22.

Word Order and Subordinate Clauses

 I. WORD ORDER IN AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES

(Adv.Time) + S +Adv.Frequency + P + DO + IO + Adv. of Manner +     Adv. of Place + 

Adv.of Time

(Yesterday) He                            worked  with his father   hard            in the garden      

yesterday.

S + Adv.Frequency + P (vb of movement) +   Adv. of Place + Adv. of Manner + Adv.of

Time (if we have a verb of movement then the place comes before the manner)

She       usually           goes                                  to school                 on foot         in the

morning.

Adverbs of manner are very flexible and can stay in various positions in the sentence:

- Solemnly the minister addressed her congregation. (at the beginning)

- The minister solemnly addressed her congregation. (before the verb)

- The minister addressed her congregation solemnly. (after the verb and the Direct Object)

 II. WORD ORDER IN INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES

Wh-word + Aux + S +  Vb + DO +      IO +        Adv. of Manner +     Adv. of

Place +      Adv. of Time        +   Preposition?

Why             did     I      see    her   with her father                               in the

garden      yesterday morning?
What           are  
you looking                                                                                                                                    
at?

Aux + S +  + Adv. of Frequency + Vb + DO +      IO +        Adv. of Manner +     Adv. of

Place +      Adv. of Time    +   Preposition?

Does she          
usually               work                                         hard                                                  in the
morning?

III. WORD ORDER IN EXCLAMATIONS

What + A/AN + Adjective + Noun + S + P!

What       a         wonderful     day     it    is!

What       a           cute            dog    you have!

What + Adjective + A/An + Noun + S + P!

What    beautiful       a          dress    it    is!

What   interesting     a          story   she told!

How + Adjective +    S +        P!

How    interesting     she         is!

How    wonderful   the day has been!

IV. WORD ORDER IN INVERSIONS

Adverb +Aux + S +  Vb + DO + IO + Adv. of Manner + Adv. of Place + Adv. of Time   

Never     have   I     seen  her                                           in the park           before.

Seldom     do    we   talk     with strangers                     in the street.

SUBORDINATE CLAUSES

A sentence is made of main and subordinate clauses. Subordinate clauses can be:

Noun Clauses: e.g. I know that he will come later.

Relative Clauses: e.g. Give me the book which you took.

Adverbial clauses:

Of time: e.g. I will see you when you arrive tomorrow.

Of manner: She treats me as if she were my mother.

Of reason: e.g. I didn’t go there because I was afraid of him.

Of result: e.g. It is such a nice dress that I’d like to buy it.

Of purpose: e.g. They are studying so that they may pass the exam.

Of concession: e.g. She bought the car although it was expensive.

Of condition: e.g. I will give you money if you help me. (see If Clauses)

RELATIVE CLAUSES

WHO (used for people): e.g. The man who helped me is here.

WHOM (Objective): e.g. The man whom (pe care) I love.

WHICH (used for objects, animals, etc but NOT people unless it’s a collective noun, to

replace a whole sentence):

e.g. The dog which was lost has been found.

       The team, which played well, has returned.

       He invited us for dinner, which was very nice of him.

THAT (used for both persons and things, it can replace who, whom or which but it is never
used after commas or prepositions):
e.g. The woman that/who helped you is here.

       This is the dog  that/which bit me.

WHOSE (used for possession): This is the woman whose dog bit me.

WHEN (used for time): e.g. 1990 is the year when she was born.

WHERE (used for place): e.g. That’s the house where she lived for a while.

WHAT (used to mean the thing which): e.g. I haven’t forgotten what you told me.

WHY (used for reason): e.g. That’s the reason why I called you.

o           DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSE

- it gives necessary information (if left out of the sentence it does not make complete
sense)

-It is NOT put between commas

-the pronoun can be omitted if it is in the objective case(Direct Object, Indirect Object):

e.g. The man [(that/ who) you spoke to] was my brother. (the information seems
incomplete if you stop at to: The man who you spoke to.)

!!! that/ who can be omitted because it is an Indirect Object: The man [you spoke to] was
my brother.

The man [who/ that spoke with you] is special.(here who/that is the subject for spoke so it
cannot be omitted)

Other examples:

I met the woman/ (who/ that) you were talking about./

The dress/ (which/ that) she bought/ was gorgeous./

 
 o             NON- DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSE

- the ideas could be omitted and the rest of the sentence would still make sense

-  they stay between commas

- the pronoun is NEVER omitted:

e.g. Shakespeare[, who that wrote many plays,] died in 1616. (the sentence still makes

sense even if you omit the Relative Clause) => Shakespeare died in 1616.

       The dog[, which that bit my sister,] belongs to you.

       Our garden, which that catches the morning sun, is delightful to look at.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NEVER use THAT in a NON- DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSE

Non-defining Realtive Clauses can also be formed as follows:

Some

Most                  

Many                     OF                   WHOM/ WHICH/ WHOSE

None

Neither

Either

Half

All

One

Several

Two
There are many people in the house, some of whose children you can see here.

There were about twenty women, all of whom were gorgeous.

The trees, several of which had apples, were a pleasant sight.

Prepositions in Relative Clauses

!! Normally prepositions are not used before Relative Clauses:

The house in which she lives is downtown. (formal – not usual)

The house which she lives in is downtown.

The house             she lives in is downtown.

CLAUSES OF TIME

They are introduced by:

AFTER                                                                       I will call you AFTER I will finish/ have

finished here.

                                       

AS (+Past C/ Present C)                                        I saw Mary AS I was crossing the street.

                                       

AS LONG AS                                                             I will help you AS LONG

AS you will help me.

JUST AS (+Past C/ Present C))                             She called me JUST AS I was getting in

the house.

                                        

ONCE                                                                        Do the laundry ONCE you have done the

dishes.
                                        

WHEN                                                                      I will give you the

money WHEN you ask for it.

                                        

(EVER) SINCE  (+Present Perfect S)                    I haven’t eaten SINCE I left home.

                                                                             SINCE I left home, I haven’t eaten.

S + P (Present Perfect) + (EVER) SINCE + S + P (Past Simple – the action happened once

in the past)

                                                                                  I have liked him SINCE I have
known him.

                                                                                  SINCE he has had this car, he has liked it.

S + P (Present Perfect) + (EVER) SINCE + S + P (Present Perfect – the action is still

happening)

BEFORE                              WILL/ WOULD           They had already

left BEFORE we arrived.

(+ Past Perfect S)                                           

BY THE TIME                                                        He will have finished his work BY THE

TIME we visit him.

(+ Future Perfect)                                      

WHILE  (+Past C/ Present C)                                He was listening to music WHILE he was

driving.                                                                            

UNTIL/TILL                                                              I won’t come to your

place UNTIL I have finished here.                                                                           
 

THE MOMENT THAT                                             I will jump into action THE

MOMENT you tell me.

                                                                                

WHENEVER                                                            She is going to ask for

money WHENEVER she sees you.

                                                                          

EVERY TIME                                                            I will give you money EVERY

TIME you ask for it.

                                                                     

IMMEDIATELY                                                        I talked to
her IMMEDIATELY I saw her.

                                                                                

!!!!!!! NEVER USE WILL or WOULD in TIME CLAUSES.

!!!!!!! (EVER) SINCE is always used with Present Perfect/ Past Perfect in the Main Clause

e.g. I have known him (ever) since he moved here.

       They had known each other (ever) since they were kids.

!!!!!! BY THE TIME is always used with Future Perfect for future reference OR Future-in-the-
Past Perfect/ Past Perfect for past reference in the Main Clause

e.g. I will have finished here by the time you call.

       By the time you arrive, they will have left.

       He would have left by the time they arrived.

       By the time they called, he would have run away.

       They had left by the time we called.

S + Future Perfect/ Future-in-the-Past Perfect + BY THE TIME + S + Present/

Past NEVER WILL/ WOULD

!!!!!! AS, JUST AS, WHILE are used with verbs with continuous aspect (Past Continuous/
Present Continuous, Future Continuous)

I saw a beautiful man as I was driving.

The children were playing while their parents were having lunch.

Just as I was entering the house, the earthquake started.

She is drinking while you are cleaning her room.

I will be drinking beer on the beach this time next week while you are working/ will be

working.

!!!!!! WHEN - can introduce a TIME CLAUSE + Present S/ Present C/ Present Perfect S/ Past

S/ Past C/ Past Perfect S NEVER WILL/ WOULD

e.g. I will be there when you arrive.

They came when you had already left.

She was there when you were cleaning the house. (Respect the Sequence of Tenses)

                  -can introduce a DO. Clause (WILL or WOULD can be used after it then)

e.g. I want/ will want to know when she will be here.

He wanted to be told when she would arrive. (Respect the Sequence of Tenses)

            -can introduce a direct question + WILL/ WOULD

e.g. When will she be here?
       When would you come to us?

CLAUSE OF REASONS

They are introduced by:

AS/ SINCE/ BECAUSE/ FOR/ THE REASON FOR/ THE REASON (WHY)/ ON THE GROUNDS
THAT

e.g. He got a taxi as he was late for work.

I was there because I wanted to discuss with her.

I didn’t tell him the truth, for I didn’t trust him.(FOR is always used after a comma)

BECAUSE OF/ DUE TO + NOUN/ -ing form: She was late because of heavy traffic.

BECAUSE OF/ DUE TO + THE FACT THAT + S + P: All roads were closed because of the fact
that it had been snowing all day.

CLAUSES OF RESULT

They are introduced by:

Such/ so ... that , (and) as a result, (and) as a consequence, consequently, so

e.g. The sea is so cold that they can’t swim in it.

Structures:

SUCH A(AN) + adjective + sg. countable noun: She had such a beautiful dress that I envied

her.

SUCH + adjective + uncountable noun/ pl. noun: It was such a horrible weather that we

postponed the trip.

SUCH + A LOT OF + noun: There were such a lot of students that I couldn’t find you.

SO + adjective/adverb: She runs so fast that no one can catch her.

SO + MUCH/ MANY/ LITTLE/ FEW + noun: She has so much money that she doesn’t know
what to do with it.

SO + adjective + A/AN + noun: It was so beautiful a dress that I had to buy it.

As a result/ therefore/ consequently/ so + clause: I didn’t have any money and as a result I
couldn’t buy anything.

PURPOSE CLAUSES / expressing purpose

Purpose is expressed with:

So as to + Vb. Short Inf.

She is studying so as to pass the exam.

She is studying so as not to fail the exam.

In order to + Vb. Short. Inf.

 She is studying in order to pass the exam.

She is studying in order not to fail the exam.

Verb Long Inf.

She is studying to pass the exam.

She is studying not to fail the exam.

For + -ing vb.

She is studying for passing the exam.

For + noun

She is studying for the exam.

 

With a view to + vb. –ing

I am studying with a view to passing the exam.

With the aim of + vb-ing

She is studying with the aim of passing the exam.

Prevent + noun/ pronoun + (from) + vb. –ing

She put her hat on to prevent the rain from ruining her hair.

Avoid + vb.-ing

She took a cab to avoid being late.

Lest + should/vb. Short Inf./ might

I am helping him lest he should get upset with me.

For fear + might (should)

I am whispering for fear I might wake her.

For fear of something/ doing something

She gave him all the money for fear of being beaten.

The clauses are introduced by:

So that

In order that + Clause

!!! They follow the rule of the Sequence of Tenses

Main Clause                                                                    Purpose Clause

Present Simple/ Cont.

Future

Imperative                          so that                          will/may/can + Vb. Inf.

She is studying                    so that                             she may pass the exam.

Past Tenses                       so that                    would/might/could +Vb. Inf.

She left early                       so that                      she might catch the bus.

CLAUSES OF CONCESSION

They are expressed with:

Although/ even though/ though + Clause: Although it was expensive, she bought the car.

While/ whereas/ but/ on the other hand/ yet + Clause: She was tired, yet she kept working.

Nevertheless/ however + Clause: He is intelligent; however, he is absent-minded.

However/ no matter how + adjective/ adverb + S + (may) + vb.: However clever you are/

may be, you won’t trick me.

Whatever/ no matter what + Clause: Whatever she may say, don’t believe her.

Adj./ adv. + THOUGH + S + vb. (may + Short Inf.): Beautiful though she is, I won’t talk with
her.
Adj./ adv. + AS + S + vb.: Tired as I was, I couldn’t disappoint her so I went to the party.

Despite/ in spite of + noun/ vb.-ing + Clause: Despite her fear, she entered the dark room.

Despite the fact that/ In spite of the fact that + S + P: In spite of the fact that he is rich, he
has no friends.

!!!! A comma is used when the Clause of Concession either precedes or follows the Main

Clause:

Whatever she says, he won’t believe her.

He won’t believe her, whatever she says.