TransWikia.com

Clause in sentence

English Language & Usage Asked by Andie on February 15, 2021

John found it surprising that Wayne played the tuba.

That Wayne played the tuba is the clause, but what kind is it? I am completely stuck on this and can’t figure it out.

2 Answers

I believe it is a dependent adverbial clause..

That Wayne played the tuba modifies found it surprising.

Answered by David M on February 15, 2021

Things have been done to this sentence.

There are actually three clauses here, with 3 predicates: find, (be) surprising, and play.
Find takes an infinitive object complement, and (be) surprising takes a tensed subject that-clause.

John found [[that Wayne played the tuba] to be surprising]
==> Extraposition
John found [it to be surprising [that Wayne played the tuba]]
==> to be-Deletion
John found it surprising [that Wayne played the tuba].

That Wayne played the tuba is the subject complement clause of to be surprising.
The dummy subject it gets inserted by Extraposition, and then to be-Deletion does the rest.

To answer the question, that Wayne played the tuba is all of the following:

  • a subordinate clause (since it's not the main clause)
  • a subject clause (since it's the subject of (be) surprising)
  • a noun clause (since it's a subject, it acts as a noun)
  • a tensed clause (since it has a tensed main verb played)
  • a that-clause (since it uses the tensed clause complementizer that)
  • an extraposed clause (since it was moved by Extraposition)

It is not, however, an adverbial clause of any kind.

Answered by John Lawler on February 15, 2021

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question

Get help from others!

© 2024 TransWikia.com. All rights reserved. Sites we Love: PCI Database, UKBizDB, Menu Kuliner, Sharing RPP