Lesson video

Hi, I'm Mr. Buckingham, and I'm so pleased you've decided to join me today for a lesson about types of clause.

Now, this lesson is really important because being able to identify different types of clause is going to be so useful to us when we come to write sentences using those varied different types of clauses, and using these different types of clauses is going to make our writing so much more interesting and exciting for our reader.

So let's make a start.

Today's lesson is called Two Types of Clause, and it comes from our unit called Five Sentence Types.

By the end of today's lesson, we're going to first of all be able to identify main and subordinate clauses, and then we're going to be able to identify two different types of subordinate clause.

And all this important knowledge is gonna be really useful to us whenever we check our writing to make sure it makes complete sense.

So let's get to work.

Here are our keywords for today's lesson.

My turn, your turn.

Clause, main clause, subordinate clause, adverbial clause, and relative clause.

Really well done.

Okay, let's check those in a bit more detail.

A clause is a group of words that contains a verb, and a main clause is a group of words that contains a verb and makes complete sense on its own.

A subordinate clause is a group of words that contains a verb and does not make complete sense in its own.

An adverbial clause is a type of subordinate clause that starts with a subordinating conjunction.

And finally, a relative clause is a type of subordinate clause that starts with a relative pronoun.

Don't worry if some of those words look a bit tricky right now.

We're going to learn them all during this lesson.

Let's look at our lesson outline.

We're going to start off by looking at main clauses and subordinate clauses.

Then we're gonna dive a bit deeper into those subordinate clauses and learn two different types of subordinate clause.

Let's make a start.

First of all, a clause is a group of words that contains a verb.

And remember, a verb is a being, a doing, or a having word.

I'm sure you already know.

Here are some examples of clauses.

An ancient monument stood by the river.

Please don't do anything embarrassing.

Who is the leader of the government When the soldiers marched in.

Notice how each of these contains a verb.

Stood, do, is, and marched are all verbs.

If there's no verb inside a group of words, it's not a clause, instead it's a phrase.

Here are some examples.

A huge, purplish bruise.

With no explanation.

What an exaggeration.

Goodness me.

None of these contains a verb.

So they can't be clauses.

They're phrases.

Now you try.

Are these groups of words clauses or phrases? Remember, a clause contains a verb and a phrase does not.

Pause the video and decide, are they clauses or phrases? Really good job.

Let's take a look.

As the yacht sailed past contains that verb sailed, so it must be a be a clause.

B, even though there's lots of words, does not contain a verb.

It's a phrase.

And C also contains no verb, so it's a phrase.

In D, we have the verb required, which means this must be a clause.

Really well done if you spotted those differences.

Now let's take a look at one of those types of clause.

A main clause is a type of clause.

It's a group of words that contains a verb and makes complete sense on its own.

Here are some examples.

Stop interrupting me.

This is an excellent piece of work.

Who wants to enter the competition? What a privilege it is to be here.

Now, a main clause has a superpower.

It could be a sentence all on its own, and we have our character main, who's powerful and strong to show that.

Here are some examples.

We could make each of these main clauses into a simple sentence.

Look, they each now have a capital letter and some closing punctuation.

They make complete sense all on their own.

Which of these are main clauses which could be a complete sentence on their own? Pause the video and decide.

Well done.

Let's have a look.

What language is this could be a complete sentence.

Look, we could give it a capital letter and a question mark, and it makes complete sense in its own.

Which is very awkward is not a main clause.

It couldn't be a sentence all on its own.

This doesn't even rhyme could definitely be a complete sentence.

Here it is with a capital letter and an exclamation mark.

When the programme began does not make complete sense in its own.

It couldn't be its own sentence, so it can't be a main clause.

Really good job.

Now, a group of words like that last one we saw that contains a verb but does not make sense on its own is called a subordinate clause.

Here are some examples.

Who is a marvellous athlete, when my neighbour came home, which was a terrible nuisance, as the temperature rose.

Notice how each of these still contains a verb.

We have is, came, was, and rose.

So these must be clauses, but they couldn't be a sentence on their own, so they're not main clauses.

They're subordinate clauses.

So remember, a subordinate clause cannot make a sentence on its own, and we have our character subordinate who's much less powerful to show that.

Subordinate clauses don't have that superpower.

They can't make a sentence all on their own.

So let's decide if each of these clauses is main or subordinate.

They're all clauses because they all contain a verb, but are they main, which means they could make a sentence on their own, or subordinate, which means they could not? Pause the video and try.

Well done.

Let's take a look.

Who is very determined is a subordinate clause.

It couldn't be a sentence on its own.

What a determined individual he is is a main clause.

Look, we can make it a complete sentence on its own with a capital letter and an exclamation mark.

We cannot march on an empty stomach is a main clause.

Look, this could be a sentence as well with a capital and a full stop.

And as we march on empty stomachs is a subordinate clause.

That couldn't be a complete sentence on its own.

Now, remember, if a group of words has no verb, it's neither a main clause nor a subordinate clause.

Instead, it's a phrase.

Let's look at the difference between those three things in detail.

The school day ends at three o'clock has a verb ends, and it makes complete sense in its own.

It could be a complete sentence like this.

So this must be a main clause.

Before the day ends has a verb ends, but it couldn't be a sentence on its own.

So this must be a subordinate clause.

And before the end of the day has no verb, so this can't be a clause at all.

It must be a phrase.

So true or false.

As quick as a flash is a subordinate clause.

Pause the video and decide.

Well done.

You're right.

That is false.

Now see if you can explain why.

Look at the two possible justifications and decide which is the best one to explain why as quick as a flash is not a subordinate clause.

Have a go.

Okay, let's take a look.

A says this group of words does not contain a verb.

So it cannot be a clause.

It is a phrase.

Let's look back.

As quick as a flash, there is no verb there.

So A is correct.

This cannot be a clause at all.

It must be a phrase.

Really well done.

Now let's try another one.

I want you to look at these groups of words and decide if each group of words is a main clause, a subordinate clause, or a phrase.

And remember to test if you think it's a main clause.

See if you think you could put a capital letter and some closing punctuation at the end and it would make a complete sentence.

If it can, it must be a main clause.

Pause the video and have a go.

Well done, let's take a look.

A sudden blast of hot dry air does not contain a verb, so it's a phrase.

The rocket blasted off immediately could be a complete sentence.

That's the main clause.

As we step along the path couldn't be a complete sentence on its own, but it has that verb step, so it must be a subordinate clause.

And each slow and steady step has no verb at all, so it must be a phrase.

Really well done if you've managed to work out those differences.

Now, any subordinate clause, because it can't be a complete sentence on its own, must be joined to a main clause in order for it to make complete sense.

Let's take a look at some examples.

Here we've got the sentence: As we queued outside the door, we chatted noisily.

Now, as we queued outside the door is a subordinate clause.

It couldn't make complete sense in its own.

So we've joined it onto the main clause, we chatted noisily.

Now we chatted noisily could be a sentence on its own, couldn't it? But we've joined a subordinate clause and a main clause together here, and we can see we've got subordinate followed by main.

Subordinate needs main in order to make complete sense.

Here's another example.

We could say this: The queue, which was long, wound around the building.

Now, which was long is a subordinate clause.

That couldn't be a sentence on its own, and it's been placed inside.

It's interrupting this main clause, the queue wound around the building.

So look, we've got the main clause beginning, the subordinate clause in the middle, and the main clause finishing off at the end.

So here the subordinate clause, again, needs that main clause in order to make complete sense.

Now, we can identify main and subordinate clauses within sentences.

And to do this, we do it by checking whether each part of the sentence makes complete sense on its own.

So let's look at this sentence.

We love learning English because Mr. McIntyre teaches it so well.

Now we've got the parts of the sentence separated by colour here to help us.

So we're going to check which part must be the main clause and which part must be the subordinate clause.

Well, if we look at this part, we love learning English, that could be a complete sentence, couldn't it? So that must be the main clause.

And if we look at this part, it can't be a sentence on its own, because Mr. McIntyre teaches it so well, so that must be a subordinate clause.

So we know if it makes complete sense in its own, it's the main clause.

What about one like this? Mr. McIntyre, who is my favourite teacher, is an English expert.

This section here couldn't make sense in its own.

It couldn't be a full sentence in its own.

So this must be the subordinate clause.

So where's the main clause in this sentence? It's not just the words Mr. McIntyre.

Instead, it's these two parts together.

Mr. McIntyre is an English expert, that make the main clause, and each time that subordinate clause needs that main clause to make complete sense.

But we've identified the main clause by finding the part that makes complete sense all on its own.

Now you try.

Which part of this sentence is the main clause and how do you know? The symmetry, which was deserted, was silent and eerie.

Pause the video and identify that main clause.

Have a go.

Let's take a look.

So this part, which was deserted, must be a subordinate clause.

That can't make complete sense in its own.

So where's the main clause? Well, if we look at these two parts together, they would say the cemetery was silent and eerie.

That makes complete sense, so it's a main clause.

And look, we can put them together to show that could be a complete sentence all on its own.

It's just been interrupted by that subordinate clause in the middle.

Really well done if you spotted that tricky main clause there.

Now let's do our first task for this lesson.

I'm gonna show you some sentences, and for each sentence, I want you to label each part of the sentence as a subordinate clause with SC or a main clause with MC.

Now, if the main clause has two parts, like the one we just saw, I want you to write MC over both parts.

Let's read the sentences together to help us.

When I have the opportunity, I will travel abroad.

So look, we've got our two colours.

I want you to label one as MC and one as SC.

The dictionary, which was 1,000 pages long, was very heavy.

Now remember, if you think there are two parts to the main clause, you're going to write MC over both.

Let's read the rest.

While she listened carefully, she tapped her foot to the rhythm.

The smell, which was very familiar, wafted towards him.

I'll try not to embarrass you when I come over.

And as the bruise slowly healed, it turned purple.

So pause the video and label up those sentences with your main claws and subordinate clause.

Let's have a go.

Okay, let's take a look at this.

So for A, we can see when I have the opportunity is the subordinate clause.

I will travel abroad is the main clause.

In B, the dictionary was very heavy is the main clause.

Look how we've got two parts of our main clause, and they've been interrupted by this subordinate clause, which was 1,000 pages long.

In C, while she listened carefully as a subordinate clause, and she tapped her foot to the rhythm is the main clause.

In D, the main clause is another tricky one.

The smell wafted towards him, interrupted by the subordinate clause, which was very familiar.

In E, I'll try not to embarrass you is the main clause, and when I come over is the subordinate clause.

And in F, as the bruise slowly healed is our subordinate clause, and it turned purple is our main clause.

Really well done if you've got the hang of that already.

You're doing a great job.

Okay, so far we've done an amazing job of learning the difference between main and subordinate clauses.

We're now going to dive into those subordinate clauses and learn about two different types of subordinate clause.

Let's make a start.

Now, one type of subordinate clause is an adverbial clause.

And an adverbial clause is a type of subordinate clause that begins with a subordinating conjunction.

Now, subordinating conjunction is a tricky word, but these are words which we already know, words like before, as, because, while, when, and after.

These are all subordinating conjunctions and they're all able to start an adverbial clause.

Here are some examples of sentences that contain an adverbial clause.

Before we can go outside, we must finish our work.

The adverbial clause is shown in green there.

We had dinner at a restaurant because it was mum's birthday.

While the storm howled fiercely, lightning struck the tall tower.

Now you can see each of these adverbial clauses in green begins with a subordinating conjunction.

This one begins with before.

Before we can go outside is the adverbial proverbial clause.

This one begins with because.

Because is the subordinating conjunction and it starts the adverbial clause because it was mom's birthday.

And in the last one, the subordinating conjunction is while, and it starts the adverbial proverbial clause, while the storm howled fiercely.

Notice how all of these are subordinate clauses.

They couldn't make a complete sentence on their own, but their adverbial subordinate clauses, a type of subordinate clause, because they start with a subordinating conjunction.

So which of these must be true of an adverbial clause? Pause the video and decide which are true.

Okay, let's take a look.

Well, we've already said that any subordinate clause can't be a complete sentence on its own, and an verb clause is a type of subordinate clause.

So no, it couldn't be a complete sentence on its own.

And yes, it is a type of subordinate clause.

What makes adv proverbial clause special is that it's a type of subordinate clause that does start with subordinating conjunction.

And like all subordinate clauses, it does need to be joined to a main clause to make sense.

Really well done if you spotted those three characteristics of an adverbial clause.

Now, we've already said that any type of subordinate clause needs to be joined to a main clause in order to make complete sense.

An adverbial clause can be placed before or after a main clause in a sentence, but we know it will always begin with a subordinating conjunction because that's what makes it special.

That's what makes it an adverbial clause.

Here's an example of a sentence containing an adverbial clause.

When we look after the environment, we will benefit.

Now I can see that subordinating conjunction, when, there at the start of the sentence.

It's beginning the adverbial clause, when we look after the environment.

I know that's the adverbial clause because it doesn't make complete sense in its own, and it begins with a subordinating conjunction.

I know this part, we all benefit, must be the main clause because it could be a sentence on its own.

So here we've got the subordinate clause followed by the main clause.

We could do it the other way around.

We could say we all benefit when we look after the environment.

Now I can see exactly where that adverbial proverbial clause begins, because I can see that subordinate in conjunction when here.

So again, we've got the adverbial proverbial clause here, when we look after the environment.

This must be the adverbial proverbial clause because it doesn't make complete sense in its own, and it begins with a subordinating conjunction.

And here we have the main clause, we all benefit, at the start of the sentence.

So this time we've got the main clause first followed by the subordinate clause.

Now let's check our understanding.

Is the highlighted clause, the green section in each of these sentences, the main clause or the proverbial clause.

Remember, if it's a main clause, it would make complete sense in its own.

And if it's an proverbial clause, it will be a subordinate clause that doesn't make complete sense, that starts with a subordinating conjunction.

So pause the video and have a go.

Words, and let's take a look.

In A, as the ball hit my shoulder, must be a subordinate clause because it doesn't make complete sense in its own, but it starts with a subordinated conjunction as so it must be an adverbial clause.

In B, we can see the highlighted section is when I just wanted to work quietly.

That must be a subordinate clause because it couldn't be a sentence in its own.

And it starts with a subordinating conjunction when, so it must be an adverbial clause.

In C, the subordinating conjunction is the word before.

That's not highlighted.

But if you look at the highlighted section, it says he finished it.

Now, that could be a sentence on its own, so that must be a main clause.

Really well done if you identified those three correctly.

Now we've learned about adverb clauses.

That's the type of subordinate clause that starts with a subordinating conjunction.

Another type of subordinate clause is a relative clause, which comes after a noun or a noun phrase to tell us more about it.

And it always starts with a type of word called a relative pronoun.

Now, that sounds tricky, but we're lucky because there are only two that we need to learn.

One of those relative pronouns is the word who, and we use who if the noun or the noun phrase we're describing is a person or a character.

For instance, my uncle who is 40 years old, lives in Darlington.

Who is 40 years old is our relative clause there.

It's a type of subordinate clause.

It couldn't make complete sense in its own, and it begins with a relative pronoun who.

And that relative clause is giving us extra information about the noun phrase, my uncle.

It's telling us more detail about my uncle.

It's telling us that he is 40 years old.

The other relative pronoun we need to know is the word which.

And we use which if the noun or the noun phrase we're describing is a place or a thing.

For instance, the dog, which was very aggressive, barked at me loudly.

This time we've got the relative clause, which was very aggressive, coming after the noun phrase, the dog.

The relative clause tells us more about that dog, and it begins with the relative pronoun which because the dog is a thing.

Now, a relative clause, like we've just seen, often interrupts a main clause.

Here's an example.

The battle, which lasted months, was disastrous.

We can see the main clause is here.

It's been split in two.

If we joined those parts together, it would say the battle was disastrous.

And inside that, we've got the relative clause.

So here's our main clause.

We've got two parts of the main clause this time.

It's been split in two.

It's been interrupted.

In the middle, we've got first a comma, then our relative pronoun, here we've used which, and then the relative clause, a type of subordinate clause, followed by a second comma.

And in this case, that relative clause, which lasted months, is telling us more about the noun phrase, the battle.

So which of these sentences contains a relative clause? And remember, a relative clause is a type of clause.

So it'll contain a verb.

It's a type of subordinate clause, so it won't make complete sense in its own.

And a relative clause always begins with a relative pronoun, who or which.

Pause the video and see if you can spot which sentence contains a relative clause.

Have a go.

Okay, let's take a look.

A we can see does not contain a relative clause.

That group of words in the middle there, a wonderful gymnast, in between the commas, does not contain a verb.

So it can't be any type of clause.

It's a phrase.

In B, the group of words between the commas is the best gymnast in class.

Again, that does not contain a verb, So it's a phrase.

It can't be any type of clause.

C does contain a relative clause.

We've got a relative pronoun, who, followed by a verb, was, so we've got a relative C clause, who was a great gymnast.

That's a relative clause telling us more detail about the noun Sophia, and it's in between that pair of commas.

We know it's a type of subordinate clause because it couldn't make complete sense in its own.

We know it's a relative clause 'cause it starts with that relative pronoun, who.

Really well done if you made that connection.

Okay, let's test our knowledge a bit more.

Can you decide whether we should use the relative pronoun who or which to start the relative clause in each of these sentences? I've left a gap there for you to put who or which as the relative pronoun in each of these relative clauses.

Pause the video and decide.

Okay, let's take a look.

Remember that rule.

If it's a place or a thing, we use which.

If it's a person or a character, we use who.

So the hotel is a thing.

So we would say the hotel, which was very old, could not accommodate us.

For B, my cousin is a person, so we'd use who.

My cousin, who grew up in Spain, speaks two languages.

For C, Sam is a person.

We'll use who.

And for D, my house is a thing or a place, so we'll use which.

So we've used a relative pronoun each time to start that relative clause.

And notice how the relative clause always comes after a noun or a noun phrase.

It's telling us more about that noun or noun phrase.

Really good job.

Now, we've now learned about several different types of clause, and that can be a bit confusing.

So let's summarise what we've learned.

We know a clause is a group of words that contains a verb.

We know that a main clause makes complete sense on its own.

It could be its own sentence.

For instance, Andeep eats lots of vegetables.

That's what that verb eats, and it's a complete sentence on its own.

We also know a subordinate clause, and a subordinate clause cannot make complete sense in its own.

Now, within that category of a subordinate clause, we've learned two other types of clause, and adverbial clause and a relative clause.

So let's zoom in on those subordinate clauses and work out the difference once more between them.

Now, an adverbial clause looks like this, because he wants to be strong.

Notice how we've had to join the adverbial clause to the main clause, Andeep eats lots of vegetables.

Because it's a type of subordinate clause, it can't be a full sentence on its own.

We know it's an adverbial clause because it starts with a subordinating conjunction, the word because.

So adverbial clause is a type of subordinate clause that begins with a subordinating conjunction, and we know there are lots of subordinating conjunctions, words like as, when, and while, but there are many more.

Now let's look at a relative clause.

We could have this sentence.

Andeep, who wants to be strong, eats lots of vegetables.

The relative clause is, who wants to be strong.

And we know that this is a subordinate clause because it couldn't be a complete sentence in its own.

We know it's a relative clause because it begins with a relative pronoun.

And we know there are just two relative pronouns we need to worry about, the words who and which.

So we can see really clearly.

We'll be able to tell the difference between adverbial clauses and relative clauses by looking at the words they begin with.

If it begins with a subordinating conjunction, we know it's an adverbial clause.

And if it begins with a relative pronoun, who or which, it must be a relative clause.

Remember, we know that the relative clause always comes after a noun or a noun phrase to tell us more about it.

So that's another difference between a relative clause and an adverbial clause.

Okay, let's practise.

Is the highlighted clause in each of these sentences a relative clause, beginning with a relative pronoun, or an adverb clause, beginning with a subordinating conjunction.

Pause the video and have a go.

Okay, let's take a look.

As the restaurant opened is an adverbial clause.

It begins with a subordinating conjunction as.

Which was an hour long is a relative clause.

It begins with the relative pronoun which.

Who is a soldier is a relative clause, beginning with that relative pronoun who.

And while I was speaking is an proverbial clause, beginning with that subordinating conjunction while.

Notice also how our two relative clauses come after a noun phrase, the programme and my brother.

They're telling us more detail about that noun phrase.

That's another important difference.

Okay, let's do our final task for this lesson.

I'm going to show you some sentences, and the subordinate clause in each sentence is highlighted.

I want you to label that subordinate clause as either a relative clause with RC or an adverbial clause with AC.

And I want you to label the main clause with MC as well.

Remember, if that main clause is in two parts, label both.

Here are our sentences.

Pause the video and label them up in the way we've just described.

Have a go.

Okay, let's take a look at these sentences all labelled up.

In A, the main clause is Alex's brother knocked over his model.

Who is very mischievous is our subordinate clause.

It must be a relative clause 'cause it starts with who.

In B, because I was desperate to pass the test is an adverbial clause because it starts with that subordinating conjunction because.

And I studied hard for weeks must be our main clause.

In C, Izzy wore sling is a main clause.

It could be a complete sentence.

When she strained her shoulder must be an adverbial clause because it begins with when, a subordinating conjunction.

In D, the main clause is the school was in the city centre.

It's been interrupted by that relative clause, which was attached to a nursery.

We know it's relative because it's starts with that relative pronoun which.

And E, as the temperature rose is our adverbial clause.

And Mr. McIntyre turned on the fan must be the main clause.

We know that's an adverbial clause because it begins with that subordinating conjunction as.

Really, really good job if you've managed to make all of those connections and make all of those annotations correctly.

Okay, we've learned an awful lot in this lesson, so let's summarise what we've learned.

We've learned that all clauses are groups of words that contain a verb.

We've learned that a main clause makes complete sense in its own, but a subordinate clause does not.

We know two types of subordinate clause now.

An adverbial clause is one that starts with a subordinating conjunction, and a relative clause is one that starts with a relative pronoun.

And we've learned that all types of subordinate clause need to be linked to a main clause in order to make sense.

Really well done in your learning this lesson, and well done for making it all the way to the end of this tricky knowledge.

I hope to see you again in a future lesson.