Clauses

Uploaded on 1 June 2022

 

Stage 1: Present examples

Write these sentences on the board with the parts underlined as shown. Ask: “What do you notice about the sentences?”

a) Rejoice sings when she is happy.

b) Rejoice sings in the morning.

To help learners:

Ask: “Where is the subject in the underlined part of sentence a)?” Elicit – ‘she’.

Ask: “Where is the verb in the underlined part of sentence a)?” Elicit – ‘is’.

Ask: “Is there a subject or a verb in the underlined part of sentence b)? Elicit – ‘no’.

Now write these sentences on the board and ask: “What do you notice about the sentences?”

c) I’m not doing the homework unless you help me.

d) She was tired, so she decided to go to bed.

To help learners:

Ask: “In sentence c) can the underlined part be a sentence on its own?” Elicit – ‘no’

Ask: “In sentence d) can the underlined part be a sentence on its own?” Elicit – ‘yes’

Stage 2: Take feedback

Ask learners to share their feedback on what they noticed in the examples. Some key points you might want to share with them include:

• A clause has to contain a subject and a verb.
• If there is no subject and verb then it’s a phrase (a complement)
• If the clause can be a sentence on its own then it’s an independent clause (also known as a main clause).
• If the clause can’t be a sentence on its own then it’s a dependent clause (also known as a subordinate clause).
• A dependent clause adds extra information.

Stage 3: Use the grammar

a. Dependent or Independent?

Write up some sentences and ask learners to identify whether they contain independent clauses only, or a mixture of independent and dependent clauses. 

1. My sister smiles when she is happy.

2. I want to buy a phone, but I don’t have enough money.

3. If you don’t eat, you’ll be hungry.

4. I went to Egypt and I visited the pyramids.

5. The dog was fast but the cat got away.

b. Add a clause

Put learners in groups. Write up a few main clauses on the board. e.g.:

Jack likes pizza.

I’ve never been to London.

I went to the library.

An old man lives in that house.

Say: “Take turns. Choose a sentence from the board and add a clause. The other learners need to say if it’s a dependent or independent clause.”

Play the game. Monitor and help where necessary.

For example:

Jack likes pizzas but they are quite expensive. (independent clause).

Jack likes pizza which has cheese and tomato on it. (dependent clause)