This document defines and provides examples of different types of clauses: - Independent clauses can stand alone as a complete sentence. Compound sentences join two independent clauses with a conjunction. - Adverb clauses add information about the main clause and begin with subordinating conjunctions or expressions like "before", "because", or "if". - Adjective clauses modify nouns and usually begin with relative pronouns like "who" or "that". - Noun clauses can be used as subjects, objects, or objects of prepositions and usually begin with "that" or a question word.

1. Independent Clauses
Adverb Clauses
Adjective Clauses
Noun Clauses

2. What is a clause?
A sentence with a subject and a
verb that is part of a longer
sentence

3. An independent clauses in a
compound sentence.

4. A compound sentence combines
two complete sentences using a
conjunction (FANBOYS: for, and,
nor, but, or, yet, so).

5. There is a comma before the
conjunction:

6. I didn’t want to be late again, so I set
my alarm clock half an hour earlier.

7. I want to take a music class, but I don’t
have time this semester.

8. Adverb Clauses = Subordinate
Clauses

9. An adverb clause
1) gives more information about
the main clause
2) It can be the first half or the
second half of a complex sentence
3) It begins with a subordinator =
and adverbial expression

10. She went to Canada before she
came to the U.S.
Before she came to the U.S., she
went to Canada

11. I came to the United States
because I wanted to join my
parents here.

12. If she saves enough money, she
will travel to Europe.

13. An adverb clause can go before or
after the main clause, but pay
attention to the punctuation:

14. There is no comma when the main
clause comes first in the sentence.
When the adverb clause comes first,
you must use a comma after the
adverb clause and before the main
clause.

15. Adjective Clauses

16. Adjective Clauses
1) modify a noun
2) usually go after the noun they
modify
3) usually begin with a relative
pronoun

17. Examples of sentences with
adjective clauses:

18. A have a friend who is a computer
programmer.

19. Bill Gates, who is a rich person,
created Microsoft.

20. Noun Clauses:
1) Replaces a noun in the sentence.
2) Can be anywhere in the sentence
because a noun clause can replace the
subject, the object, or the object of a
preposition.
3) Usually begins with “that” or a
question word (“what,” “when,”
“where,” “why,” “who,” etc.)

21. There are two kinds of adjective
clauses:

22. An essential adjective clause gives
essential information about the noun it
modifies. The sentence changes
meaning or doesn’t make sense if you
omit the essential adjective clause:

23. This information about clauses is
familiar for students who have
taken Advanced Grammar.

24. There is no comma before an
essential adjective clause.

25. A non-essential adjective clause
just gives some more information
about the noun it modifies. The
sentence still makes sense if you
leave it out.

26. Students in ESL 52 should have
taken ESL 217, where this
information about clauses is
taught.

27. There is a comma before a non-
essential adjective clause.

28. A non-essential

29. Noun Clauses as the subject of a
sentence:
Why she married him I will never
understand.

30. Noun Clauses as the object of a verb:
I don’t know where he is.

31. Noun Clauses as the object of a
preposition:
She loves to talk about how she met
her husband.

32. Some words can be used in more
than one kind of clause!
For example, “when”:

33. An adjective clause:
I was born in 1947, when World
War 2 was recently finished.

34. An adverb clause:
I lived in Orange County when I first
got to the U.S.

35. An noun clause:
I don’t know when Bill Gates was
born.