Questions tagged [clauses]
Clauses are smallest grammatical unit that can express a complete proposition
465
questions
2
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0answers
20 views
What is the difference between these noun clauses? [migrated]
This comes from an exercise in one of Betty Azar's books.
Do you know how many minutes are in 24 hours?
Do you know how far the distance between the earth and the moon is?
The question is, why can I ...
2
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0answers
134 views
The definition of 'clause' in modern grammar: construction vs function
Most modern grammars recognize verbless clauses such as the boy on the roof in (1) and on the roof in (2):
(1) With the boy on the roof, they feared he might jump off it.
(2) When on the roof, he ...
1
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0answers
42 views
Can we say: “I picked up that xxx”?
Would the following sentence still be grammatical if "information" is omitted?
"I picked up information that oranges are bad for you."
It's clear that what I've picked up is ...
0
votes
1answer
59 views
What is an example of “where” in an adverb clause?
All the sentences I can think of are anything but an adverb clause. For example:
"Where I'm going is none of your business." (A noun clause as the subject)
"No one knows where he is.&...
2
votes
1answer
27 views
Unusual model of clause [duplicate]
How this sentence "The weather being very bad, we did not start the journey" is reduced?
I cannot understand what structure is applied for the clause "the weather being very bad".
0
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1answer
63 views
Noun clause or adverb clause? [closed]
I was reading about noun clauses and adverb clauses and I am a little confused about what follows:
One grammar claims that the clause in bold in the following sentence is a noun clause working as an ...
2
votes
2answers
148 views
What is the direct object of “I imagined” in the context “as I imagined would be the case”? (i.e. I imagined what?)
In my previous question Is the phrase “as I imagined would be the case” grammatically correct and why?, someone referenced this other question: Where is the subject in "as was traditional for ...
0
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2answers
52 views
Can I use 'out of this world' negatively in a sentence
Can I say " their stupidity is out of this world. Its kinda amusing" ? And what are the other ways to say it
1
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1answer
48 views
Confused about 'What she likes I like that.'
Let's look at the sentence :
I like what she likes.
This is a correct sentence. Here 'what she likes' acts as object of the verb like and it is a noun clause. So we can consider the above sentence as ...
0
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1answer
48 views
What's this usage of comma, separating of a list of independent clauses?
This is a sentence from the book "The Brothers Karamazov" (page 8):
He spent a disorderly adolescence and youth: he never finished high school; later he landed in some military school, then ...
0
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1answer
55 views
Subordinate clauses in sentences
I have a question about using subordinate clauses. Here are the following examples:
This book is about how to control your emotions in difficult situations;
How they love each other is felt even ...
0
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0answers
63 views
Comma or no comma: “…save for the last digit [,] which is 2.”
Comma or no comma: "11112 is a number whose digits are all 1, save for the last digit [,] which is 2.
My sentence is of the following form:
Comma or no comma: "11112 is a number whose ...
0
votes
0answers
28 views
Verb followed by relative clause
The boy who ate fruit came.
The boy came who ate fruit.
Here both sentences have relative clause "who ate fruit" and a principal clause "the boy came". Here is my question: Both ...
0
votes
1answer
39 views
What is “what” in “what has been called“?
Climate change is thus a prime example of what people have called a "social ecological system" with factors from different domains interacting on different spatial and temporal scales.
The ...
2
votes
1answer
32 views
Is the series of object clauses used correctly in the following sentence?
She then told them she was 52, living alone, and had no doubt there was something very malicious and dangerous in her house, and that she dared not go back inside.
How many object clauses are there? ...
-2
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1answer
54 views
How can I divide this clause? [closed]
How can I divide this clause from spoken text, in order to analyse the theme and type of the clauses?
Announcer: Welcome back everyone, so doctors are warning people to not take pain relievers like ...
1
vote
0answers
25 views
Relative clauses. What time should I use? (Point of action?)
I have a sentence. I'm not sure if it's correct, but I have to ask. I know theory about reffering to the previous clause, but I don't know how it works here.
What I think:
a) I saw an article about ...
0
votes
2answers
35 views
One subject, compound object phrases - comma or no comma?
My question is about how to punctuate sentences like the following:
The system allows searching for variables using their long name and cryptic variable names and filtering the data sets based on a ...
1
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0answers
36 views
Why is “but koalas are lighter” a subordinate clause in this sentence?
This is exactly how the sentence is presented:
If you ask me, pandas are far cuter than koalas but koalas are lighter.
So I was required to split this into its clauses, and categorise them.
“If you ...
1
vote
1answer
65 views
How do you introduce a non-quote? [duplicate]
Initially, I drafted the following sentence.
He argues we consistently make assumptions that are wrong.
Later, because it looked like a quote, I added a comma. But, do I need a comma?
He argues, we ...
0
votes
0answers
58 views
meaning of “for if” in this sentence
I can eat anything in this buffet including the lamb chops for dinner only, for if I pay the full price.
Does the "if I pay the full price" clause apply to everything before it?
0
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0answers
10 views
Do you set off “and when” with commas?
For example,
Sim allowed his feet to be placed on the floor*, and when his daughter held out her arms, he leaned his weight into them.
Or would the sentence read as
Sim allowed his feet to be ...
0
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0answers
23 views
WHAT and IT clause in these sentences
1.New applicants are registered to the database and will soon be informed.
My answer:
It is new applicants that are registered to the database and will soon be informed.
2.Discovering the truth so ...
3
votes
1answer
133 views
“Note that, because English orthography, there are two verbs tear, pronounced differently, one transitive…”
While reading an answer by John Lawler, I got puzzled by a sentence with unfamiliar phrasing. I for the life of me can't understand the meaning of that sentence. I read it for about 30 times. Here is ...
1
vote
1answer
70 views
In terms of clause analysis, does this constitute a complex sentence?
My usual grammatical spidey-sense has let me down here.
The sentence "I can’t begin to fathom how their tiny bodies would cope with what they had to carry" FEELS complex to me. I feel that
i)...
1
vote
2answers
112 views
Subordinate clause types/functions
In the sentences:
She begged him [not to leave her].
The colonel commanded his men [to charge].
How can we encourage a baby [to use that toy properly]?
Are the to-clauses subordinate – and if so, ...
0
votes
1answer
47 views
Can subject complement occur after “as”
In the sentence : She first came to Canada on her own in 1998, and committed to music-her passion, both as a songwriter and a singer...”
Is “as [a songwriter]/ [a singer]” subject complement? I found ...
0
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0answers
40 views
What are the elements of this clause?
I am unsure whether I am identifying the elements in the following clause correctly.
Phobias often originate from traumatic experiences in one's childhood
I am parsing this as follows.
Element
Part ...
0
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1answer
27 views
Identifying the clause elements of the following sentence
I have a problem identifying the clause elements in the following sentence:
True phobias consist of an intense irrational fear
Is it correct to say that 'True phobias' = Subject, 'consist of' = Verb ...
-1
votes
1answer
42 views
What kind of verb phrase is it when “is” in the present tense is immediately followed by another verb that’s itself in the past tense?
Please consider this example of three sentences in sequence:
The building is destroyed.
The rubble is then removed.
The rubble is broken into smaller pieces.
What kind of verb phrase is ...
1
vote
1answer
69 views
What kind of grammar explains the common string “Let us”? [duplicate]
What kind of the grammar is shown by the group of two words "let us"?
Is it a phrase or a predicate or a clause ... or something else?
1
vote
2answers
55 views
Extra info at the start of a sentence
Can someone tell me what the bolded parts are called in the following?
Starting in April, Bob decided to drink 2 liters of water a day.
During the pandemic, Joe got bored.
0
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1answer
56 views
Repetition of the same word in a sentence
Pouring the water on the flower, Jenny admired the flowers just beginning to open.
In the above sentence, the word "flower" is repeated once. Is repetition of the same word in a single ...
1
vote
1answer
58 views
Why the “which is” can be omitted?
I am writing a scientific paper. And I wrote the sentence as follows:
The nominal prepreg tow height is about 0.15~0.20mm, which is much larger than the Resolution Z-axis (0.011mm). Furthermore, the ...
1
vote
3answers
76 views
Can “be” verbs link clauses and/or a clause and a phrase? [closed]
Is this an example of a sentence where a be verb connects two clauses?
You are seeing ghosts is what you are seeing.
0
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0answers
19 views
Usage of comma vs. semicolon for combining two clauses in a caption
I have a short piece of text used as an image caption. Here is how it looks right now:
A picture of a painting of the Brooklyn Bridge by Aubrey Caron, reproduced here with permission from Aubrey ...
1
vote
1answer
70 views
'The idea how/ the idea of how/ the idea that how' a recessive gene might become dominant
What word should come in place of (?) in the sentence below? Personally, I would use of or that.But I am not sure if these are correct or if I should forgo any word at all there. I would appreciate ...
1
vote
0answers
23 views
Is this punctuation correct? And what type of clause is this?
I have this sentence which I wanted to investigate grammatically for correctness.
He is very uneducated, which is why he cannot find work.
Is the comma correct here? Also, is "which is why he ...
-1
votes
1answer
48 views
How to understand the ingredient of this sentence？
I saw this sentence from the internet,
The input to this transformer should be an array-like of integers or strings, denoting the values taken on by categorical (discrete) features
I can not ...
0
votes
2answers
709 views
Identify the grammatical name and function of each of the expressions italicized/bolded below [closed]
I met the only student of the newly established Technical University located at Ibadan.
My friend is a man to beat.
The boy who stole the book is running like a deer.
Sighting the owner of the book, ...
0
votes
1answer
34 views
I Guess It's a Reduction
I saw a sentence in the new york times
"... and create child care problems for parents who count on their children being at school for at least part of the week."
why did we use " being ...
0
votes
0answers
23 views
How can I shorten a clause that shares a structure similar to the clause that comes before?
I would like to know how I can shorten the second clause in the following situation
Paris is the capital of France and Rome is the capital of Italy.
I do not want to duplicate the part is the ...
0
votes
0answers
32 views
What does this clause mean?
What does this clause "...because vocabulary is not the same thing as feeling and plot is light-years from the truth as it is understood by the mind and the heart" mean?
I am confused by the ...
2
votes
1answer
217 views
Do I need a comma in this sentence?
The sentence in question is as follows: "are these alcohol shakes or something else?"
I want to correct it to "are these alcohol shakes, or is it something else?", but I can't ...
0
votes
3answers
57 views
What is the subject of the sentence “wherever she lives is where I am destined to be”?
Here are a few options:
She: 'She' is the subject of the verb 'lives'.
I: 'I' is the subject of the verb 'am'.
Wherever she lives: 'Wherever she lives' is the subject of the verb 'is'.
Where I am ...
0
votes
1answer
58 views
Evaluating a sequence of logical clauses that are chained using “and” and “or” [duplicate]
How do you evaluate a logical statement that has multiple condition clauses "If A or B and C"?
From method 1 & 2 below, which is the correct/common interpretation?
If A is true, or both ...
0
votes
1answer
50 views
Separating a clause introduced with “such that” by commas [closed]
Consider the following sentence:
A whatsit such that the condition doodah is fulfilled is called a doodah whatsit.
I am wondering about the placement of commata. Should I add two commata to separate ...
0
votes
0answers
23 views
Parts of Speech question
I am given the following sentence:
"I've always known you were a good friend."
I know that "I" is the subject pronoun "'ve" is the contracted form of the auxiliary verb &...
0
votes
0answers
63 views
What are the specific names for clauses following a comma, dash and such punctuation marks?
Do the clauses which follow a dash, colon, open bracket, and such punctuation marks have specific names other than just being a clause?
Examples of what I mean with the "C"s representing the ...
1
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0answers
39 views
Why some relative clause can be reduced and some can not?
I am learning the book named Grammar and Vocabulary for Advanced by Martin Hewings and Simon Haines. I am struggling with the grammar relating to relative clauses. Could you please help me clarify the ...
