clausally

Clausally is a term used in linguistics to describe something that relates to or is characterized by clauses. A clause is a grammatical unit that contains a subject and a predicate. It can be a complete sentence (an independent clause) or a part of a sentence that cannot stand alone (a dependent clause). Therefore, clausally refers to phenomena, structures, or analyses that are concerned with the internal composition and relationships of clauses within a sentence.

For example, the clausally structure of a sentence refers to how its clauses are arranged and how they function together. This can involve looking at subordination, coordination, and the way dependent clauses modify or add information to independent clauses. Linguists might analyze the clausally distribution of certain grammatical features, meaning where these features appear within the clauses of a sentence.

The term can also be applied to the study of how meaning is conveyed through clause structure. Different clause arrangements can subtly alter emphasis or convey specific logical connections between ideas. In syntax, an examination of clausally dependencies would investigate how elements within one clause relate to elements in another, or how the structure of a sentence is built up from individual clauses. In essence, anything concerning the components and organization of clauses falls under the umbrella of being "clausally" relevant.