subordinate clause

Syllabification: (sub·or·di·nate clause)

Definition of subordinate clause

noun

a clause, typically introduced by a conjunction, that forms part of and is dependent on a main clause (e.g., “when it rang” in “she answered the phone when it rang”).

Grammar

In a complex sentence, there is one main clause and one (or more) clauses that depend on it. If you break the sentence into its separate clauses, you usually find that the main clause will still stand up if you replace the other clause(s) with a single word:

	main clause	subordinate clause
Complex sentence	The problem is	that neither side is willing to compromise on the issue of federal spending.
Simple sentence	The problem is this.

The main clause can follow one of the seven standard patterns (see clause). Within the structure of the main clause, subordinate clauses can act as:subject:What I want to do now is to look at two elements. object:Describe how the accident happened. subject complement:The problem is that neither side is willing to compromise on the issue of federal spending. object complement:They had made him what he was. adverbial:We’ll talk about it when we meet this evening. In each case, the subordinate clause can be replaced by a single word or a short phrase, without changing the grammar of the main clause:My aim is to look at two elements.Describe the accident.The problem is this.They had made him that.We'll talk about it later.