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What is a principle clause and subordinate clause?
I'm studying for an English exam and I don't understand clauses at all. My teacher sucked this semester and I could use a little assistance? Much appreciated :)
6 Answers
- PinyonLv 71 decade agoFavorite Answer
A clause is a question, statement or command. A clause which can stand by itself is called a main clause or principal clause.
A main clause (principal clause) generally is a group of words containing a subject and a predicate. The only exceptions are certain commands (Go to the bathroom!) which contain only a predicate. It does not generally begin with a subordinator (subordinate conjunction) unless it is a question.
EXAMPLES:
Jack and Jill went up the hill when they needed water.
When Felicity became president of the company, she was happy.
No one knew what was wrong after the storm ended.
Why did you leave the room?
The student who left early will not complete the assignment.
A subordinate clause cannot stand by itself in standard written English. Although a subordinate clause can be part of a question, it cannot be a question by itself.
subordinate clause-.
a clause that modifies the principal clause or some part of it or that serves a noun function in the principal clause, as when she arrived in the sentence I was there when she arrived or that she has arrived in the sentence I doubt that she has arrived. When the principal clause is in the past tense
When the principal (main) clause is in the past tense, the verb in the subordinating clause also should be in the past tense.
EXAMPLES:
The bird saw the man who sat on the train tracks.
While the bird watched, another man crept up behind it.
He captured the animal, because it was not paying any attention.
It is a sad story, that I am telling.
Did you know that you would not enjoy it?
Source(s): T - Gretchen SLv 71 decade ago
Any clause must have a subject and a verb; if it doesn't have both, it's not a clause. An independent clause (what I assume you're calling a principle clause) makes sense alone; it doesn't need anything else. A subordinate clause has a subject and a verb but doesn't make sense as a sentence by itself; it depends on the main clause (subordinate clauses are also called dependent clauses). There are several types of subordinate clauses: noun, adjective, adverb.
I know that the earth is round. "that the earth is round" is a noun clause.
The one that I was talking about is over there. "that I was talking about" is an adjective clause.
Even though I can't afford it, I still want to go. "even though I can't afford it" is an adverb clause.
You can see that the subordinate clauses above cannot stand alone as sentences. The main clauses can, although you have to substitute a word for the one with a noun clause: I know (something). The one is over there. I still want to go.
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- BrendaLv 45 years ago
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Let's keep this sucker simple. The skeleton of the sentence is "the Persians began a postal service," so everything else in this sentence, whether it's a clause or a mere phrase, must modify one of those words. The entire clause beginning with "that" FUNCTIONS as a single adjective modifying "service": it tells us WHICH or WHAT KIND of service, right? So it's "sub-ordinate"; it takes second place to the principal, independent clause. All this Latinate terminology of conjunctions, subordination, etc., is an invention of old schoolmarms who try to make abstract principles out of language, when we know what DOES what when we write or read a sentence. No wonder kids are bored by grammar lessons and learn nothing. Take some highlighters and color in what does what and the whole thing is simple; I used to teach grammar with colored chalk, and everyone got the idea at once.