Clauses Review

A clause is a grammatical unit. It is a group of words that includes a subject and a verb. 

Independent Clauses:

An independent clause is a complete idea that can form a complete sentence.

Watch! (verb in imperative, implied subject)

I watch movies. (subject + verb + object)

I watch movies in my house. (subject + verb + object + prepositional phrase)

I watch movies with my friends every weekend. (subject + verb + object + prepositional phrase + time)

These sentences express whole ideas. While you are able to add more information, it isn't grammatically necessary.

Dependent Clauses:

As the name suggests, a dependent clause requires additional information. It cannot be used without the support of another clause.

When I watch movies 

After I watch movies

Although I watch movies

Because I watch movies

All of these clauses leave the listener with the expectation of more information. Those initial subordinating conjunctions (italicized) create a connection between ideas.

When I watch movies, I eat popcorn.

After I watch movies, I turn off the TV.

Although I watch movies, I do not want to be an actor.

Because I watch movies, my English pronunciation is improving.

Time Clause

Time clauses are also referred to as adverb clauses of time (there are other types of adverb clauses too). These are a type of dependent clauses and are introduced by a subordinating conjunction. They can be written at the beginning or end of the sentence, but punctuation changes with their placement, so remember to use a comma if the time clause comes first. Time clauses are used to express time relationships between events, so the subordinator you choose will depend on the relationship between the two clauses.

There are many different words that are used to introduce time clauses, so we will look at them in two different lessons. For this lesson, we will focus on before, after, and since.

Before

Use before when talking about something that happens earlier in time. It is important to note that the clause using before is the second event (dependent clause), and the independent clause is the first event.

Before we took the test, we reviewed the information.

What happens first?

Independent clause (first) = we reviewed the information

Dependent clause (second) = we took the test 

*This is important to remember when thinking about how the events are related.

John checked the flight information before he bought his ticket.

After

Use after when talking about something that happens later in time. When using after, the dependent clause is the first event, and the independent clause is the second event, which is the opposite of what happened with before.

After David had prepared the chicken, he put it in the smoker for hours. 

What happens first?

Dependent clause (first) = David had prepared the chicken

Independent clause (second) = he put it in the smoker for hours

My daughters get to watch TV after they clean up their room.

Since

Use since when talking about something that happens after a time in the past. Since signals the beginning of the action that is introduced in the independent clause. Usually, present perfect is used in the independent clause, and simple past is used in the dependent clause.

Leilani has worked hard since she got hired.

Since I was a child, I have loved the sound of the violin.