Christian Conrad M. Rivera BSEd- English DEPENDENT CLAUSES 1.

Noun Clause- performs the same functions that nouns do in a sentence Functions of Noun Clauses: A. As Subjects (the topic of the sentence) Ex: Whoever ate my lunch is in big trouble. What Billy did shocked his friends. B. As Subject Complements (describes the subject) Ex: The truth was that the moving company lost all your furniture. Billys mistake was that he refused to take lessons. C. As Direct Objects (receives the action) Ex: Our dog eats whatever we put in his bowl. Do you know when the train should arrive? D. As Object Complements (describes the DO) Ex: My grandfather considers his biggest mistake that he did not finish college. I have often declared the problem that most students do not understand grammar. E. As Indirect Objects (indicate for whom the action is performed) Ex: The judge will give what you said some deliberation during her decision. My parents gave that my brother wants his own car much thought. F. As Prepositional Complements (follow a preposition to complete the meaning of the PP) Ex: Some people believe in whatever organized system tells them. We have been waiting for whoever will pick us up from the party. G. As Adjective Phrase Complements (complete the meaning of an adjective phrase) Ex: I am pleased that you are studying noun clauses. My brother is angry that someone dented his new car. H. As Appositives (describe or explain another noun phrase) Ex: That man, whoever is he, tried to steal some library books. Your question, whether you should wear the blue dress or pink one, is frivolous in the situation.

2. Adverb Clause- modify the verb phrase -provide information about what is going on in the main clause Ex: The hostess couldnt seat us because the restaurant was full. Adverb Clauses are Movable: Ex: Because the restaurant was full, the hostess couldnt seat us. Adverb clauses are more easily movable within sentences than adjective clauses. The example from above can be restructured and still be grammatical.

3. Adjective Clause- modify noun phrases; functions as an adjective to the noun phrase Ex: The guitar, which was the one Elvis used to own, was found at a garage sale. Jeremy, who won the lottery, now lives in Malibu. Diane felt manipulated by her beagle Santana, whose big, brown eyes pleaded for another cookie. Unlike adverb clauses, adjective clauses cannot be moved, lest it will become ungrammatical: Ex: Which was the one Elvis used to own the guitar was found at a garage sale. The guitar was found at a garage sale which was the one Elvis used to own. Neither sentence above makes grammatical sense when the adjective clause is moved. This is a useful fact to consider when teaching students how to determine if a clause is an adverbial clause or an adjective clause. If the sentence ceases to make sense when the clause is moved, it is more likely an adjective clause rather than an adverbial clause.

Noun clauses and Adjective clauses are introduced by relative pronouns: (who, whom, whose, what, whoever, whichever, etc.) Adverb clauses are introduced by subordinating conjunctions: (after, although, because, while, since, even though, until, etc.)

Reference: Suite101, Inc. (2009, May 29). The Eight Functions of Noun Clauses in English: Nominal Functions and Subordinate Clauses of English Grammar, Retrieved January 27, 2011 from http://www.suite101.com/content/the-eight-functions-of-noun-clauses-in-english-a121013 De Anza College, Inc. (2005, August 28). Noun Clauses, Retrieved January 27, 2011 from http://faculty.deanza.edu/flemingjohn/stories/storyReader$23 LoveToKnow, Corp. (No date). Teaching Adverbial and Adjective Clauses, Retrieved January 27, 2011 from http://www.yourdictionary.com/dictionary-articles/Teaching-Adverbial-andAdjective-Clauses.html Hopper, Paul J. (1999). A Short Course in Grammar. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Huddleston, Rodney. (1984). Introduction to the Grammar of English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Miller, Jim. (2008). An Introduction to English Syntax. Edinburgh: George Square. Nelson, Gerald. (2011). English: An Essential Grammar. London: New Fetter Lane. Radford, Andrew. (2009) English Sentence Structure. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.