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.
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"Hope this help" or "Hope this helps"?
I often see people write "hope this helps" at the end of a communication, especially when they are trying to answer other people's queries about computer problems.
Recently, my English ...
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Slang from Fresh Prince from Bel-Air S01E03: Vacuumed, Cheese Dog, Harley, Fly for Me
Hilary was talking about the girl (Mimi, whose father is a doctor and only let his girl date young man w/ promising career, especially doctor) whom will had a crush on.
Hilary: She's been vacuumed ...
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What is the order of events? "I had milk and played computer games."
I saw the sentence on the internet like "I had milk and played computer games."
There are two events occurring in the sentence.
I had milk
I played computer games.
I would love to know what is the ...
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For example VS for an example [duplicate]
I always read this (for example), but example is a countable noun. So, I think it should be 'for an example'.
Please check both sentences and let me know, which one is correct:
Knowing the weather ...
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What is the difference between "it seems" and "it looks like"?
Many times while I talked to others or wrote some text messages I got confusion about which phrase I should use to express the actual meaning of the words
It seems . . .
and
It looks like . ....
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"Assume something be" or "Assume something is"?
I am writing a scientific paper.
I am not sure about the usage of "assume."
Should I say "Let us assume x is real," or should I say "Let us assume x be real"?
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What is the meaning of "for many years to come" in this sentence?
The Bilingual Education Act is clearly a work-in-progress, and related
issues are likely to be found in the media and on the ballots for many
years to come.
There's one main clause, in skeleton ...
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How about someone do something?
Can "how about" be used in this way? I heard it in an episode of Grey's Anatomy:
How about we don't talk to her anymore?
Because from what I've learned after "how about" we're ...
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Why are there two “is”’s in: Why is yawning is contagious?
A NY Times article contains this question:
Why is yawning is contagious?
Why are there two “is”’s in this sentence?
Similarly for these sentence fragments:
... as far as the freak was concerned was ...
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Sentence started with Verb+ing, but it's a really different structure
In the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, I came across this confusing sentence:
Facing the square is the Palazzo Marchesale, the palace of the Saggese family, once the great landowner of those parts....
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semicolon vs conjunction "and"?
Does using a semicolon to join two clauses form a coordinate construction with two clauses coordinated and is it the same as with "and" and are such sentences interchangeable ? And can we omit words(...
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What is the function of but in the sentence?
I don't know why but for some reason when I got on the train that
day it was unusually full, something I don't recall ever happening in
the past.
As for the above sentence, I have some questions:
...
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What's the function of "how" in "This is how they lived"?
This is how they lived.
In the sentence above, what function does how have? Complements, interrogatives, content clauses, etc. I looked up on CGEL, but I’ve not found explanations for the example. It ...
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When do we put a comma before "so that"?
I am not sure where I got the idea that a comma must be added before "so that", but I have been doing this for a while now, and now I realized it might be ungrammatical, or is it? When would you add a ...
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"In such a people" — meaning?
"It would be well for us to admire what is worthy of admiration in such a people,
rather than to carp about their errors."
what is meant by in such a people? Is it (in such a people) a phrase or a ...
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When dependent clauses require commas, when do they allow them, and when are they definitely incorrect?
I've been writing in English for many years, but there are certain recurring issues that come up in my writing, which I can't seem to resolve permanently. Primarily I have a problem with punctuation. ...
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"What really am" or "What I really am" - which is more appropriate
Which statement is more appropriate?
Is that what really am?
Is that what I really am?
And instead of "what", can I use "how" and have the same meaning?
The person saying the statement ...
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Should clauses always start with a relative or subordinate? Can it also start with a preposition? Can there be clauses within prepositional phrases?
Is there a clause or a prepositional phrase in the sentence,
That is the large, main branch from which many smaller branches branch out?
If it is a prepositional phrase, what is the object? If it ...
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What subordinate clauses are there here?
1) Am I right to divide these senteces into clauses like this?
2) What about their types(subject, predicative, object)?
It’s odd (main clause) / how it hurts/ at these times/ not to be part of ...
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"However" used in a conditional clause?
Example: However, I would be able to transfer the money if you would give me your bank account number.
Is it grammatically correct to use adverbs such as "however" in a conditional clause? I ...
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Marking the functions of a sentence: 'She may like it'
I am reading Cambridge Grammar of English Language (CaGEL) all over again, though not cover to cover.
One page no. 215, I came across
The major functions in the structure of the clause are the ...
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Can sentences be joined when we need to say "such as X OR Y"?
When defining something, it can also be defined, for example, as A or B. If I give you a practical case to this situation,
The idea behind the process is to find a common envelope.
The ...
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What is the subject in the introductory clause "After studying for 1 year. . ."?
Today I wrote:
After studying for 1 year, I got 6.5 in the IELTS exam.
And the first part (before the comma) of the sentence got me thinking: where is the subject?
What I want to know is:
Is ...
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"Life changes; memories don't." A comma would be better?
I came across this sentence on a blog.
Life changes; memories don't.
The first time I read this sentence, I knew something was wrong.
If I'm not wrong, a semicolon is used between two independent ...
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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 ...
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"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 ...
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When "as" and "though" are used to introduce concession clauses
When "as" is used to introduce a concession clause, the clause has be inverse. For example, "Young as he is, he is knowledgeable".
I am wondering whether I can replace "though" with "as" in these ...
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Which kind of adverb clauses that show us Cause and Effect?
Some of the adverb clauses that show us Cause and Effect like: 'because, now that and since"
Are there any more of these?
What is the rule for using them?
For which of them we need to use comma in ...
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"Even though unfit" vs. "Unfit as I am"
I was practicing the Cambridge Michigan Grammar test when I came across the following question
_________, I still was able to get to the top of the mountain.
Even though unfit
Unfit as I ...
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Nominal subject clauses
To emphasise a particular information in a sentence we put a what clause followed by the appropriate form of the verb be:
We are looking for volunteers.
» What we are looking for is volunteers....
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a question regarding "when"
Why does he steal things when he could easily afford to buy them?
What does “when” in the sentence mean? Does it mean “in what situation”?
Is “when he could easily afford to buy them” a time clause?
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how to understand this attributive clause?
“We believe a product that addresses the more than 70 percent of global wireless subscribers that are unsubsidized pre-paid is necessary in order for Apple to grow its EPS next year,” Piecyk writes.
...
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What is the subject? And where to put comma(s)?
A world in which there are monsters, and ghosts, and things that want to steal your heart is a world in which there are angels, and dreams and a world in which there is hope. ― Neil Gaiman
May you ...
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"No more than" — comparing two clauses
I came across this sentence today:
Even she, who believed herself to be a revolutionary, could no more have broken her marital bangles than she could have driven a stake through her husband's heart....
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Combining sentences without using "that" or "which"
I am struggling to combine the following two ideas into one complete sentence:
High number of missed cycles can be seen from site1.
Missed cycles mainly occurred due to the missing segments (...
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Interpretation of adverbial clauses meaning time or condition, such as when, if
I'm learning English with text books, and one of them says tenses of adverbial clauses which means time or condition(such as when-clause or if-clause) depend on the main clauses to which they are ...
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The position of "that-adverbial clause" within sentence
I assume that "he was late at the meeting" is that-adverbial clause.
So, the sentences below are correct ?
That he was late at the meeting, we couldn't have started our discussion on the security of ...
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Does the meaning of a sentence change when we replace "and" with a comma?
Is
"You had better keep doing this and figuring out other complicated problems."
equal to
"You had better keep doing this, figuring out other complicated problems."
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what kind of nouns is used after whatever?
I'm confused about using whatever as a determiner. Can someone say whether we can use human nouns (like people, person, boy...) after "whatever"?
e.g.He will support whatever candidate wins....
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How to use supplementary -ing clauses at the end of sentences
I'm wondering how to use those "(noun-y) -ing clauses" when they are at the end of the sentence. Most grammar references I've found on the internet only talk about their use as adverbials at the ...
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Phrase reordering in a sentence
I recruited them to help me in the project.
Is it possible to say and mean the same thing?
To help me in the project, I recruited them.
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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 ...
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prepositions at the end of What and Which/that clauses
I don't understand why these clauses led by what or that/which end with prepositions, why do we need a preposition at the end and what are the grammar rules.
What clauses:
We took an interest in ...
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Which sentence is the "main clause"?
There is a long conditional sentence:
If he would just say he spoke too hastily, that of course he loves her
and wants to make it work, that they’ve had things stacked against
them, he knows ...
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Some Questions About Sentence Clauses
I'm having a little difficulty understanding the structure of sentences clauses. I understand that an independent clause works on its own as a simple sentence and that a dependent clause does not, but ...
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for as -- what does that mean?
An excerpt from Beginning Java Objects: From Concepts to Code by Jacquie Barker:
As mentioned previously, one of the arguments against declaring public attributes is that the object loses control ...
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"None is" or "none are"
I was asked if the following sentences will create problems and what are the assumptions I have to make:
(d) There are grammarians in the room but none of them is an American.
(e) There are ...
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"Which one is the best" vs. "which one the best is"
I am writing a paragraph like this:
There are mainly three ways to check which type a given value is. In this post, I am going to cover what they are, when to use them, and, in my opinion, which one ...
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Is it neccessary to add the subject "she" in "and had"?
Lisa used to be shy and have few friends.
Lisa used to be shy and had few friends.
In the first example, and conects two infinitives to be and to have.
I think, in the second example, it is better ...
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Using 'while' for more than 2 clauses
How do you use while for more than 2 clauses?
This works:
Bob is eating cheese, while John is playing the piano.
Does this work?
Bob is eating cheese, while John is playing the piano, while ...
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