HIGH SCHOOL GRAMMAR- CLAUSES (Relative Clauses)

Objectives By the end of this lesson the learners will: i. Define a main clause ii. Define a subordinate clause iii. Define a relative clause iv. Identify relative clauses in sentences A. What is a main clause? A main clause is a subject/ verb grouping that conveys meaning. NB: A subject is what a sentence talks about. The subject is usually a noun phrase. A verb on the other hand is an action or state word. Therefore, the simplest main clause can be made up of only two words: i. Jesus wept. ii. We won. iii. She sang. iv. They played. v. He danced. Take note that the definition of a clause is the same as the basic definition of a sentence. Please take time off and define a main clause and give your own examples before you continue with the lesson. B. What is a subordinate clause? A subordinate clause is a subject/verb grouping that depends on the main clause to complete its meaning. Therefore subordinate clauses are used alongside main clauses. i. ...whom you spoke to. ii. ...that is torn. iii. ...which is broken. iv. ...who lives in Kisumu. v. ...who is ill. Please take time off and define a subordinate clause and give your own examples before you continue with the lesson. C. What is a relative clause? A relative clause is a part of a sentence that gives more meaning to the subject/object (an object is the noun phrase that comes after an action verb). In this way the relative clause plays the function of adjectives- that is, it is similar to the adjective. To give you a better understanding of this definition, we shall now give main clauses to the subordinate clauses we listed above: i. He is the man whom you spoke to. (Answers the question ‘which man?’) ii. She borrowed the book that is torn. (Answers the question ‘which book?’) iii. She kept the plate which is broken. (Answers the question ‘which plate?’) iv. I rang my uncle who lives in Kisumu. (Answers the question ‘which uncle?’) v. I visited my sister who is ill. (Answers the question ‘which sister?’) Notice that in the first sentence “man” is the noun that is modified by the relative clause ‘whom you spoke to’. Now identify the noun and the relative clauses that modify them in the remaining sentences (hint: the information in the brackets will help you identify these words). You will have noticed that the relative clause is an example of a subordinate clause. Please take time off and define a relative clause and give your own examples before you continue with the lesson. Now let us make a connection between grammar and literature. For my examples I will use the short story ‘The Guilt’ by Rayda Jacobs from the anthology When the Sun Goes Down. i. She remembered the African woman who had knocked at her door one night at nine. ii. Like the woman who saw her sit on the ‘stoep’ the other day and begged Lilian to buy four geranium plants for two rand. iii. Then there was the man who had rung persistently at her gate and when Lilian came out he asked for money for the bus as he did not know how he was going to get home. Now identify the noun/ noun phrase and the relative clauses that modify them in the sentences above. So the question on our minds is, “Why did Jacobs use relative clauses in these sentences?” The three people mentioned above have one thing in common: they all tormented Lilian. The relative clauses have therefore been used to positively identify, in a flashback, Lilian’s tormentors. It is important because the whole story is about people who torment her because of her vulnerability. A good student should therefore be able to identify all her tormentors. Hope you had a good time. Now take time to find more usages of the relative clauses in the other prescribed set texts. In the next lesson we shall look at adverbial clauses. NB: The main clause is also referred to as the independent clause.