Clause

In grammar, a clause is the smallest grammatical unit that can express a complete proposition. A typical clause consists of a subject and a predicate, where the predicate is typically a verb phrase – a verb together with any objects and other modifiers. However the subject is sometimes not expressed; this is often the case in null-subject languages if the subject is retrievable from context, but it also occurs in certain cases in other languages such as English (as in imperative sentences and non-finite clauses).

A simple sentence usually consists of a single finite clause with a finite verb that is independent. More complex sentences may contain multiple clauses. Main clauses (i.e. matrix clauses, independent clauses) are those that can stand alone as a sentence. Subordinate clauses (i.e. embedded clauses, dependent clauses) are those that would be awkward or incomplete alone.

Two major distinctions

A primary division for the discussion of clauses is the distinction between main clauses (i.e. matrix clauses, independent clauses) and subordinate clauses (i.e. embedded clauses, dependent clauses). A main clause can stand alone, i.e. it can constitute a complete sentence by itself. A subordinate clause (i.e. embedded clause), in contrast, is reliant on the appearance of a main clause; it depends on the main clause and is therefore a dependent clause, whereas the main clause is an independent clause.

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Latest News for: clause (linguistics)

Settlement of the Bela Act dispute has shifted to adults’ concerns, sidelining those of children

Mail Guardian South Africa 23 Dec 2024
By rejecting clause 4, the opportunity to address these issues and ensure equitable access to education for all children, regardless of their linguistic background, has been missed ... This clause is ...

Aasu, indigenous groups meet to press for Clause 6 execution

The Times of India 30 Nov 2024
Clause 6 stipulates provisions for constitutional, legislative, and administrative safeguards to protect, preserve, and promote the Assamese people's cultural, social, and linguistic identity and heritage.

Assam to implement most suggestions of indigenous populace

Hindustan Times 05 Sep 2024
Clause 6 of the accord states, “Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people”.

30,113 Bangladeshis pushed back since 1985 Accord, Assam govt tells assembly

Hindustan Times 28 Aug 2024
Clause 6 of the accord states, “Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people”.

Senator and Vice President of the United States: Can J.D. Vance Hold Both Positions at ...

Jurist 25 Jul 2024
We should not confuse our current modern linguistic understanding of the Incompatibility Clause’s “Office under the United States”-language, with what that language meant to the American public in ...

When the word 'only' goes haywire

The Manila Times 28 Feb 2024
... semantic degree of the nouns or verbs it modifies, at times neatly linking one clause to another of its kind, but in the process baffling linguists and students of the language for the last 200 years.

What is BELA Bill and why are people concerned about it?

Independent online (SA) 27 Feb 2024
These policies must consider the linguistic needs of the broader community ... The clause permits the possession, consumption, or sale of liquor at private or religious events on school premises.

George Smith: An article about me

The Marshall News Messenger 21 Feb 2024
A Linguistic Adventure... Who is this linguistic maestro, and what are the attributes that make being George S ... Sentences, for George, are not mere conveyors of information but acrobatic feats that pirouette and somersault with linguistic flair.

It is time we gave the Canadian Party of Quebec more attention

Longview News-Journal 09 Feb 2024
Former Equality Party leader Henderson, Standish, Giuliana Pendaza, Fossey and Twolan presented speeches at the National Press Gallery in Ottawa in May, attempting to push the federal government to apply the disallowance clause to Bill 96.

Should Donald Trump be disqualified from state ballots?

Orange County Register 20 Jan 2024
Trump’s lawyers argue that the disqualification clause does not apply to Trump because the presidency is not an office ... Technically, if I were to lead a violent rebellion, the disqualification clause would not apply to me.

Have you heard about the 'whom of which' trend?

Phys Dot Org 27 Sep 2023
Back in the spring of 2022, professor of linguistics David Pesetsky was talking to an undergraduate class about relative clauses, which add information to sentences ... Normally, linguists would expect ...

Speaking hypothetically: Linguists explore how human language handles leaps from the here and now

Phys Dot Org 23 Aug 2023
Mellon Professor of Linguistics, and Sabine Iatridou, the David W. Skinner Professor of Linguistics ... both in the if-clause "if Julie knew" and in the consequent clause "Leah would know" (linguists unpack the word "would" as "will + past tense").

Same-sex marriage: All that is needed is a small change in the Special Marriage Act

Indian Express 15 Mar 2023
The main linguistic change necessary is in clauses which use the definite article \u201cthe\u201d ... Understanding this clause to refer to \u201ca\u201d husband or \u201ca\u201d wife would render the text compatible with constitutional rights.

Garneau calls on Fed statute to protect anglophone righte

Victoria Advocate 23 Jan 2023
... certain reality in Quebec for the linguist minority community there.” The issue with Bill 96 she says, what makes Quebec anglophones very anxious and fearful, is the use of the notwithstanding clause.

Cast of Santas at Mall of America gets more diverse

Hibbing Daily Tribune 22 Dec 2022
The Santa Experience, which has two locations at the Mall of America, has expanded its racial, ethnic and linguistic representation of Santa Claus ... And I'm also Santa Claus in Chicago at the Museum of Science and Industry.” Jefferson said.

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