Clauses
ICSE Class 7 · English · Chapter 7
What this chapter covers
- Phrases and clauses distinguished
- Main and subordinate clauses
- Noun clauses
- Adjective clauses
- Adverb clauses
- Simple, compound and complex sentences
- Transformation of sentences
Key points
- A phrase is a group of words without a subject and a finite verb; a clause has both.
- A main clause makes complete sense alone; a subordinate clause depends on a main clause.
- Subordinate clauses begin with linking words such as because, if, when, although, who, which, that and whether.
- A noun clause does the job of a noun: subject, object or complement.
- An adjective clause describes a noun and usually begins with who, whom, whose, which or that.
- An adverb clause tells you when, where, why, how, on what condition or in spite of what.
- Name a clause by the job it does, not by its first word.
- A simple sentence has one clause; a compound sentence joins main clauses with and, but, or, so, yet or nor; a complex sentence has a main clause and at least one subordinate clause.
- A comma alone cannot join two main clauses.
- Transformation changes the form of a sentence but never its meaning; use one link word for one link.
Questions answered
Is "beside the pond near our house" a phrase or a clause? Give a reason.
It is a phrase, because it contains no subject and no finite verb.
Identify the main clause and the subordinate clause: "Unless you water the plants, they will dry up."
The main clause is "they will dry up". The subordinate clause is "Unless you water the plants".
Name the kind of subordinate clause in bold: "I wonder whether the post office is open today."
It is a noun clause, acting as the object of the verb "wonder".
Name the kind of subordinate clause in bold: "The cook whose biryani won the prize is my uncle."
It is an adjective clause, describing the noun "cook".
Name the kind of subordinate clause in bold and say what question it answers: "Since the gate was locked, we climbed over the wall."
It is an adverb clause of reason, answering the question "why?".
Classify the sentence as simple, compound or complex: "The puppy wagged its tail but would not come out from under the bed."
It is simple. There is one subject, "the puppy", sharing two verbs, so there is only one clause.
Correct the error: "The phone was ringing, nobody picked it up."
The sentence joins two main clauses with only a comma. Correct versions include "The phone was ringing, but nobody picked it up" or "Although the phone was ringing, nobody picked it up."
Change into a simple sentence: "As soon as she reached the station, she bought a ticket."
"On reaching the station, she bought a ticket."