ATS1340 ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES WORKBOOK 1 ISSUE 2 | Page 15

Grammar point: Clauses
A clause is a part of a sentence that
1. Contains a verb and a subject
2. Makes full or partial sense
Clauses are the main building blocks of sentences as they carry the major meaning/s
of the sentence.
For example:
Yet, in the social sciences and other areas of the humanities, often, the object
domain of the discourse is the discourse itself.
Underline the clause/s in the sentence above.
There are two common types of clauses:
1.
Independent or main clauses
These clauses make sense by themselves; they express a full unit of meaning
and could be a sentence in their own right.
2.
Dependent of subordinate clauses
These clauses also contain a verb and a subject but only display partial
meaning; they depend on the main clause to make any sense or else their
role is to add to the meaning of the main or independent clause. Dependent
or subordinate clauses cannot form a sentence without a main clause.
What type of clause is in the example sentence used above? A sentence must
contain at least one main or independent clause.
Why isn’t “in the social sciences and other areas of the humanities” a clause?
How many clauses are in the following sentence:
Clauses are the main building blocks of sentences as they carry the major
meaning/s of the sentence.
Number them (1) & (2) and identify each clause as either main or dependent:
(1) ________________________________________
(2) ________________________________________
What are the clauses are in the following sentence:
These clauses make sense by themselves; they express a full unit of meaning
and they could be a sentence in their own right.
Number them (1) & (2) and identify each clause as either main or subordinate (be
careful...tricky question):
(1) ________________________________________
(2) ________________________________________

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