Finite subordinate clauses:

About the lesson:

This lesson is based on chapter 13 in EGTU.

The lesson is divided into subsections for the individual types of clauses: 2.1 on
adjectival relative clauses, 2.2 on adverbial clauses, and section 2.3 - 2.5 on the
three types of nominal clauses (clauses with noun-type functions). The main
emphasis in section 2 is on the adjectival relative clauses, and this is also what
you should concentrate on. You should, however, be able to recognise the
other types of subordinate clauses. I will (as always) strongly recommend you
to do the exercises found in the grammar book as well as the ones here.

Contents
1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 2
1.1 How to spot a subordinate clause ........................................................................................... 2
1.1.1 There is a clause within the main clause ......................................................................... 2
1.1.2 There is more than one verb phrase in the sentence ............................................................ 2
1.1.2 Subordinating conjunctions mark subordinate clauses ......................................................... 3
1.2 A subordinate clause can fuction as: ............................................................................................. 3
2. Types of finite subordinate clauses ................................................................................................. 4
2.1 Adjectival relative clauses ............................................................................................................. 4
2.1.1 Structure in adjectival relative clauses ................................................................................... 4
2.1.2 Relative clauses as Adverbials: Sentential relative clauses .................................................... 4
2.1.3 Relative clauses as postmodifiers: restrictive vs. non-restrictive .......................................... 5
2.1.4 Relative pronouns in prepositional phrases ........................................................................... 8
2.2 Adverbial clauses ........................................................................................................................... 9
2.2.1 Placement of adverbial clauses ........................................................................................... 10
2.3 Nominal that-clauses ................................................................................................................... 10
2.3.1 That or no that…. .................................................................................................................. 11
2. 3.2 Nominal that-clauses and relative clauses ......................................................................... 11
2.4 Indirect questions ........................................................................................................................ 12
2.5 Nominal relative clauses ............................................................................................................. 13

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1 Introduction

1.1 How to spot a subordinate clause

1.1.1 There is a clause within the main clause

We see there is a subordinate clause, because there is a unit inside the main
clause (and smaller than the main clause) which itself has clause structure.

That this part has clause structure means that it contains a verb phrase, and
normally other clause elements also, such as Subject, Object, Subject
Predicative, Adverbial etc.

In:

They said they would leave immediately.

“They would leave immediately” clearly has clause structure: Subject - they;
Verbal - would leave; Adverbial - immediately .

The subordinate clause will have some kind of function within the main clause,
in:

They said they would leave immediately.

“they would leave immediately” tells us what was said: it functions as Direct
Object in this main clause. The main clause is incomplete without it: “They
said” is not a complete sentence.

When we say above that a subordinate clause has to have its own verb phrase,
we can point out an even more concrete clue to the existence of a subordinate
clause:
1.1.2 There is more than one verb phrase in the sentence
One of these verb phrases then lies inside another clause element

 I thought you said you would do it. (Verb phrases underlined)

I (S) thought (V) [you said you would do it] (dO)

You (S) said (V) [you would do it] (dO)

You (S) would do (V) it (dO)

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In this case, we have a main clause that contains a subordinate clause, and that
subordinate clause contains its own subordinate clause.

Another very concrete clue is:

1.1.2 Subordinating conjunctions mark subordinate clauses
• That, who, which, when, where, why, if …

However, subordinating conjunctions are often left out, so this is not

something we can rely on.

1.2 A subordinate clause can fuction as:

a. A clause element (Subject, Object, Predicative, Adverbial) in the
superior clause (remember that a subordinate clause cannot be
the Verbal in the superior clause: only a verb phrase can be Verbal)

i. What he wants is a mystery (S)

ii. My only hope is that my boss might overlook it. (SP)

iii. Whenever I see your smiling face, I have to smile myself. (A

– time)

b. A postmodifier/complement within a phrase. In such cases, the

subordinate clause does not in itself have a clause element
function: the phrase in which it is postmodifier has the clause
element function.

i. The numbers you gave me don’t add up! - you gave me is

a postmodifier in the Subject the numbers you gave me

Whichever type of function the subordinate clause has, it is a part of the

main clause, not something that comes in addition to it: we cannot take
away the subordinate clause and say that the rest is the main clause.

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 2. Types of finite subordinate clauses

2.1 Adjectival relative clauses

Adjectival relative clauses are mostly postmodifiers in noun phrases;

thus, their function is to give additional information about the person or
thing referred to by the head noun.

Normally, a relative clause follows directly on the noun head it

postmodifies.

– The boy who told me he likes you sits over there

– Ladies who lunch come here all the time
– I was chatting to the couple who are coming to dinner next week
– The political outcome you’re hoping for is extremely unlikely

2.1.1 Structure in adjectival relative clauses

The relative clause is connected to the noun it postmodifies through the

relative pronoun (who, whom, which, that, whose), which always comes
first in the adjectival relative clause. The relative pronoun refers to the
same thing as the postmodified noun.

The relative pronoun will also have some kind of syntactic function
within the relative clause:
– The people who(m) you meet there are very nice. (who(m) is the
Direct Object in the relative clause: you meet the people there)
– I would like to meet the people who told you this. (who is Subject
in the relative clause: the people told you this)

2.1.2 Relative clauses as Adverbials: Sentential relative clauses

This is the only exception to adjectival relative clauses being

postmodifiers:

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 – My parents kept refusing to send me more money, which really
annoyed me.
– They told me they had missed me, which was a bit of a surprise.

Sentential relative clauses of this type are analysed as Disjunct

Adverbials, and are thus independent clause elements: they say
something about the whole preceding sentence, not about an individual
noun phrase. Note we can replace them with obvious Disjuncts:
Annoyingly, they kept refusing…; Surprisingly, they told me…

2.1.3 Relative clauses as postmodifiers: restrictive vs. non-restrictive

All modification, including relative clauses, can be either

– Restrictive: used to single out what we are talking about

– Non-restrictive: used only to provide more information about the
thing we are talking about

If we say “He’s wearing his green hat today”, the adjective premodifier
“green” can have both of these functions:

– If the Subject has several hats in different colours, then “green” is

meant to single out to the listener which one out of several hats
he is wearing: the green one.

– If the Subject only has this one hat, you are simply saying he is
wearing his hat (more information: his one hat is green).

Restrictive vs. non-restrictive relative clauses:

• My brother who lives in Duluth has three children

– The speaker must have more than one brother: the one who lives
in Duluth has three children (restrictive)

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 • My brother, who lives in Duluth, has three children

– The speaker has only one brother: the fact that he lives in Duluth is
only additional information (non-restrictive)

• Teenagers who need a lot of sleep are often late for class

– This would mean that only some teenagers need a lot of sleep, and
these teenagers are often late (restrictive)

• Teenagers, who need a lot of sleep, are often late for class

– This would mean that all teenagers need a lot of sleep, and they all
tend to be late to class (non-restrictive)

How do we distinguish between restrictive and non-restrictive relative

clauses?

In writing:

– Non-restrictive clauses have comma before and after.

– Restrictive clauses have no comma either before or after.

• Note the difference from Norwegian, where we would put a

comma after a restrictive clause, but not before.

In speech:

– A non-restrictive clause will be a separate tone unit: there will be

short pauses before and after.

– A restrictive clause will not be separated out from the rest of the
sentence

1. Identify the finite relative clauses in the text below; classify them as
restrictive or non-restrictive:
“If I want to get to Langdale by the easiest route, which ford should I
choose: the one by Lees Farm, or the one further down the river?” The
rambler who had stopped my car looked completely worn out. He was
carrying a green backpack, which was much too big for his rather puny
body, and the beads covering his brow were obviously caused by sweat,

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 not the light rain I could see on my windscreen. The question that he
asked me was difficult; not because I did not know, but because the
implication was that he would try to walk there, which was obviously
beyond his strength. “You should choose the Ford Mondeo,” I said,
opening the door of my car.

Choice of relative pronouns

There is also a question of which relative pronouns can be used in different

situations. This depends on:

– Whether the relative pronoun refers to a person or a non-

person/something abstract

– Whether the relative pronoun is Subject or not in the relative

clause

– Whether the relative clause is restrictive or non-restrictive

Some points to remember are:

• Do not use which about persons!

– The man who helped me, not *The man which helped me

• That and Zero relative pronouns can only be used in restrictive clauses.
This means that:

– We met the friend that Sue told you about.

– We met the friend Sue told you about.

Are both fine, but not:

– *We met my oldest friend, that Sue also knows.

– *We met my oldest friend, Sue also knows.

In these cases, the relative clauses are non-restrictive, and we must have

– We met my oldest friend, who(m) Sue also knows.

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It is rarely absolutely necessary to use the whom form: most people rarely use
it now.
2.1.4 Relative pronouns in prepositional phrases

Putting a preposition last in a clause has traditionally been frowned upon

– She is the person to whom I owe my success.

– (?) She is the person I owe my success to.

The top sentence here is the more formal one, and the one traditionalists
would see as correct. However, the final one is more frequent, and most
people would accept this today. If you go for formal style, you should be
consistent:

?She is the person to who I owe my success

with its mix of formal fronted preposition and the less formal who-form strikes
at least me as awkward. Non-fronted preposition and formal whom, as in

?She is the person whom I owe my success to

Also seems awkward.

2. Identify any relative clauses in the sentences below. What is the syntactic
function of the relative pronoun in the relative clause in each case?

a. I just taught Timothy a lesson which he won’t forget in a hurry.

b. I know several people who claim that Elvis is still alive.

c. Do you know where she lives?

d. I just met someone whom you too should get to know.

3. Below you will find pairs of sentences, one of which is in parenthesis. Use the
sentence in parenthesis as a relative clause to the noun phrase in bold in the
other/main clause. Insert an appropriate relative pronoun, make the changes
necessary in word order, punctuation etc.

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Example:

Yesterday I bought some tea (I liked the tea)

Yesterday I bought some tea which/that/Ø I liked.

Note that the sentence in parenthesis will always contain a noun phrase which
refers to the same entity as the postmodified NP: this must be moved to the
front of the subordinate clause and replaced with a relative pronoun.
Sometimes this would be Zero pronoun: in the case above, it would be fine to
say ‘Yesterday I bought some tea I liked’. I have marked each set as R
(restrictive) or N (non-restrictive) to indicate which type of postmodification
you should use.

a. Alicia knows some people (I also know the people) R

b. The boat was docked next to a luxury yacht (We would use the boat) R
c. Some young boys were listening to an old man telling stories (The boys
had just arrived) R
d. The palace is the most impressive building in the city (The palace was
built in the Baroque era) N
e. All this is just malicious slander (I will not listen to this slander) N
f. She sang a beautiful, sad song (My comic poem would just sound coarse
after her song) N

2.2 Adverbial clauses

Adverbial clauses can be introduced by a number of subordinating
conjunctions

– Before, after, when, because, since, unless, if, although, even if, as,
in order that, so that.

Adverbial subclauses function as Adverbials in a clause:

– I love you because you are so understanding. (why?)

– Wipe your feet before you enter the living room. (when?)

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 – If you have enough money, this is a very good business
opportunity. (on which condition?)

Adverbial clauses, like all Adverbials, can be classified according to their

meaning: time, place, reason etc.

2.2.1 Placement of adverbial clauses

Adverbial clauses in English go either at the beginning or at the end of a
sentence (more frequently at the end). A placement in the middle of a
sentence is much more unusual than it would be in Norwegian:

 I’ll help you as soon as I’ve finished my book.

 After he had finished the book, Joel understood why Blood and
Gold had been called a masterpiece.
 Jeg kan, om du vil, hjelpe deg senere.
 I can help you later if you want to.
 ?I can, if you want to, help you later.

4. Identify adverbial clauses in the sentences below. State which type of

adverbial each one is:

1. I feel at home wherever there are mountains and lakes.

2. When the rest of the group comes along we will have a rest and some
food, so that everyone gets a chance to recharge their batteries.

3. Because of your fondness for packs of peanuts from the mini-bar, I

came up short when I tried to pay the hotel bill.

4. In spite of a few minor problems, the trip was a success.

5. Everything else happened just as we wanted it to.

2.3 Nominal that-clauses

I hear that you did well on the test?

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 “That you did well on the test” is Direct Object in the main clause: a
noun-type function

– NB! Not all clauses beginning with that are that-clauses: adjectival
relative clauses can also begin with “that”!

– Nominal that-clauses do not always begin with that:

• I hear you did well on the test?

Nominal that-clauses correspond to Norwegian «at-setninger»

2.3.1 That or no that….
The subordinating conjunction that is often deleted when the that-clause
is DO, SP or part of an adjective phrase:

– I hear you are planning to go to Ireland this summer.

– I’m sorry I made you cry.

That cannot be deleted when the that-clause is Subject or apposition:

– *Frank passed his driving test shocked and surprised the local
hedgehogs.

– *I don’t for a minute believe the rumour he stole his

grandmother’s Ferrari.

But if the that-clause is e.g. Object, that can be cut without a problem

– I hear Frank passed his driving test

– Have you heard he stole his grandmother’s Ferrari.

2. 3.2 Nominal that-clauses and relative clauses
A nominal that-clause in apposition to a noun can look very similar to a
postmodifying (restrictive) relative clause:

– I hate the idea that we should only learn useful stuff (that-
clause in apposition)

– I hate the idea that you told me about (adjectival relative

clause)

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 There is a relatively clear meaning difference, though:

The nominal that-clause in apposition means exactly the same as the

noun phrase it relates to: we know what the idea is, since “the idea” =
“we should only learn useful stuff”.

The relative clause as postmodifier tells us something about the noun it

postmodifies, but it does not mean the same as the noun: we know it is
an idea that you told me about, but the sentence itself gives us no idea
what the idea is.

As long as we know Norwegian, we can just translate the sentence where

we are in doubt into Norwegian, and see whether they are introduced by
at or som:

– that-clauses correspond to Norwegian at-setninger;

– Norwegian relative clauses are always introduced by som

– Jeg misliker tanken på at vi bare skal lære det som er nyttig

– Jeg misliker ideen som du fortalte meg om

5. Which of the sentences below contain nominal that-clauses?

1. Everyone tends to feel that they are not sufficiently appreciated.

2. Everyone that thinks so is not necessarily wrong.
3. The view that you criticise so strongly is shared by most of us.
4. The view that nothing needs to be done is all wrong.
5. The main difficulty lies in the fact that we have nobody properly
qualified for this work.
6. I understand you have had some trouble with your telephone.
7. I can’t believe John actually took the money.

2.4 Indirect questions

The subordinate clause is an implied question:

• Oliver didn’t know when dinner would be ready.

• When will dinner be ready?

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 Like that-clauses, indirect questions are nominal, but can only refer to
whole statements or propositions, not to concrete persons or things

Unlike that-clauses, indirect questions cannot refer to nouns that

describe established facts: if we use these as Subject Predicatives, the
Subject will always be something open and unresolved: a dilemma,
problem, question etc.

More examples of indirect questions:

• How he managed to get there in time is a mystery to me.

• Journalists always ask me why I took up shark-wrestling.

• My question is when the work will be finished.

• They spent a lot of time discussing the main problem: where

to find the necessary funds.

• I’ve thought a lot about whether we should invite them.

• I’m not sure how they did that.

2.5 Nominal relative clauses

• What we need is a bigger wrench.

Nominal relative clauses are called relative because they are in a way a
noun + a relative clause which have been collapsed into one unit:

What we need = the thing which we need

Nominal relative clauses look very similar to indirect questions on the

surface, but they have a different function. Unlike both that-clauses and
indirect questions, they can refer to concrete nouns.

– Do not worry too much if you have problems seeing the

difference between these and indirect questions; this can
be quite tricky.

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 Examples of nominal relative clauses:

– What I want for Christmas is my two front teeth… (The things

which I want..)

– He gives his children whatever they want. (The things..)

– You are what you eat.

– The million dollar inheritance made my life what I’ve always

wanted it to be.

– I have been thinking about what you told me.

6. Indirect questions

Identify the indirect questions in the sentences below, and state their function:

a. I wonder who took the money which is missing.

b. Do you know when the train leaves?

c. When the train leaves, I will tell you where it is going.

d. I want to know if you understand me.

e. What we need to know is the depth of the pool.

7. Indirect questions vs. nominal relative clauses

Are the subordinate clauses in the sentences below indirect questions or

nominal relative clauses?

a. What you want, I’ll give you.

b. What men want is a mystery to me.
c. What you want is a bigger drill.
d. I misunderstood what you said.
e. I can use what you leave behind.
f. Could you pick up whatever is dropped?
g. Could you hear what they were talking about?
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