Questions tagged [clauses]
А clause is a unit of grammatical organization next below the sentence in rank and in traditional grammar said to consist of a subject and predicate.
640
questions
2
votes
2
answers
76
views
What is the function of the word "boats" in this sentence?
For instance, they can learn that boats float and can practice ways to make boats move across water.
Is it a subject or an object (the bolded word)?
- 21
0
votes
2
answers
28
views
It was creative to combine these two materials for a painting. - general past thing or single past event?
"It was creative to combine these two materials for a painting."
Does this sentence have two interpretations?
(1)
Interpreted as a comment about a general thing. "Generally speaking, ...
- 1,927
3
votes
2
answers
81
views
Why does the subordinate clause not have the verb “be”?
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 4:
The astonishment of the ladies was just what he wished; that of Mrs. Bennet perhaps surpassing the rest; though, when the first tumult of joy was over, she began to ...
- 167
0
votes
0
answers
11
views
Which sentence is correct? (In spite of) [duplicate]
As the title has suggested, I'd like to know which sentence using "in spite of" is correct:
John keeps working in spite of him feeling unwell.
John keeps working in spite of his feeling ...
- 167
0
votes
1
answer
73
views
Rules of punctuation [closed]
In the following sentence, I am not sure about the punctuation, nor am I too sure about the general shape and structure of it. It feels clumsy and poorly constructed sentence. Can anyone offer an ...
0
votes
0
answers
31
views
What are the linkers in these sentences?
The army has previously rejected Khan’s claims it had anything to do with past purported attempts on his life.
What is the Linker in this sentence?
I have noticed many sentences like- I said it was ...
1
vote
1
answer
35
views
The day after/before - the choice of tenses
I've a question regarding the tense choice with the phrase "the day/night/minute... after/before + clause.
As we all know, after some words only the Present Simple is possible. Some of such are ...
- 45
2
votes
1
answer
32
views
Is the clause "what is" incomplete in this sentence?
I came across this sentence:
According to von Kármán, a scientist seeks to understand what is; an engineer, to create what never was.
What's the grammar of "what is" and "what never ...
- 61
0
votes
1
answer
32
views
Usage of "results" (from GRE)
Nylenna's study showed that errors in scientific manuscripts submitted for publication often escape reviewer's notice, results that were not _______: when Godlee conducted a study of the same ...
- 61
0
votes
0
answers
58
views
Do the provided sentences exhibit a reduced adjective clause structure?
Perseus then flew to the realm of Atlas whose chief pride was his garden
"filled with golden fruit".
Those in favor of a milder approach to the drug problem point to the poor results
"...
- 17
1
vote
3
answers
1k
views
It seems the main clause is absent in this complex sentence. Why is it correct?
I saw this complex sentence in the CGEL Quirk et al.
What surprises me is that they are fond of snakes and lizards.
In this sentence, the subject is the wh-clause and the predicative is that-clause.
...
- 474
0
votes
2
answers
36
views
Does it make any differences in meaning when the subordinate clause is at the end or beginning of the sentence?
Does it make any differences in meaning when the subordinate clause is at the end or beginning of the sentence?
Example 1
Mom always makes sure Tom has food to eat before he leaves for school.
...
- 1,927
0
votes
2
answers
46
views
{WHO/WHOM} - Need some advice in this phrase
I'm being stuck in this phrase:
WHO or WHOM?
"The doctor ___ my grandmother liked lives in New York."
In my conception, the doctor is suffering the action, so it might be the object, right? ...
- 31
1
vote
2
answers
42
views
Time clause in present perfect - Is Mr. Jackson still President?
Since Mr. Jackson became president, unemployment has increased.
I know a time clause might refer to a particular point in the past. But the question is, Is Mr. Jackson still President?
She hasn't ...
- 556
0
votes
2
answers
21
views
does the "By + gerund" clause have a passive meaning?
I have a sentence similar to this one:
Hibernate can validate your schema by setting the Hibernate property to validate
Does it imply that Hibernate validates this schema because it (Hibernate) set ...
0
votes
1
answer
30
views
How should I take the struture 'that moment by'?
In this following context, how should I understand this that clause ' that moment by'?
Should I take it as: 'that moment by moment'?
Context:
All life and all existence here,
With all its joy and all ...
- 429
0
votes
1
answer
25
views
one or two sentences?
The following is a link to a CNN news story.
https://www.facebook.com/cnninternational/videos/this-pool-loving-pup-cant-get-enough-time-in-the-water-see-his-reaction-to-getti/1414625682685648/
There ...
- 5,894
2
votes
2
answers
217
views
'I was eating when he came home' vs 'He came home when I was eating'
Is there any difference between these two sentences?
I was eating when he came home.
and
He came home when I was eating.
Supun Sanjeewa
0
votes
1
answer
22
views
Prepositional phrase or adjective phrase
i think that we can make a step in the right direction
In the sentence above, is "that we can make a step in the right direction" a noun clause or adverb clause?
It's very confusing for me ...
1
vote
1
answer
32
views
Sentence used as a subject
This sentence came up in one of the videos of a popular English teacher on youtube.
Just because you don't have a degree shouldn't make a difference.
My question is, is this correct? Can the phrase '...
- 475
3
votes
2
answers
742
views
When should I make a pause: before or after "that"?
Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me that it would be harder to study chemistry or physics without a teacher's guidance than painting.
I've always thought that I should say like "it seems to me ...
- 253
0
votes
1
answer
17
views
Reverse many of the changes, including ... . What does including refer to?
There is a sentence:
Kılıçdaroğlu and his opposition coalition campaigned on the promise of returning Turkey to parliamentary democracy, overhauling two decades of Erdoğan’s rule by pledging to ...
- 1,189
4
votes
2
answers
688
views
What does "as you told me to" in negative sentence mean?
a. I didn't close the door, as you told me to.
Does that mean:
You told me to close the door and I didn't.
You told me not to close the door and I didn't.
How about:
b. I didn't close the door, as ...
- 2,689
4
votes
1
answer
678
views
"played the violin as/like my brother did"
a. My sister played the violin as my brother did.
b. My sister played the violin like my brother (did).
Do those only mean
My sister played the violin in the same manner my brother did.
or could ...
- 2,689
0
votes
1
answer
21
views
Shortened complex sentences or simple sentences with multiple subjects/predicates
In sentences akin to "I like to cook and eat" or "John and Jill should come over tomorrow", we have multiple sentence members of the same type which are joined by conjunctions. My ...
- 101
3
votes
2
answers
142
views
I don't... neither am I in one sentence
I don't want to go out, neither am I interested in going to your
place.
Is this sentence correct? Can I use "neither" after saying that I don't do something? Most examples that I've seen ...
- 584
0
votes
0
answers
25
views
such a good show that
Which are correct:
It was such a good show that everyone loved it.
It was a good show, such that everyone loved it.
Is there any difference in the meanings?
- 2,689
0
votes
2
answers
34
views
"but which" vs "therefore they”
This question is from a school exam about clauses
Can you please explain how I can choose between these two options?
Working in this way, she and her fellow architects have produced various spaceship-...
- 87
-1
votes
1
answer
122
views
Is "it is" a phrase or a clause?
Is "it is" considered a phrase or a clause? What is the reason?
0
votes
2
answers
57
views
A sentence with that: grammatical?
"Tom talked about the phenomenon that youngsters like going shopping nowadays has sparked off a debate." Is this sentence grammatically correct? First, I would like to know whether that can ...
- 45
0
votes
2
answers
40
views
Compound sentence with a common verb and an article
I have the following set of compound sentences:
She is a doctorate in physics, a soccer player, and a pianist.
She is a doctorate in physics and is a soccer player and a pianist.
She is a doctorate in ...
hbaromega
1
vote
1
answer
29
views
"Despite the fact that x" <-- phrase, a clause, or phrase + a clause?
I know that “despite” is a preposition.
However, I am confused about its role in the following sentence (and similar sentences that use “despite the fact that”):
SENTENCE: Despite the fact that I was ...
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
55
views
"will" vs. "would"
Intentionally long-winded sentence for the sake of grammar reviewing
If you wish for me to talk about every figure of rhetoric there is in the same breath, I would have to tell you I couldn't hold it ...
1
vote
1
answer
557
views
The meaning of the clause "his chin nuzzled into his breast"
I started to read a novel written by Jorge Orwell - "1984". There is a clause in a sentence "Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape a vile wind, slipped ...
- 65
1
vote
0
answers
61
views
How to rewrite 'she sings like a bird'
She sings like a bird.
If I want to rewrite this sentence using 'as' what would be the appropriate sentence?
1.She sings as a bird does.
2.She sings, as a bird does.
- 487
2
votes
2
answers
181
views
Is the which clause in this sentence used correctly?
Is this sentence natural or at least grammatically correct?
At least he is not a simp, which many people are.
I was told that which shouldn't be used to refer to people, which seems to be confirmed ...
- 3,388
3
votes
3
answers
64
views
Question about Comma - Determining Clauses
In the sentence below, should there be a comma after "President"?
John comes to RNW from the Office of the President, where he supported the RanTech systems for the last 20 years.
- 195
0
votes
2
answers
55
views
He was so angry that he picked up his axe: noun clause?
He was so angry that he picked up his axe.
Is "that he picked up his axe" a noun clause?
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
65
views
What is "her going mad" in "I am afraid of her going mad"?
I'm having moment. In the sentence
"I am afraid of her going mad"
"her going mad" is the object/complement of the proposition "of".
But what is it? It has an "-ing&...
0
votes
0
answers
18
views
we are aware when one of our cognitive biases is activated
It is important that we are aware when one of our cognitive biases is activated and make a conscious choice to overcome that bias.
'when one of our cognitive biases is activated' is a adverbial ...
- 4,142
0
votes
0
answers
12
views
What happiness is is being discussed
From https://ell.stackexchange.com/a/85353/65098, I learned "I didn't know what it was." is correct.
So if I use the what clause as a subject, like
What happiness is is being discussed.
It ...
- 654
0
votes
1
answer
14
views
Question about the sentence structure and grammar of this sentence
Here are five things about friendships that some people believe are true.
This sentence looks fine to me but I find it hard to explain to people what sentence structure this is. It seems like there ...
ZHEN YU
2
votes
1
answer
61
views
Can 'what' be the object of the main clause and the object of a dangling modifier of the subordinate clause at the same time?
Here's such a sentence:
His dad needs to find what magazines he grew up reading.
The 'what' here is the object of the main clause.
His dad need to find what magazines (object).
The subordinate ...
- 3,388
0
votes
2
answers
44
views
Is this string of words an independent clause "Historically, the lands that are now parts of New York and Delaware."
Is the below sentence a compound sentence?
Historically, the Lenape inhabited lands that are now parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New York, and they settled along the rivers and bays.
...
- 101
-1
votes
1
answer
44
views
I'm not as you think or I'm not as think I'm [closed]
Let's look at these sentences.
I'm not as you think I am.
You're more beautiful than you think you are.
Can I rewrite these sentences as:
I'm not as you think.
You're more beautiful than you think.
...
- 487
0
votes
1
answer
22
views
"When"/"After" I heard him talk, I asked him if he got a cold - do they have a difference?
Example 1
When I heard him talk, I asked him if he got a cold.
Example 2
After I heard him talk, I asked him if he got a cold.
(1) Do they have a difference?
Example 3
When I saw him stumble, I ...
- 1,927
0
votes
0
answers
28
views
when clause with the continuous tense
I always eat a lot of meat when I am visiting that place.
I think it means "while I am visiting that place I am always eating a lot of meat".
However, I think it can mean
I always eat a ...
- 4,122
2
votes
1
answer
379
views
"I doing sth", "me doing sth", "my doing sth" as a subject or an object
I'm learning English and it sometimes confuses me what constructions, either clause or gerund, are acceptable as subjects or objects.
In a question I asked previously, I asked about the grammaticality ...
- 73
1
vote
2
answers
110
views
Clauses with no subject
I've been reading that English does not permit clauses without a subject (except imperative sentences and infinitive verbs, right?). So I don't understand phenomena such as:
We've updated our Privacy ...
- 13
0
votes
0
answers
19
views
It is all those or there are all those
I am not sure if it is appropriate to use "it is/was" or “there is/was” in the following situation:
( I was trying to tell what I was surprised to see in my way to visit a friend to my ...
