Main and subordinate clauses

Main and subordinate clauses

A clause is a group of words that includes a noun and a verb.

Examples:

• The girl ran
• Michael is singing
• Mum is at work
• My uncle lives in Australia

We call these clauses “main clauses”. They make complete sense on their own and we can use them as sentences.

A complex sentence includes a main clause and a minor (or “subordinate”) clause:

• The girl ran because she was late for school.
• While he is getting ready for dinner, Michael is singing.
• Mum is at work although she feels ill.
• My uncle lives in Australia, where he is very happy.

In these the examples, the subordinate clauses are in italics. They each include a subject and a verb, but they don’t make complete sense on their own and therefore we can’t use them as sentences.

You will see that each of these complex sentences has a word that links the two clauses. These words are shown in bold. We call them “subordinating conjunctions”. Some people use a memory aid or “acronym” to help them remember some of the most common subordinating conjunctions: I SAW A WABUB:

Subordinate clauses are sometimes called “subsidiary clauses” or “dependent clauses”.

See here and here for more about clauses and sentences.

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