Main Clause & Subordinate Clause. A clause is a combination of related words containing a subject and a verb. It can be a simple sentence or a part of a compound sentence. Time clauses in English Grammar. Explanations along with examples of how to use time clauses in English. Time clauses in English Grammar. Explanations along with examples of how to use time clauses in English. Adverbial clauses of time consist of two clauses: the main clause and the time clause. The time clauses begin with: when, whenever, while, as, since, after, before, until, as soon as, once.
Subject:What I had forgotten was that I had a test today.
Direct object: You must choose which flavor of ice cream you want.
Indirect object: I will tell whoever will listen my frightening story.
Object of a preposition: Josie is not interested in whatever Kyle says.
Subject complement: Michael's excuse was that he had forgotten to set his alarm.
Appositive: It seems to bother the teacher that all the students are being too quiet.
(That the students are being too quiet seems to bother the teacher. Note that the appositive renames It, but does not follow immediately like other appositives.)
It can also be used as an adverbial noun (a.k.a. an adverbial objective or adjective complement), which is a noun that acts like an adverb modifying a verb, an adjective, or an adverb.
I'm afraid that we don't carry that ice cream flavor any longer. (The dependent clause modifies the predicate adjective afraid.)
Noun clauses often begin with pronouns, subordinating conjunctions, or other words. The introductory word generally has a grammatical function in the sentence.
Relative pronouns: that, which, who, whom, whose, what
Indefinite relative pronouns: whoever, whomever, whatever, whichever, whether, if
Interrogative pronoun: who
Interrogative adjective: what
Interrogative adverb: how
Subordinating conjunctions: how, if, when, whenever, where, whether, why
- Hint:
- Whoever/Whomever - the correct choice in formal writing is whichever pronoun is correct in the subordinate sentence. In informal speech, using the correct pronoun often sounds pretentious.
Whoever is responsible for this mess needs to clean it up. (Whoever is the subject of the verb is.)
Whomever you hit accidentally deserves an apology. (Whomever is the direct object of the verb hit.)
Daria told me she was going to be late.
Daria told me (that) she was going to be late.
Some noun clauses, especially those used as subjects, begin with that, which seems to serve no function. It makes sense if you include the fact or the idea before it. Some modern English constructions that seem to make no sense are the result of our dropping words.
That we were late to class really upset the teacher.
The fact that we were late to class really upset the teacher.
Question clauses - In a noun clause, even if the main clause is a question, the dependent clause is written as a declarative.
Where is your father?
Do you know where your father is?
Not: Do you know where is your father?
When did you assign that?
We all asked when you assigned that.
Not: We all asked when did you assign that. (Unless the noun clause is in quotation marks.)
Practice What You've Learned
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- Directions:
- Click on all the words in each noun clause.
- 1.
- Doyouknowforsurewhoknockedthestatueoffitspedestal?
- 2.
- Thosecavesarewherethecavepaintingswerefound.
- 3.
- Whomeveryousentthatemailtodidn'treceiveit.
- 4.
- Thereasonwewerelateisthatmybikehadaflattire.
- 5.
- Yougettochoosewhichmovieweseethisweekend.
- 6.
- Ididn'trealizethatyounolongerusethatemailaddress.
- 7.
- Canyoutellwhichjacketisyours?
- 8.
- Wholeftmetheseflowersisamysterytome.
- 9.
- Alyssaistheonlyonewhoknowswherethebookstoreis.
- 10.
- Mypuppywilleatwhateverhefindsonthefloor.
Time clauses are used in English to demonstrate a period of time based on an action or event, similar to dependent clauses in conditional sentences. For example, I will cook dinner when I get home. ‘When I get home’ is a clause demonstrating a point in time, based on an action/event (the time that I get home), replacing a simpler time such as I will cook dinner at 7pm. Time clauses are complete ideas that require subjects, verbs and objects, but they do not always use the same verb rules as the main clause.
Time clauses are preceded by adverbs or adverb phrases that show they represent a time. These include when, after, until, as soon as, before. A clause that starts with an adverb of time like this is not usually a complete idea:
- When the sun sets,
- Before the first lesson,
- After my teacher arrives,
Although they have a subject, verb and object, none of these are complete ideas, as they simply point to a time, similar to a clause that simply says “At 7pm.”
This is because when we form a time clause, the adverb of time joins two ideas, linking the main clause to the time in a dependent way. The two clauses could be separate sentences without the adverb of time. Consider the following two clauses:
- I will master English. I will complete every exercise in my textbook.
Either of these could become a time clause, and therefore make the main clause dependent on the timing of the other:
- I will master English after I complete every exercise in my textbook.
- When I master English, I will complete every exercise in my textbook.
Notice, however, that the time clause is no longer in the future tense. Time clauses must be adjusted for certain grammar rules. So watch out for clauses starting with adverbs of time, then consider the following rules.
Patterns for forming time clauses are similar to those for regular clauses, with the same word order (except with an adverb of time first), though time clauses use some particular tense rules.
Time clauses only use different rules for future tenses; when talking about past or present events, you can generally use regular tenses for time clauses.
- Before we cook pies, we wash our hands.
- He came home after he finished work.
- We had dinner before we watched the movie.
For the future, we use the present tenses to talk about future times:
- He will finish reading the book after he eats dinner. (Not after he will eat dinner.)
- They are going to the museum before we arrive. (Not before we are going to arrive.)
- I might practice my pronunciation until my friend’s lesson has finished. (Not until my friend’s lesson will have finished.)
Do not repeat the future tense in clauses with adverbs of time
As you can see in the examples above, when two clauses are joined by adverbs of time the future form should not be repeated.
- She will meet me after it stops raining. (Not after it will stop raining.)
- I’ll turn off my computer when he does. (Not when he will.)
Time clauses, or ‘when’ clauses are often compared to ‘if’ clauses. This is a logical comparison because when discussing the future they are grammatically very similar to the first conditional.
- We will see them when they get here.
- We will see them if they get here.
In both cases the main clause is dependent on the second clause. A time clause shows the event will happen at a certain time, while the if clause shows it will happen if something else happens. As both make the main clause dependent on another detail (time or something that is possible), the grammatical construction is the same.
So you can practise your time clause grammar further by developing your understanding of the first conditional.
Be careful, because the future tense may still be used if the time adverb introduces a noun clause. The difference is if the clause is the object of a verb, and not a time clause.
- I know when the boat will leave.
This answers the question what (You know what.) rather than when.
Combine each of the following pairs of sentences by changing one clause into a time clause, using any of the time adverbs, such as when, after, before, unless, until, as soon as. The first one has been done for you:
- I will read this book. I will eat dinner.
- I will read this book after I eat dinner.
- He will get wet. He is going swimming.
- We are meeting the team. The team are arriving at the station.
- I got to work late. I got up late.
- The police will catch the criminal. The criminal will make a mistake.
- They are going on holiday. They are finishing their exams.
- He will get wet when he goes swimming.
- We will meet the team when they arrive at the station.
- I got to work late after I got up late.
- The police will catch the criminal when he makes a mistake.
- They are going on holiday after they finish their exams.