The relationship between main and subordinate clauses was foreshadowed in the

discussion of rules of thumb at the end of the previous chapter. We saw that when a
complementiser is removed from an adverbial clause or a complement clause in English it leaves
a sequence of words which make up a complete main clause. The removal of the complementiser
from relative clauses, however, leaves a sequence that lacks either the noun phrase which would
be to the left of the verb or the noun phrase which would be to the right of the verb. A second
complication is that WH words seem to be both pronouns and complementisers, whereas that is
purely a complementiser. One way of handling the relationship is to assume that the route from
main clause to relative clause is as follows, for example:
(1) The cottage which Mrs Dashwood accepted was very small.
Assume that the source of the relative clause which Mrs Dashwood accepted is Mrs
Dashwood accepted which, with the pronoun which in the usual slot for direct objects. The
pronoun which is moved to the front of the clause, in fact to a special slot for complementisers
outside the main body of the clause. This enables us to show both that which is the direct object
of accepted and that it is the complementiser of the relative clause.

Clause is an important unit of analysis because many headmodier relations are found
within the clause and because the criteria for constituent structure, such as transposition, apply
best inside the clause. The sentence is not very useful in these respects only a few dependency
relations cross clause boundaries, and the constituent structure criteria do not really apply outside
single clauses. For example :
(2) a. Anne Musgrave has just seen Mr Elliott in Bath Street.
b. Nurse Rooke has discovered where Anne Elliott stayed.
Example (2a) contains a single main clause, which can stand on its own and constitute a
sentence. Within that clause, there is a relatively dense network of dependencies. (Has) seen has
the two NPs as complements it requires both a noun phrase to its left and a noun phrase to its
right. The form of have must be has and not have, since there is agreement in number between
the rst noun phrase and the verb. If we replace Mr Elliott with a pronoun, the pronoun has to be
him and not he. The Perfect, has seen, allows time adverbs such as just but excludes time adverbs
such as in March or ve years ago.

Example (2b) contains the main clause Nurse Rooke has discovered where Anne Elliott
stayed. The object of discovered is itself a clause, where Anne Elliott stayed. This complement
clause is said to be embedded in the main clause and is controlled by discovered. Only some
verbs allow a clause as opposed to an ordinary noun phrase, and discover is one of them. Of the
verbs that allow complement clauses, only some allow WH complementisers such as where, and
discovered is one of them. Like discovered, plan allows complement clauses (We planned that
they would only stay for two nights but alas ) but also innitives.
Time adverbs such as yesterday occur at the beginning of a clause or at the end of the verb
phrase, as in (4), and adverbial clauses of time typically occur in the same positions, as in (5).
(4) a. Yesterday Lydia eloped with Wickham.
b. Lydia eloped with Wickham yesterday.
(5) a. When Lydia went to Brighton, she eloped with Wickham.
b. Lydia eloped with Wickham when she went to Brighton.
Adverbial clauses of reason behave in a similar fashion. Compare (6) with the phrase
because of the strike and (7) with the clause because the bus drivers were on strike. Both can
precede or follow the main clause, and both are optional (adjuncts).
(6) a. Because of the strike the commuters travelled by army lorry.
b. The commuters travelled by army lorry because of the strike.
(7) a. Because the bus drivers were on strike, the commuters travelled by army lorry.
b. The commuters travelled by army lorry because the bus drivers were on strike.

The subordinate clauses in a given sentence are to a large extent grammatically

independent of the main clause. They cannot stand on their own (in writing, at any rate), but the
main clause
does not control the choice of verb and other constituents, nor the choice of participant roles,
tense, aspect and modal verbs.
(12) a. We heard that Captain Benwick would marry Louisa Hayter/that Mary Hayter was a
hypochondriac/that Admiral Croft was always accompanied by his wife.
b. We hear that Captain Benwick has married Louisa Hayter/that Captain Benwick married
Louisa Hayter/that Captain Benwick is marrying/that Captain Benwick will marry Louisa Hayter.

c. We heard that Captain Benwick might marry/must have married Louisa Hayter.
In (12a), two of the complement clauses are active and the last one is passive. One complement
clause is a copula construction, that Mary Hayter was a hypochondriac, while the other two are
not. In (12b), one complement clause has a Perfect verb has married, the second has a simple
past tense married, the third has a present-tense verb is marrying, and the fourth has a futuretense verb will marry. In (12c), the complement clauses have different modal verbs, might
marry vs must (have) married.
Prepositional phrase fronting
b. She said that in came Aunt Norris./She said that into the room came Aunt Norris.
c. The person who in came at that moment was Aunt Norris./The person who into the
room came at that moment was Aunt Norris.
Negative fronting
a. Never had Sir Thomas been so offended. (Sir Thomas had never been so offended.)
b. They realised that never had Sir Thomas been so offended.