Home » Clauses

Topic: Clause

These resources relate to clauses. Understanding how clauses work is useful for appreciating the different kinds of effects that writers achieve by using different structures, and also for developing writing skills.

Sentence generator: Activity

Click on each column to scroll up and down, and make different combinations.

Click on the dice at the top of the columns to get a new random ordering of elements.

In slide 2, re-order elements by clicking within a column and dragging to left or right (or by clicking on the arrows at the tops of the columns).

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Sentences with 'because'

In this activity, students practise composing sentences with the word because.

Goals

  • Identify the causal relationship that underlies use of because.
  • Compose some reasonable sentences using because.

Lesson Plan

The teacher explains that today, we will practise using the word because.

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Sentences with 'because': Activity

I'm wearing wellies.
Why?
Because it's raining.

I'm wearing wellies
because
it's raining.

You're it.
Why?
Because I tagged you.

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Sentences with 'if'

In this activity, students practise composing sentences with the word if.

Goals

  • Rehearse an implicit understanding of the conditional meaning of if.
  • Practise composing sentences using if.

Lesson Plan

The teacher explains that today, we will practise writing sentences with the word if.

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Sentences with 'if': Activity

If you're wearing red, raise your hand.

If you're wearing blue, stomp your feet.

If you're wearing velcro, scratch your head.

If you have a zipper on your clothes, scratch your ear.

If you're the tallest one, wiggle your nose.

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Subject-Verb Agreement

In this lesson, students select the correct verb to compose an acceptable sentence.

Goals

  • Practise composing sentences with appropriate Subject-Verb agreement.
  • Identify acceptable patterns in Standard English.

Lesson Plan

The teacher explains that today, we will select the correct verb on the smart board, to construct acceptable sentences.

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Subject-Verb Agreement: 'Be' verbs

Telephones
are
is
am
really weird.

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Using multi-clause sentences in writing

In this lesson, students explore the effects of using multi-clause sentences.

This terminology is now preferred in the National Curriculum, rather than simple sentence, compound sentence and complex sentence. 

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Word salads (primary)

In this lesson, students arrange words on the smart board in order to create acceptable sentences.

Goals

  • Use implicit grammatical knowledge to arrange word tiles on a smart board into sentences.

Lesson Plan

The teacher explains that today, we will arrange words to make sentences. All of the example sentences here have been drawn from our corpus.

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Word salads (primary): Commands activity

Look
what
I
found
.

Enjoy
the
show
.

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Word salads (primary): Questions activity

Have
you
seen
her
?

Can
you
tell
me
?

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Word salads (primary): Statement activity

He
talked
to
people
.

I
saw
him
in
London
.

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Finite or nonfinite?

In each of the following sentences, indicate whether the highlighted verb is finite or nonfinite.

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Sentence types: Simple, compound or complex?

Simple, compound or complex? Look at each of the following examples, and click on the right sentence type. Remember that the current National Curriculum prefers single-clause and multi-clause instead of the simple / compound / complex distinction.

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Subordinate or main clause?

Try to identify which clauses can stand on their own (click Main) or those which can’t (click Subordinate). The capitals and punctuation marks have been removed to make this slightly less obvious.

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Y6 GPaS Test: Coordinated or not coordinated?

In each of the following examples, indicate whether the example is coordinated or not coordinated:

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Y6 GPaS Test: Identify the relative clause

Identify the relative clause in each of the following examples. Click on the first and last word of the relative clause to select or deselect it.

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Y6 GPaS Test: Identify the subordinate clause

Find the subordinate clause in a range of examples

Identify the subordinate clauses in each of the following examples. Click on the words that comprise the subordinate clause to select or deselect them.

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Y6 GPaS Test: Question, command, statement or exclamation

Identify the type of clause below. The punctuation has been removed to make the answers less obvious.

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Y6 GPaS Test: Question, command, statement or exclamation: Advanced

Identify the type of clause highlighted in each multi-clause sentence below.

The punctuation has been removed to make the answers less obvious.

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Y6 GPaS Test: Subordinate clause?

Select whether the example sentence contains a subordinate clause or not.

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Adverbial

Subjects, Direct Objects and Indirect Objects are typically noun phrases  (and sometimes clauses) which identify participants in the situation described by the main verb – they answer ‘who’ or ‘what’ questions.

Adverbials are rather different. Consider the highlighted phrases in the examples below:

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Clause types: statements, questions, commands and exclamations

The National Curriculum recognises four clause types (also called ‘sentence types’ ). They are usually used to ‘do different things’. These are statements, questions, commands and exclamations.

Each clause type has its own typical pattern (i.e. word order).

In statements, the Subject comes in its typical position before the verb. Here are some examples:

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