Clauses contain a subject and a verb and can be either independent or dependent. Independent clauses can stand alone as a complete sentence, while dependent clauses cannot. There are two main types of clauses: adjective clauses, which modify nouns, and adverb clauses, which modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. Adjective clauses are introduced by relative pronouns like "that" or "which", while adverb clauses are introduced by words like "when", "before" or "if". The document provides examples of different types of clauses and how they are used in sentences.