What is a clause in English grammar?

A clause is a group of related words that contains a subject and a verb. Each clause has one main subject and one main verb.

The subject is the noun or pronoun that is doing the verb. The verb is the action word in the sentence. Clauses are important in English grammar because they can stand alone as sentences or be combined with other clauses to form complex sentences.

There are three types of clauses in English grammar: independent, dependent, and relative.

Independent Clause

Independent clauses are also called main clauses. They express a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence. An independent clause has a subject and a verb and is not connected to any other clause.

Dependent Clause

Dependent clauses are also called subordinate clauses. They cannot stand alone as a sentence because they do not express a complete thought. A dependent clause has a subject and a verb but it is missing one of the three elements that are needed to make a complete sentence: a subject, a verb, or an independent clause. Dependent clauses are connected to independent clauses.

Relative Clause

Relative clauses are a type of dependent clause. They are also called adjective clauses because they describe or modify a noun or pronoun. A relative clause has a subject and a verb and begins with a relative pronoun (who, whom, whose, that, or which) or a relative adverb (when, where, or why).