Subordinate clauses

In its review, the IOM emphasized the subordinate clause of Section 3 of Public Law 102-4 that directeditto determine whether a statistical association exists between herbicide exposure and health effects. How looking for statistical associations differs from a scientific review isn t entirely clear, but the IOM points out that it did not examine the data for evidence of causality, as is common in scientific reviews. 18... 

Use the proper subordinating conjunctions. (Conjunctions join parts of a sentence subordinating conjunctions join subordinate clauses to the main sentence.) While and since have strong connotations of time. Do not use them where you mean although , because , or whereas . 

Parallelism, or parallel construction, is the use of words or groups of words of equal grammatical rank. Equal grammatical rank means that words are connected only to words, phrases only to phrases, subordinate clauses only to other subordinate clauses, and sentences only to other sentences. Establish parallel construction by using coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions, and correlative constructions. 

Use a comma after a subordinate clause that precedes the main clause in a complex sentence. 

Generally, when you subordinate one idea, you emphasize another, so to avoid the tail-wagging-the-dog problem, put your important idea in the main clause. Also, don t let your most important idea become buried under an avalanche of subordinate clauses, as in the sentence that follows ... 

The question of German compound verbs is not quite as simple. Many of them are formed by a simple verb with a prefix, as for example dampfen (to steam) and verdampfen (to evaporate). Some of these compound verbs are separable and some are inseparable—that is, in the case of the latter the prefix is not separated from its basic verb, while in the case of the former it often is. In ordinary sentences containing separable verbs, the prefix appears at the end, as for example in Der Inhalt siedet uber (the content is boiling over), Der Schwefel nimmt an der Reaktion teil (the sulfur participates in the reaction), etc. In subordinate clauses, however, verb and prefix reunite at the end of the sentence, as for example in Der Verfasser berichtet dass der Schwefel an der Reaktion teilnimmt (the author reports that the sulfur participates in the reaction). 

Position of Verb. A few words about the position of the verb in German sentences might be in order here. The verb does not occur at the end of the sentence quite as persistently as Mark Twain would have us believe. Of course, when it does occur at the end of the sentence, it is often flanked by two or more verbal assistants, especially where the sentence has a number of subordinate clauses. What is generally not realized is that if the sentence begins with the subject, the position of the verb is the same as in English Das Gas stromte aus dem R hrchen (the gas flowed out of the tube). If the sentence does not begin with the subject, the verb comes immediately before the subject Im Versuch stromte das Gas aus dem Rohrchen (in the experiment the gas flowed out of the tube). A notable exception to this rule is that in subordinate clauses the verb appears at the end of the sentence Der Verfasser sah das Gas aus dem Rohrchen stromen (the author saw the gas flow out of the tube). 

Searle s question with which this paper began contains a subordinate clause— in a universe consisting entirely of physical particles in fields of force. The word entirely in this clause, if taken seriously, would wipe chemistry completely off the map of significance. Chemists have good reason to be wary of nominalism. For Searle, nominalism needs no supporting argument facts inconsistent with that approach are invisible to him. However, if the world consists entirely of particles in fields then John R. Searle does not exist. 

Commas must be used to separate introductory phrases and subordinate clauses from the subject of the sentence. For example, there must be a comma in the following sentence before optimization ... 

There are other verbally exuberant qualities in Gogol s style his elaborate sentence structure, analyzed in detail by Bely, who speaks of Gogol s exploded sentence, scattered about in splinters of subordinate clauses and the devices which Pereverzev in his chapter on Gogol s style calls amplification and self-interruption. The best example of the use of amplification is the Tale of Captain Kopey-kin, a good early illustration of what later came to be called skaz. The narrative manner of the postmaster who tells this story is announced in chapter 8 the auxiliary expressions he uses to stretch out and amplify the tale occupy roughly half of the text, and if we were to blue-pencil the extraneous matter and the repetitions, the story could probably be cut down to about one-third of its length. 

Within sentences, clauses (groups of words containing both a subject and verb) are often connected by coordination (two independent ideas) or subordination (one idea depends upon the other) ... 

One of the favorite issues in Improving Sentences questions is coordination and subordination, because it tests your ability to see logical relationships between ideas. To tackle these questions, you need to determine how the ideas in the clauses work together. Is one idea in addition to the other In contrast Is there a progression in time or sequence How exactly does one idea relate to the other Here s an example ... 

Although she helped support each one of her brothers grand endeavors), followed by another dependent clause (but Orville and Wilbur Wright s sister Katherine was never truly perceived as a hero). Whenever a sentence starts with a dependent clause (your clue is it cannot stand alone and starts with although), it must be followed by an independent clause (a statement that grammatically can stand on its own). If it doesn t, this is called faulty subordination. By removing the but, as in choice d, your second clause becomes dependent, and the sentence is correct. 

In choice a, although does not express the correct relationship. Choice c s use of however is correct, but it is preceded by a comma instead of a semicolon, creating a run-on sentence. Choice d also creates a run-on sentence and does not offer a coordinating or subordinating conjunction to express the contrast between the two clauses. Choice e repeats the original error and adds unnecessary wordy constructions. 

CONJ conjunction (clause subordinator) PD proximal deixis... 

A subordinate or elliptical clause may be used as a sentence modifier. 

Use a comma before, but not after, the subordinating conjunction in a nonre-strictive clause. 

Some sentences contain one main statement and one or more less emphasized elements the less important ideas are subordinate to, or are dependent on, the sentence s main idea. Subordinating conjunctions introducing dependent clauses show a variety of relationships between the clauses and the main part of the sentence. Here are four examples of subordinating conjunctions and their uses ... 

Don t run two sentences together without any punctuation. Use a period, a semicolon, or a comma plus a coordinating conjunction (if appropriate), or subordinate one clause. 

A comma splice occurs when two sentences are linked with a comma. To correct this error, you can (1) separate the two sentences with a period, (2) separate the two sentences with a semicolon, (3) insert a coordinating conjunction ( for, but, and, or, nor, so, yet ) after the comma, or (4) subordinate one clause. 

Subordination The act of putting an idea of lesser importance in a clause that cannot stand alone for example, Because he was late, he missed the bus. ... 

The sentence gains new energy with the use of dependent clauses that subordinate details with respect to their importance. 

The strings of prepositional phrases, mentioned above, are also often a signal that we haven t been paying attention. The solution is to emphasize the important details, such as by using dependent clauses to subordinate details with respect to their importance. 

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