Clauses: Kinds and Examples | Class 11 English Grammar PDF Download

Introduction

• A clause is a group of words having a subject and a verb of its own, but it forms part of a sentence. A clause has no independent existence.
• In other words, a clause is a single sentence within a larger sentence, made of two or more than two clauses which are joined by suitable conjunctions.

Study the following sentences:

• A morning walk is useful.
• He saw the beggar and gave him a coin.
• This is the girl who won the first prize.
  Sentence No. 1 has already one finite verb and hence one clause. Sentence no. 2 has two clauses joined by ‘and’.

Clauses are of three kinds

1. Principal or Main Clause
2. Co-ordinate Clause
3. Subordinate Clause

1. Principal or Main Clause: This is the most important clause in the sentence. It is also called the independent clause. It does not depend on any clause for its meaning.
Read the following sentences:

• I love the city where I was born.
• It is certain that she will help you.
• We love India because it is our motherland.
  In the above sentences, “I love the city”, “It is certain” and “We love India” are Principal or Main clauses.

2. Co-ordinate Clause: A clause which is equally independent like the Principal clause is called a co-ordinate clause. It is joined by co-ordinate conjunctions like and, but, so, or, otherwise, either, not only etc.
Read the following sentences:

• I know him and I like him.
• Work hard otherwise, you will fail.
• He felt tired, so he lay down to rest.
  Each of the above sentences has two clauses of equal merit. These are joined by the coordinating conjunctions ‘and’, ‘otherwise’ and ‘so’. We may put them in the form of a table.

3. Subordinate Clause: A Subordinate clause is dependent on the Principal clause.
Read the following sentences:

• I know that you are a good boy.
• This is the book which she gave me.
• I shall wait here till you come back.
  In sentence 1, the Subordinate clause ‘That you are a good boy’ depends on the Principal clause, ‘I know’. In sentences 2 and 3 the clauses ‘which she gave me’ and ‘till you come back’ are Subordinate clauses. They depend on their Principal clauses ‘This is the book’, and ‘I shall wait here’ respectively.

Sentences may be classified into three types according to their grammatical structure:

1. Simple Sentences,
2. Compound Sentences, 
3. Complex Sentences.

1. A Simple sentence has only one clause i.e. one subject and one predicate but it has a complete meaning.
Example: 
The students are playing cricket.

2. A Compound sentence has two or more main clauses joined together by coordinating conjunctions like and, but, so, and so, therefore, for, yet, still, now, or, otherwise, either or, neither……… nor, not only……… but also
Examples:
(i) She ran fast and caught the bus.
(ii) Ankit worked hard but failed to qualify.

3. A Complex sentence has one main clause and one or more subordinate clauses.
Examples:
(i) He said that truth wins in the end.
(ii) I know the lady who wrote this novel.
(iii) Let us wait till she arrives.
The italicised portions of the above sentences are Subordinate Clauses. The Subordinate Clauses are of three kinds,
(i) Noun Clause
(ii) Adjective Clause
(iii) Adverb Clause

1. Noun Clause: A noun clause is a dependent clause that acts as a noun. Noun clauses begin with words such as how, that, what, whatever, when, where, whether, which, whichever, who, whoever, whom, whomever and why. These words generally come before the subject and the verb of the noun clause. Noun clauses can act as subjects, direct objects, indirect objects, predicate nominatives, or objects of a preposition,
Examples:

• Choose a gift for whomever you want.
  (Whomever you want is a noun clause and it contains the subject you and the verb want. The clause acts as an object of the preposition for in the sentence.)
• On weekends, we can do whatever we want.
  (‘Whatever we want is a noun clause and it contains the subject we and the verb want. The clause acts as a direct object in the sentence.)
• I wonder how long we should wait here.
  (How long we should wait here is a noun clause and it contains the subject we and the verb phrase should wait. The clause acts as a direct object in the sentence.)

2. Adjective Clauses describe a noun or pronoun in the main clause,
Examples:
(i) The book which has a green cover is mine.
(ii) The boy who is playing outside is my brother.
(iii) God helps those who help themselves.

3. Adverb Clauses function as adverbs in relation to the main clause or other clauses. They may modify the verb or an adjective or another adverb by expressing their time, place, reason, purpose, result, condition, manner etc.,
Examples:
(i) Make hay while the sun shines.
(ii) You may go whenever you like.
(iii) Plants breathe as animals do.
(iv) We eat that we may live.
(v) He ran so hard that he got tired.
(vi) She failed because she wasted her time.
(vii) If I make a promise, I keep it.