English 10 / Unit 10: Grammar: Clauses, Sentence Structure and Punctuation
10.2 Kinds of Dependent Clauses
Notes
Dependent clauses work as nouns, adjectives or adverbs.
- Noun clause: acts as a subject or object. What she said surprised us.
- Adjective (relative) clause: describes a noun, usually beginning with who, which, that. The book that I borrowed is overdue.
- Adverb clause: tells when, why, how or under what condition. We left when the rain started.
- A restrictive (essential) clause is needed to identify the noun and takes no commas: Students who finish early may leave.
- A nonrestrictive (nonessential) clause adds extra information and is set off with commas: My brother, who lives in Ohio, is visiting.
- In formal American usage, that introduces restrictive clauses and which usually introduces nonrestrictive ones.
Practice
In "The dog that bit the mail carrier was taken away," the clause "that bit the mail carrier" is a(n):
It describes the noun "dog."
Which sentence is punctuated correctly?
A person has only one mother, so the clause is nonessential and needs a pair of commas.
In "I know that you tried your best," the clause "that you tried your best" acts as:
It answers "know what?" so it is a noun clause.
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