Clauses Examples

A clause is a group of words that contains both a subject and a predicate (or a verb). There are two types of clauses

Independent Clauses are complete sentences. They can stand alone and express a complete thought.

Examples: I want some cereal.
Marie likes cats.
Joseph is a good soccer player.

Dependent Clauses contain a subject and a predicate, but they do not express a complete thought.

Examples: When it is raining
Because you were late
Before you go to bed

All of these groups of words contain both a subject and a verb, but they cannot stand alone. They do not express a complete thought.

There are three main types of dependent clauses: adjective, adverb, and noun. They are named by the way they function in a sentence.

An adjective clause describes or gives more information about a noun-tells us which one, what kind, or how many.

Example: The bag that someone left on the bus belongs to Mrs. Smith.

An adverb clause describes or gives more information about the verb-tells us when, where, how, to what extent, or under what condition something is happening.

Example: She cried because her seashell was broken.

A noun clause takes the place of a noun in the sentence.

Example: Whoever ate the last piece of pie owes me!