Clause
Definition:
A group of words that contains a subject and a predicate. A clause may be either a sentence (an independent clause) or a sentence-like construction within another sentence (a dependent clause).
Types of Clauses:
Adjective Clause
Adverbial Clause
Comment Clause
Comparative Clause
Complement Clause
Conditional Clause
Independent Clause
Main Clause
Matrix Clause
Noun Clause
Relative Clause
Subordinate Clause
Verbless Clause
Etymology:
From the Latin, "the close of a sentence"
Examples:
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
(Ferris Bueller's Day Off)
(Note: "Life moves pretty fast" and "you could miss it" are independent clauses. "If you don't stop and look around once in a while" is an adverb clause.)
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."
(George Orwell, Animal Farm)
(Note: Orwell's sentence contains two independent clauses joined by the conjunction "and." This combination is called a compound sentence.)
"A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."
(Virginia Woolf, "A Room of Her Own")
(Note: Woolf's sentence begins with an independent clause--"A woman must have money and a room of her own"--and ends with an adverb clause. This combination is called a complex sentence.)
"A man who won't die for something is not fit to live."
(Martin Luther King, Jr.)
(Note: In King's sentence, the independent clause--"A man is not fit to live"--is interrupted by an adjective clause. This is also a complex sentence.)
"I was more independent than any farmer in Concord, for I was not anchored to a house or farm, but could follow the bent of my genius, which is a very crooked one, every moment."
(Henry David Thoreau)
(Note: Thoreau's sentence contains two independent clauses joined by the conjunction"for"; the second independent clause is interrupted by an adjective clause--"which is a very crooked one." This combination is called a compound-complex sentence.)
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
(Ferris Bueller's Day Off)
(Note: "Life moves pretty fast" and "you could miss it" are independent clauses. "If you don't stop and look around once in a while" is an adverb clause.)
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."
(George Orwell, Animal Farm)
(Note: Orwell's sentence contains two independent clauses joined by the conjunction "and." This combination is called a compound sentence.)
"A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."
(Virginia Woolf, "A Room of Her Own")
(Note: Woolf's sentence begins with an independent clause--"A woman must have money and a room of her own"--and ends with an adverb clause. This combination is called a complex sentence.)
"A man who won't die for something is not fit to live."
(Martin Luther King, Jr.)
(Note: In King's sentence, the independent clause--"A man is not fit to live"--is interrupted by an adjective clause. This is also a complex sentence.)
"I was more independent than any farmer in Concord, for I was not anchored to a house or farm, but could follow the bent of my genius, which is a very crooked one, every moment."
(Henry David Thoreau)
(Note: Thoreau's sentence contains two independent clauses joined by the conjunction"for"; the second independent clause is interrupted by an adjective clause--"which is a very crooked one." This combination is called a compound-complex sentence.)