subordinatsiya

Subordinatsiya, or subordination, is a grammatical relation in which one clause, called the subordinate (or dependent) clause, is integrated into another clause, the main clause, and cannot stand alone as a complete sentence. The subordinate clause provides content such as time, reason, condition, manner, or description for the main clause.

Subordinate clauses come in several main types. Adverbial clauses modify the main clause and answer questions like when, where, why, under what conditions, or with what purpose. Relative clauses modify a noun within the main clause, supplying additional information, as in “The book that you lent me.” Complement clauses function as the object or complement of a verb, adjective, or noun, as in “I know that you are coming.” Subordinate clauses can be finite or non-finite, and their function is often signaled by subordinating conjunctions (such as that, because, if) or by inflection and mood in some languages.

Subordination is typically contrasted with coordination. In coordination, clauses of equal syntactic status are joined by coordinating conjunctions (for example, and, but) and can often stand as independent sentences. In subordination, the subordinate clause depends on the main clause for its full meaning and syntactic integration, creating a hierarchy of information.

The study of subordinatsiya spans linguistic analysis, language teaching, and natural language processing. It helps explain how complex sentences are built, how meaning is structured, and how different languages mark and interpret dependent clauses. See also: coordination, relative clause, complement clause, subordinate conjunction.