What is a relative clause? A relative clause is one kind of dependent clause. It has a subject and verb, but can’t stand alone as a sentence. It is sometimes called an “adjective clause” because it functions like an adjective—it gives more information about a noun.

Relative clauses are clauses starting with the relative pronouns who*, that, which, whose, where, when. They are most often used to define or identify the noun that precedes them. Here are some examples: Do you know the girl who started in grade 7 last week? Can I have the pencil that I gave you this morning?

A relative pronoun is a word that introduces a dependent (or relative) clause and connects it to an independent clause. Relative clauses are also sometimes referred to as adjective clauses, because they identify or give us additional information about the subject of the independent clause they relate to.

“Relative clauses are so called because they are related by their form to an antecedent. They contain within their structure an anaphoric element whose interpretation is determined by the antecedent.

The predicate is the part of the sentence (the verb) that shows the action. For example, in the sentence, “The angry bear howled ominously,” the word “bear” is the simple subject and the predicate is “howled” so the main clause of the sentence would be, “The bear howled.”

How to use subordinating conjunctions

• A subordinating conjunction is the word or words used to join two clauses together in a complex sentence.
• They are words such as because, although, unless, whereas.
• They do the job of showing the relationship between the two clauses and showing us which is the most important.

Main clauses have a subject and verb and can stand on their own. Subordinate clauses begin with a conjunction and therefore cannot stand on their own.

A subordinate clause is a clause that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence; it merely complements a sentence’s main clause, thereby adding to the whole unit of meaning. Because a subordinate clause is dependent upon a main clause to be meaningful, it is also referred to as a dependent clause.

A clause is the basic unit of grammar. A clause must contain a verb. Typically a clause is made up of a subject, a verb phrase and, sometimes, a complement: I’ve eaten.