main clause
Independent sentence unit
A main clause is a group of words containing a subject and verb that can stand alone as a complete sentence.
In She left because she was tired, "she left" is the main clause—it makes sense on its own.
Main clauses anchor complex sentences, with subordinate clauses depending on them for context.
- sentenceComplete thought, grammatically
- compound sentenceClauses joined by coordinator
- verbAction-expressing word
- subjectMatter under discussion
- predicateSentence's non-subject portion
conjunction · declarative · imperative · tense · sentence structure · proposition · claim · comma splice · utterance · standalone · word · statement · syntax · run-on · parsing · grammar · semicolon · assertion
- grammardeclension, pronouns, adjectives, conjugation, nouns
- grammar termsnoun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun
- syntaxsentence, verb, noun, adjective, adverb
- clausesreported speech
- word orderword order, subject-verb-object, subject-verb, sentence structure, linearization
- grammar partsnoun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun
grammatical dependency
main clausesubordinate clause
Clause requiring another clause
dependent clause · relative clause · noun clause · adjective clause · that-clause