6.3        Clauses and Sentences

Day 1    More on Clauses and Phrases 

Main Clause and Subordinate Clause主句和從屬子句

At level 1, you learned about the difference between dependent and independent clauses. A dependent clause is also known as a Subordinate Clause and an independent clause is also known as a Main Clause. A main clause can be a sentence by itself. A subordinate clause depends on a main clause and cannot be written as a separate sentence. Consider this example:

在低年級我們學了附屬子句和獨立子句的分別。附屬子句亦即是從屬子句。而獨立子句亦即是主句。一個主句可以自己獨立一句成為句子。但附屬子句則需要依賴某個主句，而不可以自己分開寫成一個句子。

Example :

I was late for school because there was a traffic accident.

In this example, the words “because there was a traffic accident” are a subordinate clause. They depend on the main clause “I was late for school”.

在這個例子中，“because there was a traffic accident”是一個附屬子句。它需要依賴主句 “I was late for school” 才能使意思變得完整。Look at the following examples.

The main clauses could stand alone as separate sentences while the subordinate clauses CANNOT be written as separate sentences.

留意以下左面的主句，它們都能各自獨立成句。相比下，右面的附屬子句則不可獨立成句

Using two main clauses 兩個主句的使用

We can use two main clauses to form a sentence. If we do so, we must put a conjunction between them.

我們可以用兩個主句來組成一個新句子。如果我們要這樣做，就必須使用一個連接詞把那兩個主句連繫起來。

Examples:

Phrase 短語

A phrase is a group of words WITHOUT a subject and a finite verb. It cannot stand alone as a complete sentence.

短語是一組沒有主語和限定動詞的字。它不可以獨立成句。