during World War II.

• Mrs. Smith was a photographer until she was drafted.

Dependent Clause

Independent Clause

Dependent Clause

Independent Clause

Compound-Complex Sentences

A compound-complex sentence contains two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.

• When our school celebrates Earth Day, we

sign up for environmental projects, and we try

to complete them all in one day.

Independent clause

Dependent clause

Independent clause

Kinds of Dependent Clauses

There are 3 kinds of dependent clauses1. Adjective clauses2. Adverb clauses3. Noun clauses

Adjective ClausesAn adjective clause is a dependent clause used as

an adjective. An adjective clause modifies a noun or a pronoun. It tells what kind, which one, how many, or how much.

Student volunteers read stories to the children (who were in the daycare center.)

Adjective clause

Modifies noun

Adjective ClausesAdjective clauses are usually introduced by relative

pronouns.

The story, which made them laugh, is about a monkey.

Notice that a clause that begins with “which” is set off with commas.

Relative Pronouns

Who

Whom

Whose

That

which

Adverb ClausesAn adverb clause is a dependent clause used as

an adverb. It modifies a verb, an adjective, or an adverb. An adverb clause might tell where, when, how, why, to what extent, or under what conditions.

Adverb Clauses

Adverb Clauses

As That

If While

Because Where

Even though When

Than As if

so since

Adverb clauses are introduced by subordinating conjunctions such as…

They were happy because they were going to the zooAdverb clause

Modifies adj.

Adverb Clause

An adverb clause should be followed by a comma when it comes before an independent clause. When an adverb clause comes after an independent clause, a comma may or may not be needed before it.

• When the field trip ended, the volunteers took the children back to the daycare center.

• The volunteers took the children back to the daycare center when the field trip ended.

Noun Clauses

A noun clause is a dependent clause used as a noun. Like a noun, a noun clause can serve as a subject, a direct object, an indirect object, an object of a preposition, or a predicate noun.

• What frustrates many physically challenged people is the problem of getting around.

Noun clause serving as subject

Noun Clauses

• Volunteers know that physically challenged people do not want special treatment.

• Christopher will tell whoever is volunteering the locations of the elevators.

Noun clause serving as a direct object

Noun clause serving as an indirect object

Noun Clauses

Nouns clauses are introduced by words such as…

If you can substitute the word something or someone for a clause in a sentence, it is a noun clause.

That How When Where

Whether Why What Whatever

Who Whom Whoever Whomever

Which whichever