What Are Subordinate Clauses?
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
What Are Subordinate Clauses?
English has two kinds of clauses: subordinate (or dependent) and independent. The difference between them is that an independent clause can stand alone and a dependent one cannot. A subordinate clause by itself is a sentence fragment.
Complete stand-alone sentence: I want the ice cream that is made with soy instead of milk and cream.
Independent clause: I want the ice cream
Subordinate clause: that is made with soy instead of milk and cream
The subordinate clause depends on the independent clause to finish its meaning. The independent clause does not need the subordinate clause to properly function; rather, it benefits from the extra information that the subordinate clause provides.
Signals of Subordinate Clauses
Consider the following sentences and notice what they share in common:
Since I started exercising, I have noticed that I’ve been sleeping better at night.
Joanne is the mayor who can get things done for the best of the city.
Wherever Joseph decides to put that old rake is okay with me.
Each sentence includes a word that serves as a signal that a dependent thought is being expressed. The word is either a relative pronoun or a subordinating conjunction, and it subordinates the clause it is in.
From there, we can examine whether each subordinate clause is serving as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. Let’s look at the same sentences again to determine how the subordinate clauses are functioning.
Since I started exercising, I have noticed that I’ve been sleeping better at night.
Joanne is the mayor who can get things done for the best of the city.
Wherever Joseph decides to put that old rake is okay with me.
In the first sentence, since I started exercising modifies the verb phrase, have noticed, to describe the timing of the action. This makes the subordinate clause an adverb.
In the second sentence, who can get things done for the best of the city modifies mayor by further describing the noun. This makes the subordinate clause an adjective.
In the last sentence, the entire dependent clause wherever Joseph decides to put that old rake acts as the sentence subject. This makes the subordinate clause a noun.
The following table includes common signals of subordination. When you read or write them, be aware of their potential presence and function within a subordinate clause.
| Relative Pronouns | Subordinating Conjunctions | ||||||
| that | whoever | after | as though | in order that | though | whenever | |
| what | whom | although | because | since | unless | where | |
| which | whomever | as | before | so that | until | wherever | |
| who | whose | as if | if | that | when | while | |
Subordinate Clauses: More Examples
To further solidify our understanding of what subordinate clauses are, we’ll review a few more ways of how they operate in writing.
Subordinate Clauses as Nouns
I am unsure of when they will arrive. (object of a preposition)
Do you know when they will arrive? (direct object)
That they will arrive is certain. (subject)
Subordinate Clauses as Adjectives
Walter is a man who tries to live a virtuous life. (describes man)
Walter is a man whom we have always looked up to. (describes man)
Walter has always been someone whose virtues I admire. (describes someone)
Subordinate Clauses as Adverbs (*each sentence describes the timing of the action)
We will clean up after the guests leave.
When the guests leave, we will clean up.
We will clean up whenever the guests leave.
Related Topics
Dependent and Independent Clauses
Clauses and Phrases
Who, That, Which
Pop Quiz
Now that you understand what subordinate clauses are, identify the subordinate clause in each sentence.
1. Sheila said that she loves your gift of flowers.
2. The judges are still deciding if Team Kryptonite should receive the award.
3. Because they are so kind to all, the Ruizes have many friends.
4. That is an issue which can be easily resolved.
5. The gymnasts who have the best routine this round will advance to the semifinals.
Pop Quiz Answers
1. Sheila said that she loves your gift of flowers.
2. The judges are still deciding if Team Kryptonite should receive the award.
3. Because they are so kind to all, the Ruizes have many friends.
4. That is an issue which can be easily resolved.
5. The gymnasts who have the best routine this round will advance to the semifinals.
If the article or the existing discussions do not address a thought or question you have on the subject, please use the "Comment" box at the bottom of this page.
Your articles are very helpful and written in a way that is easily understood by grammar newbies, so I would be grateful for a response.
I have never understood how some independent clauses can be said to stand alone. In your sentence “I want the ice cream that is made with soy instead of milk and cream,” the independent clause “I want the ice cream” can definitely work on its own, but surely the following (taken from some of your other examples) do not make sense without their subordinate clauses:
. . . is okay with me
I am unsure of . . . [this would make sense on its own without the preposition at the end]
. . . is certain
Walter has always been someone . . .
Sheila said . . .
What am I missing here? I really want to understand this!
And speaking of subordinate clauses, does the following sentence (which I made up) have one or two of them?
“We are not going anywhere until you clean your room and your brother takes out the garbage.”
I would argue that it has two, and that the second one begins with an implied, or elided, subordinating conjunction, like so:
We are not going anywhere [independent clause]
until you clean your room [subordinate/dependent clause]
and [until] your brother takes out the garbage. [subordinate/dependent clause]
If I am correct, then I believe this sentence would be classified as complex rather than compound-complex; that is, the “and” is not introducing a second independent clause but rather is joining two dependent clauses (“until you clean…and [until] your brother takes out…”). Does my thinking make any sense?
By the way, I really enjoy your articles (I wish I had discovered your website sooner). Thank you for providing readers with an opportunity to ask questions and receive personalized answers!
In the examples you specify, the subordinate clauses act as parts of speech within independent clauses. In other words, you are correct in saying that “…is okay with me” would not make sense alone. This is because it does not have a subject. However, if we add the subordinate clause that serves as the sentence subject, we have a complete independent clause:
Wherever Joseph decides to put that old rake (subordinate clause as sentence subject) is (verb) okay (adjective) with me (prepositional phrase modifying okay).
Some independent clauses will also benefit from the extra description a subordinate element might provide. However, the lack of the subordinate element does not make the clause incomplete; what matters are the sentence components that are present. In the statement “Walter has always been someone,” the thought may feel incomplete, but structurally it is complete and independent because it satisfies what constitutes an independent sentence–i.e., it has a subject and a verb without a subordinating element.
Walter (subject) has always been (verb) someone (predicate nominative that re-states the subject).
In your example “We are not going anywhere until you clean your room and your brother takes out the garbage,” you have one independent clause with two subordinate clauses including an omitted, understood reference to “until”:
We are not going anywhere (independent clause) until (subordinating conjunction) you clean your room (subordinate clause) and [until] (omitted, understood reference) your brother takes out the garbage (subordinate clause).