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Clause: a group of words containing subject and a verb or subject + verb is

called clause. (Clause
is part of sentence.)
Clauses are divided into two parts:
√ Structure Kinds
Structure:
1. Dependent / Subordinate clauses
2. Independent / Main clauses
Dependent / Subordinate clauses:
The clause that does not give a complete idea by itself is called subordinate clause.
e.g., When I came, he had left the class.
Independent / Main clauses:
It is a clause that gives a complete meaning (idea) by itself.
e.g., Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
Kinds of subordinate clauses:
There are firmly three kinds of clauses:
√ Noun / Nominal clauses
√ Adjective / Relative clauses
√ Adverb / Adverbial clauses
Noun Clause:
Noun clause is a clause that acts as subject, object of a verb or preposition or as a
complement of the sentence.
e.g., Life is what we make.
Relative Clause:
A relative clause is a clause that describes its preceding noun. (We call them
adjective clauses because they function as adjectives.)
e.g., He is the man who has passed his Master's degree in law.
Adverb Clause:
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An adverb clause is a clause that adds some more information about time, place,
manner, circumstance, degree, etc., of a verb, an adjective or another adverb.
e.g., As soon as he entered the room, everyone laughed.

Adjective /Relative clauses

An adjective clause is a clause that adds some more information about its
preceding noun.
There are three kinds of relative clauses:
1. Defining / restrictive / identifying relative clauses
2. Non-defining / non-restrictive / non-identifying relative clauses
3. Connective relative clauses
Defining relative clauses:
A defining relative clause describes the preceding noun in such a way as to
distinguish it from other nouns of the same class.
As, He is the man (whom) we all respect.
Relative pronouns used in restrictive clauses:
Persons Things
Subject: who that Subject: which that
Object: who that whom Object: which that
Possessive: whose Possessive: whose of which

Non-defining relative clauses:

Non-defining relative clauses are placed after the nouns which are already
definite and merely give extra information about the noun.
As, Asif, who is an intelligent student, studies at Star Educational Society.
In above sentence “Who is an intelligent student” is extra information about Asif.
Relative pronouns used in non-restrictive clauses:
Persons Things
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Subject: who Subject: which
Object: who whom Object: which
Possessive: whose Possessive: whose of which
Notes:
a) The pronouns can be deleted in defining relative clauses when it is used as an
object of a sentence, but we cannot do the same in non-defining relative
clauses.
b) Comma is used between clause and noun only in non-defining relative clauses
and defining relative clauses are written without commas.
c) Non-defining relative clauses are not essential in the sentence; therefore they
can be omitted without causing confusion.
Connective relative clauses:
Connective relative clauses are those clauses which do not describe their noun, but
continue the story.
e.g., the clock struck thirteen, which made every one laugh.

They are usually placed:

√ After the object of the main verbs
√ After the prepositions + nouns
√ They can be replaced by and/but + he/she etc.
√ We can use one /two etc., few, several, some, etc. + of + whom / which.
e.g., I told Ali, who said he is busy.
I gave the letter to Ali, who gave it to my brother.
I threw the ball to Sultan and he threw it to Abbas.
I bought some books, some of which were written by Maulana Jallaluudin
Mohammad Balkhi.
Note:
a) Sometimes it may be difficult to say whether a clause in this position is non-
defining or connective relative clause, but there is no need for students to
make this distinction, as the two forms are the same.
b) The pronouns which are used in connective relative clauses are, who, whom,
whose and which.
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e.g., We went with Ali Raza, whose car broke down before we were halfway there.
=
We went with Ali Raza but his car broke down before we were halfway there.
He drank beer, which made him fat. = He drank beer and it made him fat.

Noun clause

Noun clause is a clause that functions as the subject of the sentence, object of the
sentence or complement of the sentence. (A clause that acts as a noun is called
noun clause.)
e.g., Life is what you make.
Since a noun clause does the work of a noun, it can be:-
√ The subject of a verb
√ The object of a transitive verb
√ The object of a preposition
√ The complement of a verb of incomplete predication
√ In apposition of a noun or pronoun
In each of the following complex sentences, the noun clause is the subject of a
verb:
1. When I shall return is uncertain.
2. What he says is true.
3. That he will come is certain.
In each of the following complex sentences, the noun clause is the object of a
transitive verb:
1. I cannot tell what has become of him.
2. No one knows who he is.
3. I can prove that this is his passport.
In each of the following complex sentences, the noun clause is the object of a
preposition:
1. Pay careful attention to what I am going to say.
2. There is no meaning in what you say.
3. There were no complaints except that the teacher was so boring.
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In each of the following complex sentences, the noun clause is used as the
complement of verb:
1. My belief is that God is one.
2. Life is what we make it.
3. The truth is that we have been deceived.
In each of the following complex sentences, the noun clause is in apposition to a
noun or pronoun:
1. His belief that some day he would succeed cheered him through many
disappointments.
2. You must never forget this that honesty is the best policy.
3. It is feared that she will not do it.
Note:
a) From the above examples it will be seen that a noun clause is generally
introduced by the sub- ordinate conjunction that. Sometimes, however, the
conjunction that is omitted.
b) The subordinate conjunctions which are used in noun clauses are as followed:
Who, whom, whose, which, what, why, when, where, that, etc., along with their
(ever) combination.

Adverb clauses

An adverb clause is a clause that adds some more information about place, time,
degree, manner, circumstance and etc., of a verb, an adjective or another adverb.
e.g., Whatever you do, don’t tell jokes.

There are mainly eight kinds of adverb clauses:

1. Time 2. Place 3. Purpose 4. Reason
5. Condition 6. Result 7. Comparison 8. Contrast
Time Clauses:
An adverbial clause relating to time and introduced by a temporal (Time)
conjunction is called time clause; Such as;
After, as, as soon as, before, immediately, since, when, whenever, while, the
minute, the moment and etc…
e.g., The world always will be the same so long as men are men.
Note: Remember that we don’t use any future form or conditional tense in time
clauses.
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Each of the following future forms becomes present when we put it in a time
clause.
a) Future simple, future continuous and present continuous used as future form,
become present simple when we put them in time clauses.
b) The future perfect changes to present perfect and future perfect continuous
changes to present perfect continuous.
c) A Conditional tense changes to a past tense.
e.g., You will be back soon. I will stay till then. = I will stay till you get bake.
I will have finished my homework in a few minutes.
The moment / as soon as I have finished I’ll give you a call.
We knew that he would arrive about six.
We knew that till he arrived nothing would be done.

Adverb Clauses of Place:

Adverb clauses of place are introduced by the subordinating conjunctions where
and whereas.
e.g., I have put it where I can find it.
Note: In older English whence and whither were also used:
e.g., Go quickly whence you came.
They did not whither they should go.
Purpose:
Purpose is expressed by:
√ Infinitive: He is here to teach you.
√ Infinitive + noun + preposition: I need a pen to write with.
√ In order / so as + infinitive They are here in order / so as to enjoy
themselves.
In order and so as are used:
√ With a negative infinitive to express negative purpose
√ With to be and to have
√ When the purpose is less immediate
e.g., We go to school in order not to remain illiterate.
She gave up work in order / So as to have more time for enjoyment.
He is studying mathematics in order / so as to qualify for a good job.
Note: If there is any personal object of the main verb, the purpose refers to this not
to the subject.
e.g., I sent Sultan to the library to bring some books. (Sultan was to bring the
books.)

Purpose Clauses:
We normally use clauses of purpose when the person to whom the purpose refers is
different from the subject of the main clause, or when the original subject is stated
again.
e.g., I will give you a map so that you can find the way.
Purpose clauses are expressed by:
√ So that + will, can, may, shall and their past forms
√ In order that + may, shall and their past forms
e.g., We invited them to the party so that they should enjoy themselves.
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These men risk their lives in order that we may live more safely.
Note: If the verb of main clause is in past tenses, in purpose clauses the past form
of auxiliaries are used, but if the verb of main clause is in present, present perfect
or any future tense, we use the first form of auxiliaries.
e.g., He drew the sword so that he might defend himself.
I won’t let you climb trees so that you may tear your trousers.
They have curved their names on the stone so that the future generations
may know what they had done.
The UNO was formed in order that countries might discuss world problems
better.
Reason Clauses:
Reason is normally introduced by subordinating conjunctions that, as, since,
because.
e.g., since you are so clever you will be able to explain this.
He was very pleased that you have passed.
As he was not there, I spoke to his brother.
Because I like you, I shall help you.
Adverb Clauses of Condition:
Condition means thing needed to make something else possible or on which
another thing depended.
Condition clauses are normally introduced by the subordinating conjunctions if,
whether, unless.
e.g., If you have tears, prepare to shed them now.
You must go whether you hear from them or not.
Unless you work harder you will fail.
Result Clauses:
The structure of result clauses are:
√ So + adjective / adverb…that…
√ Such + adjective + noun…that…
e.g.
The milk was so good that we could not stop drinking it.
He such a good man that all respect him.

Adverb Clauses of Comparison:

Adverb clauses of comparison are of two kinds:-
√ Adverb Clauses of Comparison of Degree.
√ Adverb Clauses of Comparison of Manner.
Degree:
Adverb Clauses of Comparison of Degree are introduced by the subordinating
conjunction than, or by the relative adverb as.
e.g., It is later than I thought.
Enough is as good as a feast.
Manner:
Adverb Clauses of Comparison of Manner are introduced by the relative adverb as.
e.g., It all ended as I expected.
As he has lived so will he die.
Contrast Clauses:
The structure of contrast clauses are:
√ Though, although, even though + subject + verb.
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√ In spite of, despite + Noun / Pronoun / Gerund.
e.g., Even though I didn’t understand a word, I kept smiling.
Despite I forbade this you have done it.