What Is a Clause?

Understanding what is a clause is essential to produce correctly-punctuated sentences. Daily Writing Tips shared this thorough yet simple explanation in one of their newsletters. Don’t forget to test your knowledge with the quiz at the bottom!

What Is a Clause?

A clause is a statement or a question that generally consists of a subject and a verb phrase and constitutes a complete thought. Sentences can consist of a single clause, but they often include two: a main, or independent, clause and a subordinate, or dependent, clause.

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Main Clause vs. Dependent Clause

A main clause can form a complete sentence. (The preceding statement is both a clause and a sentence.) A subordinate clause, by contrast, depends on a main clause to provide the primary proposition of the sentence, which is why it’s also called a dependent clause.

“Which is why it’s also called a dependent clause” is itself a dependent clause. One could write or speak that sequence of words on its own, and listeners and readers would understand that it pertains to the previous sentence. However, in formal writing, it’s best to link such constructions to a main clause with a punctuation mark—usually a comma, though a dash can also link a main clause to a dependent clause, as it does in this sentence.

Dividing Sentences with Two Main Clauses

A sentence may contain two main clauses; in this sentence, a semicolon separates the two main clauses, although a dash may also be employed. Note that the semicolon could be replaced with a period—the segments of the sentence that precede and follow the semicolon could be formatted as a separate sentence. The preceding sentence could also be divided into two: one sentence could be formed from the clause preceding the dash, and another could consist of the clause following the dash.

Using Colons in Clauses

The sentence preceding this statement shows another punctuation mark that can distinguish one main clause from another: the colon. Note, however, that in the sentence before this one, what follows the colon is a sentence fragment—“the colon” includes a subject but no verb phrase—so that sentence does not contain a main clause and a dependent clause.

Importance of Dependent Clauses in Written Communication

It’s a good thing for written communication that English allows—even encourages—dependent clauses. Otherwise, writing would consist solely of main clauses. A succession of main clauses causes reader fatigue. Engagement in a piece of text is enhanced by a variety of sentence structures. (I’ll stop annoying you with this string of main clauses now.)

Today’s Quiz

Question 1:

Which of the following sentences correctly uses a main, or independent, clause and a subordinate, or dependent, clause?

a) The game was quite intense, as the team fought hard.

b) I enjoy playing piano also it’s a good stress buster.

c) Tea is brewing; it will be ready in a few minutes.

d) The food was delicious, however, the dessert was too sweet.

Question 2:

Which punctuation mark should you use to link a main clause to a dependent clause?

a) a colon

b) a semicolon

c) a comma

d) a period

Question 3:

Which of the following punctuation marks is also appropriate for linking dependent clauses to a main clause?

a) a dash

b) a question mark

c) a hyphen

d) an exclamation point

Question 4:

Which of the following sentences appropriately represents the structure of a sentence containing both a main and a dependent clause?

a) I believe it’s going to rain, though the weather report portends clear skies.

b) The weather report portends clear skies; nonetheless, I believe it’s going to rain.

c) The weather report that portends clear skies; I believe it’s going to rain.

d) The weather report makes me believe it’s going to rain.

Question 5:

Which one of the following sentence structures is regarded as fatiguing for the reader?

a) a sentence containing only dependent clauses

b) a sentence containing both an independent clause and a dependent clause

c) a succession of sentences containing only independent clauses

d) a succession of sentences containing both an independent clause and a dependent clause

The correct answers are as follows:

1. a) The game was quite intense, as the team fought hard. (The dependent clause “as the team fought hard” is correctly attached to the independent clause “The game was quite intense.”)

2. c) comma (Commas are commonly used to link an independent clause to a dependent clause.)

3. a) dash (A dash can be used ito link a dependent clause to an independent clause.)

4. a) I believe it’s going to rain, though the weather report portends clear skies. (This sentence is structured correctly with the independent clause “I believe it’s going to rain” and the dependent clause “though the weather report portends clear skies.”)

5. c) a succession of sentences containing only independent clauses (According to the lesson, a succession of independent clauses causes reader fatigue.)