A Skeletal Introduction to English Grammar- Put brackets around the entire subordinate clause in each of the
following sentences. For example, [When he died in 2005,] Wilson had
just finished his play “Radio Golf.”
a. Journalists think that they do important work.
b. John has read two books since he woke up.
c. That Fred would do such a thing is very surprising.
d. If wishes were cars, I would drive a Ferrari. - Put brackets around the entire subordinate clause(s) in each of
the following sentences, and for each one you identify, say whether
it functions as a subject, object/complement, or modifier. For ex-
ample, You might think [that they had other things on their minds]
(Object/complement).
a. When you fly long distances, you get jet lag.
b. Many people believe that politicians are dishonest.
c. That she is late is extremely distressing.
d. If I had enough money, I would buy myself the latest David Brown
automobile.
The term clause is used to refer to simple sentences. It is also used to re-
fer to sentences within larger sentences. We refer to the clause that all other
clauses are subordinate to as the main clause. So we can speak of main, sub-
ordinate, and coordinate clauses in sentences. Would you marry me anyway
is the main clause of the sentence If I were a carpenter and you were a lady,
would you marry me anyway?
Exercise
In each of the following examples, put brackets around each clause
and then say for each whether it is a main clause, a subordinate clause,
or a coordinate clause. For example, [Linguists believe] (Main clause)
[that they understand the nature of language pretty well] (Subordi-
nate clause).
a. Journalists think that they do important work.
b. If wishes were cars, I’d drive a Ferrari.
c. Cats purr and tigers eat meat.
d. When you arrive, call us.