What is Clause?
A clause is a group of related words that a subject containsand verb .
Clauses are the basic pieces of sentences in the English language.
Types of clauses in English
- a) Clauses
Each sentence in the English language is composed of at least one clause (in Spanish we call it a sentence). A clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb.
Remember, a subject (subject) is a noun that performs an action and a verb (verb) is the action itself.
An example of a clause would be: ” The dog (subject) chased (verb) the rabbit “.
A sentence is not complete unless you have at least one clause. This sentence would not make sense without a complete clause: ” The dog (subject) the rabbit “. This sounds strange and does not convey a complete message.
To really improve your English, make sure your sentences have at least one clause (a topic and a verb) so you can express more precisely what you are trying to say.
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b) Independent clauses
An independent clause is a clause that can stand on its own. In other words, it is a complete sentence.
This type of clause is called “independent” because it does not need to rely on other sentences or clauses to make sense.
Expresses a complete idea or concept for yourself.
For the example above it is an independent clause and a complete sentence: ” The dog (subject) chased (verb) the rabbit “.
There is a subject, a verb and a complete thought expressed.
- c) Dependent clauses
The other type of clause is called dependent clause. This clause still has a subject and a verb, but it cannot stand on its own.
It does not express a complete idea and needs to rely on another clause to make sense.
An example of a dependent clause would be: ” When he (subject) felt (verb) adventurous “.
There is a subject and a verb, but information is missing. It is not a complete sentence. What happened when you felt adventurous ( adventurous )? The key word is “when ( when )”, which tells us that there is more information to be given.
To solve this, we have to combine the dependent clause with an independent clause so that everything fits: ” When he felt adventurous (dependent), the dog chased the rabbit (independent) “.
Now the dependent clause makes sense and also adds more information to the sentence as a whole. Knowing what is considered a complete sentence versus an incomplete sentence will help you when you speak in English.
It also gives you a way to combine multiple ideas and make more complicated sentences, which can help you improve your English and take it to the next level.
