Subordinate Clauses
We discussed subordinate clauses (SC) on pages 86 to 89 and noted that they al-
ways begin with a subordinating conjunction. When a sentence contains a sub-
ordinate clause (or any other type of dependent clause) it is called acomplex
sentence.(A sentence with coordinated independent clauses and at least one
dependent clause is called acompound-complex sentence.)Some of the more
common subordinating conjunctions were listed previously and are shown
again here for convenience:
because if as
until since whereas
although though while
unless so that once
after before when
whenever as if even if
in order that as soon as even thoughSubordinate clauses function as adverbials; thus, they modify a verb phrase
or an entire clause. In the latter case, they are sentence-level modifiers. The dif-
ference is related to the restrictive or nonrestrictive nature of the modifier. Let’s
examine these two possibilities:
- Fred drove to Las Vegas because he liked the desert air.
- Macarena exercised until she was exhausted.
- Although he was uncultivated, Buggsy liked opera.
- Fritz wore a sweater, even though the evening was warm.
- Raul, because he was young, showed the confidence of youth.
In sentences 44 and 45, the SC is a restrictive modifier, which means that
it supplies necessary or defining information to a verb phrase. In sentences
46 through 47, however, the subordinate clause is a nonrestrictive modifier
in the initial, final, and medial positions, respectively. Nonrestrictive subor-
dinate clauses are sentence-level modifiers. However, some subordinate
clauses at the beginning of a sentence may not be punctuated if the writer is
using the length convention for initial modifiers. Such initial subordinate
136 CHAPTER 4