Time Clause – STEP 2.

Identifying a time clause

Time clauses are started with adverbs or adverb phrases that show they represent a time
(sometimes also functioning as subordinating conjunctions). 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 grammatical idea, as they work as subordinating conjunctions:

 When the sun sets,

 Before the first lesson begins,
 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.
Time Clause 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.)
 Time Clause – STEP 2.0

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.)
Times clauses and the conditionals
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.
Noun phrases
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.