Definition
A matrix sentence is a sentence in which a clause has been embedded as a constituent.
The clause may or may not be an immediate constituent, but it must be embedded by means other than coordination.
Examples
(English)
In the following sentences, the dog died is the matrix sentence:
- After eating the raw fish, the dog died.
- The dog that ate the raw fish died.
Sources 2
- Crystal 1980, 222
- Lyons 1968, 266