clause

A clause is a grammatical unit that expresses a single proposition and is the building block of sentences. In most languages, a clause contains a subject and a predicate, and may or may not function as a complete sentence.

Independent (main) clauses can stand alone as sentences: for example, "The cat slept." Dependent (subordinate) clauses cannot stand alone and function within larger clauses as noun, adjective, or adverb phrases. For instance, in "I know that you are here," the clause "that you are here" is a noun clause acting as the object of know; in "The book that you lent me is missing," "that you lent me" is a relative clause modifying book; in "When it rains, we stay indoors," "When it rains" is an adverbial clause signaling time.

Clauses are often categorized by their verb form. Finite clauses carry a marked tense and subject agreement (e.g., "She sings"), while non-finite clauses use non-finite verb forms (e.g., "to sing," "singing," "having finished"). Non-finite clauses frequently serve as adverbial, participial, or complement clauses within larger sentences.

Clauses may be coordinated or subordinated. Two independent clauses can be joined by conjunctions to form a compound sentence (e.g., "The sun set, and the sky darkened"), whereas dependent clauses are connected to a main clause using subordinating conjunctions (e.g., "If it rains, we will cancel").

In legal usage, a clause refers to a specific provision or stipulation within a contract or document, such as a confidentiality clause or a liability clause.

Overall, the distinction between clauses and phrases hinges on the presence of a finite verb and the clause’s ability to function as a sentence or as part of a larger sentence.