Brief Introduction

Traditional or prescriptive grammar tends to focus attention on parts of speech or classifying individual words (see previous Chapter 5), whereas functional or descriptive grammar centers on the way these words work together. The word grammar means more than using the right words in the right way. When we understand the rules of language, we become independent users, rather than always memorising specific usages^[1]. There are many excellent grammar resources available in book and online format; this is not intended to be a complete guide, only a brief introduction.

Functions

There are four main sentence types – statement, exclamation, question, and command. Sentences are made up of smaller parts we call clauses and there are two different types of clauses. (Click on each bold font word for a definition)

Independent Clause

An independent clause can stand on its own, hence the name. It must contain a subject (who or what) and a verb (an action being performed by the subject), for example, it can be as simple as – The rain fell on the window (Subject underlined and verb italicised). All simple sentences are independent clauses. Independent clauses can be joined together, using conjunctions, to form more complex sentences (see previous Chapter 5 for conjunctions).

Dependent Clause

A dependent clause, also called a subordinate clause, relies on the information in an independent clause to make a complete meaning.

For example, let’s use our previous sentence and add additional information – The rain fell on the window in great cascades.

The original sentence and its meaning is still intact, though the final three words are dependent upon the independent clause for their meaning. The preposition ‘in’ indicates in what manner – ‘in’ the current setting or circumstances already indicated by the independent clause. The noun phrase (or group) ‘great (adjective) cascades (noun)’ adds additional information to the independent clause. The introduction of a second noun does not cancel out the subject of the sentence; the dependent clause ‘borrows’ the subject of ‘rain’ in order to make the sentence’s meaning clear.

How do I identify a clause?

As we are already aware, words are not used in isolation and rely on each other for making meaning. When trying to identify a clause, firstly look for the verbs or verb phrases in the sentence, then ask yourself who or what is performing the action in the sentence.

For example – The student was studying in the library. Studying is the main verb  and was is an auxiliary verb that modifies the meaning and provides the ‘When’ – past. Now ask ‘Who’ is doing the studying, and this will indicate the subject of the sentence – The student. ‘The student was studying’ is an independent clause; it makes sense on its own. ‘In the library’ is a dependent clause that adds additional information though would not make sense on its own.

Therefore, in a verb phrase or group the main word is always a verb and this is often preceded by an auxiliary verb that modifies the action. All Major Word Classes can be categorized into Word Groups (see below for further examples).

Word Groups

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In the activity below you will find three simple sentences broken into two phrases. Each has an independent and a dependent clause. Click, drag, and drop the clauses into the correct field and then check your answers.