Clauses

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Y O U T U B E . C O M / E N G L I S H W I T H L U C Y
The dog runs.
It is a group of words that has a subject and a verb
It has meaning on its own
‘the dog’ is our subject and ‘runs’ is our verb
1.
2.
It's a clause!
Is it a
clause
CLAUSES: HOW AND
WHEN TO USE THEM
GRAMMAR LESSON
Y O U T U B E . C O M / E N G L I S H W I T H L U C Y
WHAT IS A CLAUSE?
We all know that sentences are essential when speaking,
reading, and writing in English, but sentences are made
up of smaller parts called clauses. To better understand
how we form sentences, we must learn how and when to
use a clause. This lesson will explain each type of clause
and how each is used effectively.
A clause is a group of words that includes a subject and a
verb and forms a sentence or part of a sentence.
A clause must also have meaning on its own; it does not
need any additional modifiers or information to make
sense. A simple sentence can be made of just one clause,
but most sentences have more than one.
subject + verb = clause
The dog runs.

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Examples
Erica reads.
They play.
We sit.
Examples
before she goes to sleep
and we ate
but it fell
A dependent clause, also known as a subordinate
clause, is a group of words that is not a sentence but
adds information to the main part of a sentence.
A dependent clause is typically introduced with a
conjunction, words like: before, because, so, if.
independent clause
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE
DEPENDENT CLAUSE
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE + DEPENDENT CLAUSE
TYPES OF CLAUSES
There are two basic types of clauses in English:
an independent clause and a dependent clause
An independent clause is a group of words that
includes a subject and a verb and can form a sentence.
It does not require the support of other clauses.
These examples cannot stand on their own as
independent sentences; thus, they are dependent
clauses. We call them ‘dependent’ because they
depend on an independent clause to form a complete
sentence.
Erica reads before she goes to sleep.
dependent clause
subject + verb
conjunction + subject + verb

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TYPES OF DEPENDENT
CLAUSES
Noun Clause
A noun clause is a group of words that contains a
subject and verb, but the entire clause acts as a single
noun.
Many noun clauses start with:
that, how, who, what, where, when, or why.
Examples
She knew how it broke.
how it broke is a noun clause
We saw where they went.
where they went is a noun clause
QUICK
TIP!
QUICK
TIP!
You will know it’s a noun clause if you can easily
replace the clause with a pronoun, like:
She knew how it broke.
She knew him.
Adverb Clause
An adverb clause is a dependent clause that acts as an
adverb in a sentence. They help to qualify the
meanings of verbs, adjectives, clauses, and other
adverbs.
Adverb clauses help to answer when, where, why, how
and by how much.
Adverb clauses often start with one of the
subordinating conjunctions:
after, as, though, since, because, etc.
Examples
These clauses are quite flexible and can be used at the beginning, end, or
middle of a sentence to add more detail.
adverb clause in a sentence
if you pay for the snacks
If you pay for the snacks, I’ll
get the pizza.
because she was early
Paula had to help set up
because she was early.

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Adjective Clause
An adjective clause is a group of words that acts as an
adjective in a sentence. They are dependent clauses
that give more information about a noun or pronoun.
Adjective clauses typically come directly after the
noun they modify.
We often use words like that, which, whom, and
whose with adjective clauses.
Examples
adjective clause in a sentence
whose birthday is tomorrow
Constantine, whose birthday is
tomorrow, is going to be late.
which we are going to visit in
spring
Mum’s hometown, which we
are going to visit in spring, is
very far away.
Coordinate Clause
Coordinate clauses are two or more independent
clauses in a sentence, often joined by coordinate
conjunctions (and, or, but, etc.) that make separate
statements that each has equal importance.
We form compound sentences by linking together
coordinate clauses.
She is travelling by train, but she prefers to travel by car.
independent clauses
she is travelling by train
she prefers to travel by car
COORDINATE CLAUSE
EXAMPLE
When we combine these two independent clauses
using a coordinate conjunction, they become:
coordinate clauses
coordinate clause
coordinate conjunction
coordinate clause

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Activity
The End
Is the underlined clause dependent or independent?
Is the underlined dependent clause a noun, adverb, or
adjective clause?
1)
b
2)
b
3)
a
4)
b
5)
a
6)
c
7)
b
8)
a
1) The doctor who works on the third floor is from India.
a. independent
b. dependent
2) When will you turn in the project that was due last
week?
a. independent
b. dependent
3) Their cat ran outside when the window was left open.
a. independent
b. dependent
4) Since it's raining, we'll take a taxi to the restaurant.
a. independent
b. dependent
5) The show is good, but I don't think I will keep watching
it.
a. independent
b. dependent
6) Chips, which my students eat daily, are not healthy at
all!
a. noun clause
b. adverb clause
c. adjective clause
7) Though he was busy, he still made time to prepare
dinner.
a. noun clause
b. adverb clause
c. adjective clause
8) I can't remember how much the new TV costs. Can you
remind me?
a. noun clause
b. adverb clause
c. adjective clause