 | This article is missing information about clauses in non-English languages. (November 2013) |
In language, a clause is a constituent or phrase that comprises a semantic predicand (expressed or not) and a semantic predicate.[1] A typical clause consists of a subject and a syntactic predicate,[2] the latter typically a verb phrase composed of a verb with or without any objects and other modifiers. However, the subject is sometimes unexpressed if it is easily deductable from the context, especially in null-subject language but also in other languages, including instances of the imperative mood in English.
A complete simple sentence contains a single clause with a finite verb. Complex sentences contain at least one clause subordinated (dependent) to an independent clause (one that could stand alone as a simple sentence), which may be co-ordinated with other independents with or without dependents. Some dependent clauses are non-finite, i.e. does not contain any element/verb marking a specific tense.