SILGLOBALGlossary of
Linguistic Terms

Glossary term C

Clause

Definition

A clause is a grammatical unit that:

  • includes, at minimum, a predicate and an explicit or implied subject
  • expresses a proposition.

Examples

(English)

The following example sentence contains two clauses:

  • It is cold, although the sun is shining.

The main clause is it is cold and the subordinate clause is although the sun is shining.

Kinds

More specific concepts within clause.

Adverbial Clause Coordinate Clause Equative Clause Existential Clause Final Clause Finite Clause Main Clause Marking Clause Medial Clause Nominal Clause Nonfinite Clause Reference Clause Relative Clause Subordinate Clause

See also

Predicate Subject Proposition

Sources 4

  1. Hartmann and Stork 1972, 37
  2. Crystal 1980, 61–62
  3. Pike and Pike 1982, 438
  4. Mish 1991, 246
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