Subordinate clauses of consequence are the rule in English. Meaning of subordinate clauses in English

When we need to communicate the result of an action taken or the consequences of a current situation, we can use subordinate clauses of consequence. Such subordinate clauses are introduced using conjunctions so, so… that(with adjectives or adverbs) or such … that.

so, so... that

such … that

Moreover such … that used in the following constructions:

Such a/ an+ adjective + singular countable noun

Such+ adjective + plural countable noun/uncountable noun

Such a lot of + plural countable noun/uncountable noun

So much/ little

In addition to the above constructions, the following are also used in subordinate clauses:

So much/ little+ uncountable noun

So many/ few+ countable noun

As a result, therefore and consequence

There are many other ways to indicate the result of an action or the consequences of a situation. For example, you can use conjunctions for this purpose as a result, therefore And consequently. Conjunctions can appear in the middle of a sentence or start a new one. Moreover, in this case, a comma is placed after the conjunction that opens a new sentence.

Adverbial clauses perform functions in various circumstances. They answer the following questions when?- When?, why?- Why?, where?– where?, where?, how?- How?

By meaning, subordinate clauses are divided into:

  1. adverbial sentences of time,
  2. adverbial clauses of place,
  3. adverbial clauses of reason,
  4. circumstantial sentences of investigation,
  5. adverbial sentences of manner of action and comparison,
  6. adverbial concessive offers,
  7. adverbial sentences of purpose,
  8. adverbial clauses conditions.

note that adverbial clauses are separated by a comma only if they stand before the main clause.

Subordinate clauses of time. Adverbial Clauses of Time

1. Subordinate clauses of time

  • when? - When?
  • since when? – since when?
  • how long? - how long?
  • when - when;
  • whenever - whenever;
  • while – while, when, while;
  • as – when, while;
  • after – after;
  • before - before;
  • till, until – until, until...not;
  • as soon as - for now;
  • since – since then, etc.;

Examples: I learned to read when I was about 5 years old.– I learned to read when I was about 5 years old.
Before it grew dark, we had reached home. “Before it got dark, we got home. (We separated the adverbial clause with a comma, since it comes before the main clause.)

2. B subordinate clause of time The verb in the future tense is never used.
Remember: replaced by , replaced by , and replaced by .

Examples:When they return home, she'll tell them the news. “When they return home, she will tell them the news.”

Subordinate clauses of place. Adverbial Clauses of Places

1. Subordinate clauses of place answer the following questions:

  • where? – where?/where?
  • from where - where from?

They are connected to the main sentence using conjunctions:

  • where – where, where;
  • wherever – wherever, wherever;

Examples:Wherever I meet his brother, he is always troubled. – Wherever I meet his brother, he is always worried.
This is the house where I live in. - This is the house where (in which) I live.

Subordinate clauses of reason. Adverbial Clauses of Cause

1. Subordinate clauses of reason answer the question:

  • why? - Why?

They are connected to the main sentence using conjunctions:

  • because – because;
  • as – since;
  • fore – since;
  • now that – now when, since.

Examples: There were many people in the streets because it was a holiday. – There were a lot of people on the street because it was a holiday.
We decided to camp there as it was too dark to go on. “We decided to set up camp there because it was too dark to go any further.

Subordinate clauses of manner of action and comparison. Adverbial Clauses of Manner and Comparison

1. Subordinate clauses of manner of action answer the question:

How? – how?/in what way?

They are connected to the main sentence using conjunctions:

  • as – how;
  • as if (as though) – as if, as if;
  • that - what.

Examples: Pronounce the word as I do. - Say the word as I (do it).

2. In comparative sentences introduced by conjunctions as if, as though, used Subjunctive II.

Examples: Hey as if he were starving for months. “He ate as if he had been starving for months.”
She talks about Paris as though she had been there herself. “She talks about Paris as if she had been there in person.

3. K subordinate clauses of manner of action relate subordinate clauses of comparison, they are connected to the main sentence using conjunctions:

  • than - than;
  • as...as – just...as/same...as;
  • not so…as – (not) so/such…as;

Examples: It's not so bad as her mother thinks it is. “It’s not as bad as her mother thinks.”

Subordinate clauses of consequence. Adverbial Clauses of Result

1. Subordinate clauses of consequence express a consequence arising from the content of the main sentence. They are connected to the main sentence with a conjunction so that, such that - so, in colloquial speech the conjunction is often used so.

Examples: They had such a fierce dog that no one dared to go near their house. “They had such a fierce dog that no one dared to pass by their house.
The weather was so warm that I did not wear a jacket. – The weather was so warm that I didn’t wear a jacket.

Subordinate clauses are concessive. Adverbial Clauses of Concession

1. Concessive subordinate clauses indicate the circumstance contrary to which the action of the main sentence is performed. They are connected to the main sentence by conjunctions:

  • thought (although) – although;
  • in spite of the fact that - despite the fact that;
  • however - no matter how;
  • whoever – whoever;
  • whatever - whatever;
  • whichever – whichever;
  • no matter what - no matter what;
  • no matter how - no matter how, etc.

Examples: Don't change your plans whatever happens. – Don’t change your plans, no matter what happens.
Although I like insects, I do not wish to study entomology. – Although I love insects, I don't want to study entomology.
In spite of having no qualifications, he got the job. Despite the fact that he had no qualifications, he got the job.

Subordinate clauses of purpose. Adverbial Clause of Purpose

1. Subordinate clauses of purpose indicate the purpose for which the action of the main sentence is performed. Subordinate clauses of purpose answer the following questions:

  • what for? - Why? What for?
  • for what purpose? -for what purpose?

They are connected to the main sentence using conjunctions:

  • so that, so, in order that - so that, in order to;
  • in order that – (in order) to.

Union so that– the most common, and in colloquial speech the conjunction is often used so.

The predicate of these sentences is expressed by verbs may (might) and should + infinitive without to. This construction is translated.
May (might) is used when the predicate of the subordinate clause has a connotation of possibility. Should used when the shade of possibility is absent.

Examples: He told us to get into the back of the car so that we could talk. “She told us to sit in the back seat of the car so we could talk.”

She gave me the key so that I could open the door. “She gave me the key so I could open the door.”

Subordinate clauses conditions. Adverbial Clauses of Condition

1. Subordinate clauses conditions connected to the main sentence using conjunctions:

  • if – if (the most common conjunction);
  • in case - in case;
  • supposing (that), suppose (that) - if, suppose (that);
  • unless - if... not;
  • provided (that), providing (that), on condition (that) – provided that, provided that.

Examples: I wouldn't do it if I were you. “I wouldn’t do this if I were you.”
I'll be at the flat all evening in case you should change your mind. “I’ll be at my house all evening in case you change your mind.”

Please note that it is possible to consider subordinate clauses in detail only in the context of the whole. More information about conditional offers can be found here.

1. Subject clauses(Subject Clauses) - answer the question who? - Who? what? - What? and are joined to the main sentence using the conjunctions that, whether, if or the allied words who, whose, what, which, when, where, how, why.

What he said at the sitting of the Court is very important.
What he said at the trial is very important.

How he made a mistake is not clear to us.
How he made a mistake is not clear to us.

Subject clauses often come after the predicate. In these cases, the main clause begins with the pronoun it and comes before the subordinate clause.

It is strange that he made a mistake.
It's strange that he made a mistake.

2. Predicate clauses(Predicative Clauses) - are introduced by the same conjunctions and allied words as subject subordinate clauses.

This is what has he done by 6 o'clock.
This is what he did by 6 o'clock.

3. Subordinate clauses(Object Clauses) - answer the question what? - What?, whom? - whom?, for what? - for what? and join the main sentence with the same unions and allied words, but the addition can also be non-union.

She said that she had caught a cold.
She said she had a cold.

He began to read but soon could see (that) she was not following, so he stopped.
He started reading, but soon saw that she was not listening, so he stopped (stopped reading).

She smiled at what I said.
She smiled at what I said.

4. Subordinate clauses(Attributive Clauses) - answer the question what? - Which?, which? - Which?, which? and are introduced into a complex sentence by pronouns and allied words who, whose, which, that - which, whom - whom or adverbs when - When, where - Where,how- How,why- Why.

I know the girl who has won the first prize.
I know a girl who won first prize.

Lomonosov was one of those rare minds whose scientific ideas were scores of years ahead of their time.
Lomonosov was one of those rare minds whose scientific ideas were far ahead of his time.

The room has a window which faces the sea.
The room has a window that faces the sea.

Do you know why he was late?
Do you know why he was late?

5. Subordinate adverbial clauses(Adverbial Clauses) - are divided into adverbial clauses of place, time, manner of action, cause, purpose, effect, conditions, comparisons and adverbial concessional clauses.

1 Subordinate adverbial clauses places(Adverbial Clauses of Place) answer the questions: where? - Where? Where?, from where? - where and are joined to the main clause using the conjunctive words where - where, where or wherever - wherever, wherever.

They came up to the place where the famous Russian poet Lermontov was killed.
They approached the place where the famous Russian poet Lermontov was killed.

2. Subordinate adverbial clauses time(Adverbial Clauses of Time) answer the questions when? - When? how long? - how long? since when? - since when? till what time? till when? - to what nop? and are introduced by conjunctions and allied words when - When,after- after,before- before, while - while, till, until - bye, until, as soon as - as soon as,since- since, by the time - by the time, whenever - whenever.

I haven't seen her since she left school.
I haven't seen her since she left school.

After the pupils had gone the girls on duty began to clean the class-room.
After the students left, the girls on duty began to clean the classroom.

He stayed there till (until) she got back.
He stood there until she returned.

As soon as the guys lit the cigarettes clouds of smoke filled the room.
As soon as the guys lit their cigarettes, clouds of smoke filled the room.

NOTE:

Verbs in subordinate clauses cannot be used in the future tense, therefore:

a) in the subordinate clause, the future tense Simple Future/ Future Indefinite changes to the present Simple Present/Present Indefinite.

When he takes this book he will give it to me.
When he takes this book, he will give it to me.

As soon as they have finished we can use the court.
As soon as they finish (playing), we can take the court (sports ground).

BUT: The future tense can be used after when, if when introduces not an adverbial tense, but an addition.

Not asked when the train would get in.
He asked when the train would arrive.

(The clause when the train would get in is not an adverbial clause, but an additional clause - it answers the question What?)

3. Circumstantial sentences course of action(Clauses of Manner) answer the question how? - how, in what way? and are introduced by conjunctions as - How, as if, as though - as if, as if.

Didn't look at me as if he saw me for the first time.
He looked at me as if he was seeing me for the first time.

4. Subordinate adverbial clauses causes(Clauses of Reason) answer the question why? - Why? and are introduced by conjunctions: because - because,since- because the,as- because and, less commonly, if - If.

We camped at noon because we were too tired.
We stopped at noon because we were very tired.

As we hadn’t any food we couldn’t continue our trip.
Since we had no more provisions, we could not continue our journey.

5. Subordinate adverbial clauses goals(Clauses of Purpose) answer the questions what for? - Why? What for? for what purpose? - for what purpose? and are introduced by conjunctions that, in order that, so that - so that, in order to, lest - so as not to.

The circumstances of the goal are usually expressed:

She went to England to learn English.
She went to England to study English.

(The infinitive to learn refers to the subject, i.e.: she went herself to learn English herself.)

If after the main predicate verb there is an object, then the infinitive will not refer to the subject, as in the example given, but to the object.

She sent her daughter to Britain to learn English.
She sent her daughter to Britain to study English.

(After the verb sent there is the object her daughter, so the infinitive to learn refers to the object daughter, i.e.: she sent her daughter to Britain with the goal that the daughter, and not herself, would learn English.)

2. Combination of conjunctions with the infinitive:

so as + infinitive
in order + infinitive

This construction can be used in subordinate adverbial clauses of the goal:

a) if the infinitive expressing the goal is in the negative form.

Don't left the room quietly so as (in order) not to wake up his wife.
He left the room quietly so as not to wake his wife.

He didn't say about the accident so as not to worry his parents.
He did not talk about the accident so as not to upset his parents.

b) if after the main verb there is an object, but the infinitive expressing the goal refers not to the object, but to the subject.

She sent her children into the garden in order (so as) to work a little(at her report).
She sent the children to the garden to work a little (on her report). (Work a little yourself, in the absence of children.)

Compare this sentence with the same one, but without the conjunction in order or so as:

She sent her children into the garden to work a little.
She sent the children to the garden to do some work (so they could do some gardening).

Thus, the presence of a combination of conjunctions so as/in order + infinitive makes it possible to attribute the purpose of an action to the subject, and not to the complement.

If the subordinate clause of the goal is introduced by the conjunction lest - so as not to, then the predicate verb of this subordinate clause is in the affirmative form and is expressed by the combination should + infinitive without to.

She never went to the river in autumn lest she should catch a cold.
She never went to the river in the fall, so as not to catch a cold.

Write down his address in your notebook lest you should forget it.
Write down his address in your notebook so you don't forget it.

6. Subordinate adverbial clauses consequences(Adverbial Clauses of Result) are introduced by conjunctions (usually the combination) that - What,so- So, so that - So and express the consequence arising from the content of the main sentence. When using these conjunctions, tense agreement rules are used.

He spoke for such a long time that we began to think he would never stop.
He talked for so long that we began to think he would never finish.

The fog was so thick that they could hardly see anything at a distance of five meters.
The fog was so thick that they could hardly see anything at a distance of five meters.

It was a secret, so Mary could know nothing about it.
This was kept secret, so Mary might not know anything about it.

7. Adverbial clauses concessionary sentences (Adverbial Clauses of Concession) answer the question in spite of what? - no matter what? and are introduced by conjunctions and allied words though, although, as - Although, however - howsoever, whoever - whoever, whatever - whatever, whatever, even if - even.

Though there were many vacant places she couldn't get a job.
Although there were many vacancies, she could not get a job.

However rich people are they always want to make more money.
No matter how rich people are, they always want to have more money.

8. Circumstantial conditional sentences are introduced by conjunctions if - If, unless - if not, on condition (that) - provided that, in case (that) - in case, etc.

If he cleans his shoes it means he is having a date.
If he shines his shoes, it means he has a date.

In subordinate clauses of conditions, Past Tense is used.

We knew that till the inspector arrived nothing could be touched.
We knew that until the investigator arrived, we couldn’t touch anything.

Features of the use of cardinal and ordinal numbers when denoting numbering in English.

From your Russian language lessons you probably know that sentences can be simple or complex. Complex ones, in turn, are divided into complex and complex. For the former, both parts of the sentence are equal, while for the latter, one part is the main clause, and the second (or even several others) is a subordinate clause. “Wait, but what does Russian have to do with it?” - you ask. The fact is that the English language has exactly the same types of sentences. And if everything is quite simple with simple and complex clauses, complex clauses and their subordinate clauses in the English language have their own characteristics, which we will talk about today.

Subordinate clauses in English: usage

Complex sentences or complex sentences in English, as mentioned earlier, consist of 2 parts:

Almost always these parts can change places. In most cases they are separated by intonation, but sometimes the presence of a comma is acceptable. The peculiarity of subordinate clauses is that they cannot be used independently, since such clauses simply explain the main thing. Example:

Let's break down these proposals:

We hope that you have an idea of ​​what such a subordinate clause is. Now we can consider the types of subordinate clauses.

Types of subordinate clauses in English

There are 5 types of subordinate clauses in English:

  1. The subject clause or subordinate clause performs the function of the subject, answers the questions “what? /Who?" and is introduced into the sentence by the conjunctions who, what, that, which, when, where, why, how, if / whether ).
    Examples:
  1. The predicative clause or subordinate clause of the predicate is used in the function of the nominal part of the predicate with the same conjunctions that were used for the case above:
  1. The object clause or additional clauses answer the questions “what?”, “for what?”, “whom?”. Can be introduced by already known unions, although non-union cases are also possible:

Non-union joining occurs only when the conjunction that is implied:

  1. The attributive clause or subordinate attributive clauses serve as a definition. They answer the question “which one?” To enter them, conjunctions are required: that (which), which (which is only for inanimate), who (which is only for animate), whose (whose), why (why), where (where):
  1. The adverbial clause or adverbial circumstance. Perhaps the largest group of subordinate clauses, which is divided into the following subgroups:
  • Subordinate clauses that are introduced using where (where, where) and wherever (wherever / wherever):
  • Subordinate clauses introduced by the conjunctions when (when), while (while), before (before), after (after), until / till (not yet / until), as soon as (as soon as), since (since):
  • Subordinate reasons that are introduced using the conjunctions as (since), because (because), since (since):
  • Subordinate objectives that use conjunctions that (to), in order that (in order to), so that (so that), lest (not to):
  • Subordinate clauses of action and comparison are introduced using as if / though (as if), that (that), as (how):
  • Subordinate concessions are introduced by the conjunctions although / though, whoever, however, whatever, no matter what / how, even though on what):
  • Subordinate conditions that include the conjunctions if (if), unless (not yet), provided / in condition that (provided):

Subordinate clauses in English are part of complex clauses and perform the function of one of the members of a sentence, being, as it were, its expanded version.

For example, in this sentence the circumstance is expressed in one word - carefully:

I was driving carefully. – I drove the car carefully.

Now let’s expand the circumstance, replacing it with a subordinate clause of the manner of action. The result is a complex sentence like this:

I was driving as if I had China on my backseat. “I drove like I had china in the back seat.”

Accordingly, there are as many subordinate clauses as there are members of the sentences that they replace.

Subject clauses

Subordinate clauses perform a function and answer the same questions as the subject: Who? What? They are connected to the main sentence by conjunctions and allied words:

  • that– what,
  • whether, if - whether,
  • who, whom - who, whom,
  • which – which,
  • when - when,
  • where - where, where,
  • how - how,
  • why - why.
  • whose - whose,
  • what - what, which,

It is bad that you made a mistake. - It's bad that you made a mistake.

Whether they will leave today is not known yet. “It remains to be seen whether they will leave today.”

Predicate clauses

Subordinate predicates perform a function and answer the questions: what is the subject? what is it? They are connected to the main clause by the same conjunctions and allied words as the subject subordinate clauses.

The question is whether they want to join us. “The question is whether they will want to join us.”

The weather is not what it was yesterday. - The weather is not the same as yesterday.

Subordinate clauses of addition

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