Unlocking the Power of Subordinate Clauses

Unlocking the Power of Subordinate Clauses

Learning Objective

Understand the use of subordinate clauses and be able to identify and use them in sentences.

What do you already know about subordinate clauses?

What is a Subordinate Clause?

A subordinate clause is a group of words that has both a subject and a verb but can't stand alone as a sentence. It depends on a main clause to form a complete thought.

Types of Subordinate Clauses

There are different types, such as adverbial, adjectival, and nominal clauses, which serve different purposes in a sentence.

Adverbial Clauses

Adverbial clauses function as adverbs and usually start with subordinating conjunctions like 'because', 'although', 'if', 'when', etc.

Adjectival Clauses

Adjectival clauses function as adjectives and often begin with relative pronouns like 'who', 'whom', 'which', 'whose', 'that'.

Nominal Clauses

Nominal clauses function as nouns and can act as subjects, objects, or complements in sentences.

Spotting Subordinate Clauses

Look for subordinating conjunctions and relative pronouns to identify subordinate clauses in sentences.

Practice Time

Now it's time for you to practice using and spotting subordinate clauses in sentences.

Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.

Have students enter three things they learned in this lesson. With this they can indicate their own learning efficiency of this lesson.

Write down 2 things you want to know more about.

Here, students enter two things they would like to know more about. This not only increases involvement, but also gives them more ownership.

Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.

The students indicate here (in question form) with which part of the material they still have difficulty. For the teacher, this not only provides insight into the extent to which the students understand/master the material, but also a good starting point for the next lesson.