“Finite clauses” and sentence architecture
“Finite clauses” series: Part 1
The “finite clause” is an important concept to understand if we want to build a systematic grammatical framework as a basis for our English learning.
(ⓘ In our free blog content, YouTube videos, and online course, we use the simplified term “clause” to stand for “finite clause” in order to highlight the central importance of this grammatical unit in a more straightforward way.)
The “clause” (meaning “finite clause”) as a grammatical unit is important as a starting point for building a systematic understanding of English structure because it is the smallest unit that can make up a “complete sentence.”
A “complete sentence,” in other words, can be made up of one single complete “clause,” or it can be made up of multiple complete “clauses” combined together in ways bound by the systematic rules of English grammar.
(ⓘ In our free blog content, YouTube videos, and online course, we use square brackets [ ] to denote clause boundaries.)
For example:
✓ [ The swimmers swam. ]
The sentence above is a complete sentence made up of one single complete “clause.”
✓ [ The swimmers swam, ] and [ the runners ran. ]
The sentence above is a complete sentence made up of two complete “clauses” linked together by the conjunction “and”--that is, in a valid way within English systematic grammar.
✓ [ The swimmers [ who entered the competition ] swam,] and [ the runners ran. ]
The sentence above is a complete sentence made up of three complete “clauses.” One of these clauses, “who entered the competition,” is embedded within another clause. This is also a valid way for clauses to be combined within English systematic grammar.
As we can see, as soon as we understand what a “clause” is in English, we can start to break down sentences of any length and complexity systematically into smaller units that we can further analyze.
In order to understand what a “clause” is, and to learn how to identify and produce it, we will next have to look at its essential grammatical components.
Our online course devotes its entire opening section to the discussion of “clauses”--both their internal structure and role as building blocks in sentence architecture--because this concept holds central importance in any systematic understanding of English.
If you wish to study this important topic in a more structured way, please join our online course.
「Finite clauses」（限定子句）與句子結構
「finite clauses」（限定子句）系列：第1篇
如果我們想建立一個有系統的文法框架作為學習英文的基礎，便一定要理解「finite clauses」（限定子句）這個重要概念。
（ⓘ 在我們的免費博客文章、YouTube影片及網上課程中，我們使用了「子句」作為「限定子句」的簡稱，以便可以更直接地指出此文法單位的重要性。)
「限定子句」很重要，因為它是可以構成英文「完整句子」的最小文法單位，是我們去有系統地理解英文句子結構的起步點。
一個英文的「完整句子」可以由一個完整的「子句」組成，也可以由多個完整的「子句」，在英文文法系統性規則的規範下組合而成。
（ⓘ 在我們的免費博客文章、YouTube 影片及網上課程中，我們均會使用方括號 [ ] 來顯示出每個子句的分界。）
例如：
✓ [ The swimmers swam. ]
上述句子是由一個完整「子句」組成的完整句子。
✓ [ The swimmers swam, ] and [ the runners ran. ]
上述句子是由以連接詞「and」連接的兩個完整「子句」所組成的一個完整句子。這是英文系統性文法中一種可行的連接方式。
✓ [ The swimmers [ who entered the competition ] swam,] and [ the runners ran. ]
上述句子是由三個完整「子句」所組成的完整句子，其中一個子句「who entered the competition」更嵌入到另一個子句當中。這也是英文系統性文法容許的一種組合子句方式。
由此可見，一旦我們明白英文的「子句」是甚麼，即使句子再長再復雜，我們也懂得有系統地把它分拆成更小的完整單元，以便自己進一步分析。
為了真正理解「子句」是甚麼，並學會如何識別及造句，我們就必須深入看看「子句」的基本文法元素。