Questions tagged [clauses]
Clauses are smallest grammatical unit that can express a complete proposition
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How to spot a dependent clause
The opposing army were masterful at spreading lies and hate throughout their region, people hated them and therefore feared them.
Is this a dependent clause: "People hated them and therefore feared ...
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0answers
55 views
When is understood understood? [on hold]
Once upon a time, grammar books and English teachers would correct students who said, "She's smarter than me," and advise that it should be "She's smarter than I (am)." The "am" was said to be "...
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1answer
24 views
Using ‘used to’ in subordinate clauses
Is it correct to use the modal verb ‘used to’ in subordinate clauses? For example, could I say, ‘When we used to go to New Delhi, my father and I would shop for music CDs’?
Or must I reserve it only ...
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1answer
33 views
Noun clause structure “student enrolling”
There was not as many students enrolled in A as in B
Is this sentence correct?
Why it is "students enrolled", not "students enrolling"?
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1answer
37 views
“Why is it that…” relative clause? [closed]
It would be great if someone could explain this sentence structure to me:
"Why is it that you don't like me?"
I don't understand how all of the components come together.
What is the link between it ...
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0answers
25 views
Non-restrictive Clauses?
I am wondering whether the below is correct:
Italy, the origin of opera, exported the genre to the rest of the world.
I feel like the relative clause (?) "the origin of opera" is stated here like ...
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1answer
19 views
Main and Subordinate Clauses
Does whenever functions as a subordinate conjunction or as an adverb in the following sentence. Whenever did the Ramsey twins paint their parent's house?
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4answers
91 views
Nonrestrictive Clauses and Coordinating conjunction separating two independent clauses
Quick, not so simple question.
I know that, if you join two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction (like "and"), you need a comma before the coordinating conjunction.
For example: I ...
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1answer
25 views
Is my comma usage correct in this sentence?
"When there is too much carbon in the atmosphere, too much heat is trapped from the Sun’s light rays, dramatically increasing the global temperature."
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1answer
23 views
Using will/will not after if
Most grammar rules state that will shouldn't be used after if.
Here is my sentence, I am wondering whether it is correct.
It may cause an exception if there won't be a valid character in the
...
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2answers
23 views
Clause structure
I came across a structure, which I have tried to dissect it to know its function and grammatical name.
However, at a glance I said, the highlighted group of words was a clause( Noun clause) which ...
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3answers
41 views
Can I omit a subject in If-clauses?
I came across a sentence on Cambridge Dictionary. It says
If found guilty, he faces six months in jail.
They omitted "he is" right ?
And can I say
If (my computer is) broken , I will fix it.
...
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1answer
39 views
Limitations of Subordination and Nested Clauses
I'm an English teacher who often has to grapple with explaining to students the complexity of clause structure in English, and after reading an article about various 'longest sentences' in fiction, I ...
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1answer
28 views
A predicative adjective in an atributive clause OR a postpositive adjective?
Example: These are/were the images presented by us.
Is "presented" in this case a postpositive adjective or a predicative adjective in an attributive clause?
In case "presented" is a verb here, can ...
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1answer
28 views
Can an adverb clause modify an infinitive?
The title is pretty self explanatory, in the sentence:
It is difficult to travel through the huge expanse of parched sands in the Sahara Desert, where oases are plentiful but distant from each other....
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1answer
52 views
with/without + verbless clause
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (Page 1266-67) has this section:
10 Verbless clauses
We confine our attention here to verbless clauses in dependent or supplement functions ...
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2answers
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What kind of clause is this?
As soon as I arrived I made an attempt to find my host, but the two or three people of whom I asked his whereabouts stared at me in such an amazed way, and denied so vehemently any knowledge of his ...
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2answers
36 views
implied subject within a noun clause
I recently came across a sentence in an academic text that was similar in structure to "I eat what is considered healthy." I interpreted the grammar as "what is considered healthy" being a noun clause....
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2answers
84 views
Verbless Clause
Can anyone verify for me if this is a valid verbless clause? My editor is questioning the lack of a verb (this is for social media copy and would be followed by a URL) but I think it's valid.
This ...
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1answer
56 views
Hello, which one is correct grammatically? [closed]
Please share your offers with me to evaluate.
Please share your offers to evaluate with me.
Please share with me to evaluate your offers.
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1answer
41 views
What type of clause is the given sentence?
Is the sentence "Then the staff assembled the units." a dependent or an independent clause?
Well, according to me, since there is subordinate conjunction "Then" in the sentence with no other sentence,...
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2answers
60 views
Structure of clause with even if
We must stop, even if briefly.
I suppose this is equivalent to even if it is/be briefly?
But what does "it" stand for? The act of stopping? But a noun cannot be connected to the adverb "briefly" ...
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1answer
33 views
Looking for a breakdown of this sentence relating to (I think) relative/essential/non-essential clauses
I'm an ESL teacher and one of my adult students and I recently read this article in class. He and I were stumped by the structure of the very last sentence:
Toshimitsu Motegi, minister of economic ...
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0answers
22 views
Help identifying clasuses, sentence structure
I'm a first time poster, so please let me know if I am posting in the wrong place! I am trying to break down the sentence structure of this sentence. Specifically, how commas are used in the following ...
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0answers
47 views
Can 'too much tired' replace 'much too tired' in this construction? [closed]
In the following clause of result, would it be possible to use 'too much tired' in place of 'much too tired'?
She is much too tired to go out.
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1answer
103 views
Subordinating conjunctions “who” & “when” as subject clause?
I understand who and when can be used to introduce adjective clause for sure like the following sentences.
The time when it is good for us to meet has not been decided.
The person who is ...
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1answer
34 views
How does the second “that” function in this sentence?
Here is the sentence:
On December 5th Canada’s justice department
said that, on the same day that
the two presidents dined, it had arrested
Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer
of ...
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2answers
174 views
What tense to use with “when” clause
I've just listened to the song and memories have come flooding back. The question is what tense to use to describe what have just happened in a sentence: when I've heard this song memories had come ...
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1answer
43 views
Using consecutive “whether” clauses
Can someone tell me if the use of two consecutive "whether" clauses (like the sentence below) is correct? It sounds odd to my ears.
"Whether you're big or small, whether you're rich or poor, I ...
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1answer
40 views
Why and when are some clause fragments preferred to full clauses?
(1) Test complete. [= The test is complete.]
(2) Court adjourned. [= The court is adjourned.]
(3) Apology accepted. [= The apology is accepted.]
(4) Request granted. [= The request is ...
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1answer
83 views
A question about comparative clauses
In my opinion, the second part of a comparative clause should be a complete sentence. But I'm always confused by some comparative clauses as some clauses are incomplete. For example, are both the ...
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1answer
292 views
Identifying the main clause and subordinate clauses
I’m preparing for my exam and in one of the practice questions i have to identify the main clause, subordinate clause/s and the subject,predicate and/or adverbials. the sentence is:
"The Mausoleum ...
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1answer
47 views
Multiple relative clauses within subject?
I'm wondering what is the actual subject in this sentence:
"One of the countries she has visited that I have not is Canada."
To me, everything up until 'is' seems like the subject, but I can't find ...
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1answer
66 views
Ex: Can I write it this way and is it grammatically correct, as the additional phrase in the end of a question sounds weird?
Questions with subordinate (declarative) clauses at the end sound weird.
For example:
Can you grant me access to the document, since it is currently
unavailable?
Where do I submit this, as ...
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3answers
60 views
interrogative sentences with W-clauses in the middle
I know that when we are reporting a question in our sentence in reported speech, the question mark shall be removed, like this :
Question asked from me : Did you know that girl?
Reported : He ...
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0answers
52 views
Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Clause Question
I realize that American authors typically use "which" in nonrestrictive clauses, and "that" in restrictive clauses. But I frequently have a problem deciding whether to make a clause restrictive or non-...
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1answer
31 views
Is it correct to add nouns to “of which”,“in which”,“of whom”, etc.?
For example, can I say
Recently I bought a new computer, the price of which was very reasonable.
I always considered this type of usage correct but can't find any example sentences on the internet....
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2answers
322 views
Relative Clause Removal of “Relative Pronoun”
So I have a grammar book that says you can remove relative pronoun when it is used in defining relative clause, if it is non-defining you can't.
For example:
The man who we met yesterday was a ...
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1answer
844 views
“already since a while” - is this proper English?
Consider the following sentence
This and that is the situation, already since a while.
Question 1: Does this sound right to a native speaker?
Question 2: How could I find this out myself? I did a ...
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1answer
89 views
Participle phrase or participle clause? For my students please
I've looked at other answers, but am still confused - so please don't shoot me down (as tends to happen here) - but rather help if you can for the sake of my little learners. I have to teach a class ...
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1answer
58 views
Shortening sentence by removing nouns repeating in clauses
In the following sentence, a noun is repeated in each clause. The noun I refer to is assignment.
He is aware of the assignment, accepts the assignment and endeavours
to fulfil the assignment.
Is ...
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1answer
32 views
Dependent or Independent clause?
Is "The way people write has changed" an independent clause or dependent clause? In any case please explain in detail. What is the subject, verb and object if there is or if there isn't. Thanks in ...
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1answer
264 views
where to put the possessive “s” with an appositive parenthetical
Say I have a gym instructor called Anne and it's her birthday. I want to convey that to someone who doesn't know who Anne is in one sentence.
In speech, I would probably say, "it is Anne, my gym ...
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2answers
289 views
That these skills are transferable (which/that/and) makes them especially beneficial [closed]
Why would "which","that", and "and" be omitted in the following sentence:
That these skills are transferable across professions (which/that/and) makes them especially beneficial to twenty-first ...
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1answer
36 views
Use of until with no second clause
The next fifteen minutes were the longest fifteen minutes in the world. Until the quiet was invaded by the distant sound of a car engine.
I found the above sentence in a novel. My question is can we ...
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0answers
22 views
how to interpret who clause?
When there is the word "and" before a who clause, should I interpret that the who clause applies to all the subjects before the clause or just to the one right before the clause? For example,
We ...
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2answers
171 views
“Jack believed that Bob said that Nancy saw Bill drove fast yesterday”?
What is ungrammatical about this sentence?
Jack believed that Bob said that Nancy saw Bill drove fast yesterday.
At the moment I have found out that the main verb,believed, is tensed, and the ...
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1answer
222 views
Commas and Coordinating Conjunctions Before Dependent Clauses
"For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?" -- Jane Austen
Many famous authors and writers use coordinating conjunctions and commas in this way. Are ...
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1answer
53 views
Explanation for misuse of 'where' in a main clause
I'm editing a paper and the author (native German) has written several instances of 'where' at the beginning of a sentence as a main clause. He means to explain the symbols in the equation that ...
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2answers
189 views
using past tense for the future - is it correct?
In the show Westworld, Anthony Hopkins uses this structure, as:
As soon as Dr.Ford left the room, he would put an end to this nightmare.
now the question is, shouldn't the sentence be like:
As ...
