Clause facts for kids

A clause is a group of words that has a subject and a predicate. The subject is who or what the sentence is about. The predicate tells what the subject does or what happens. Every predicate has one main verb. Think of a clause as a mini-sentence within a bigger sentence. For example, in I love you, "I" is the subject and "love you" is the predicate. This is one clause. In I love you and I will always love you, there are two clauses: I love you and I will always love you. These are joined by the word and, which is a conjunction. Clauses can be either independent or dependent.

What is a Clause?

A clause is like a building block for sentences. It always has two main parts:

• The subject: This is the person, place, thing, or idea that the clause is about. It's usually a noun or a pronoun.
• The predicate: This part tells you what the subject does or what is happening to the subject. It always includes a verb.

For example, in the sentence The dog barks loudly, "The dog" is the subject, and "barks loudly" is the predicate. "Barks" is the main verb.

How Clauses Work Together

Sentences can have one clause or many. When you have more than one clause, they often join together.

• Sometimes, a conjunction like and, but, or or connects clauses. For instance, She sang, and he danced.
• Sometimes, a pronoun can join clauses. For example: I live in London, which is in England. Here, "I live in London" is the first clause. "Which is in England" is the second clause. The word which acts like a pronoun for "London" and connects the two parts.

Sentences with fewer clauses are usually easier to understand.

Independent and Dependent Clauses

Clauses can be independent or dependent. Understanding the difference helps you write clearer sentences.

What is an Independent Clause?

An independent clause is a complete thought. It has a subject and a predicate, and it can stand alone as a simple sentence. It makes perfect sense by itself.

• I love you. (This is a complete thought and can be a sentence on its own.)
• The sun is shining.
• She ran fast.

What is a Dependent Clause?

A dependent clause (also called a subordinate clause) cannot stand alone as a complete sentence. Even though it has a subject and a verb, it doesn't express a full idea. It needs to be attached to an independent clause to make sense.

• ...because I love you. (This doesn't make sense by itself. It needs more information.)
• ...which is in England. (This needs to be connected to something, like "I live in London...")
• ...after she finished her homework.

Dependent clauses often start with words like because, although, when, if, who, which, or that. They depend on a main (independent) clause to complete their meaning.

For example, I love you makes sense on its own. But and always will does not. "And always will" is a dependent clause that needs to be connected to an independent clause, like "I love you, and always will."