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This article describes the syntax of clauses in the English language, chiefly in Modern English. A clause is often said to be the smallest grammatical unit that can express a complete proposition.[1] But this semantic idea of a clause leaves out much of English clause syntax. For example, clauses can be questions,[2]: 161 but questions are not propositions.[3] A syntactic description of an English clause is that it is a subject and a verb.[4] But this too fails, as a clause need not have a subject, as with the imperative,[2]: 170 and, in many theories, an English clause may be verbless.[2]: 222 The idea of what qualifies varies between theories and has changed over time.
- ^ "Clause". Glossary of Linguistic Terms. 2017-02-10. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
- ^ a b c Huddleston, Rodney; Pullum, Geoffrey K. (2005). A student's introduction to English grammar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Cross, Charles; Roelofsen, Floris (2020), "Questions", in Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2020 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 2021-04-26
- ^ "Types of Clauses". www.cliffsnotes.com. Retrieved 2021-04-26.