What is a Clause | Glossary of Linguistic Terms

Glossary of Linguistic Terms

Clause

Definition:

A clause is a grammatical unit that:

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

Kinds:

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.

See Also:

Source:

Hartmann and Stork 1972

37

61–62

Pike and Pike 1982

438

246

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library. Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003.

LinguaLinks Ordering Information

Glossary Hierarchy

Adverbial Clause

Coordinate Clause

Equative Clause

Existential Clause

Nonfinite Clause

Reference Clause

Relative Clause

Subordinate Clause