what is a clause

A clause is a group of words that contains both a subject and a verb that have a relationship. It is a constituent that comprises a semantic predicand and a semantic predicate. A typical clause consists of a subject and a syntactic predicate, the latter typically a verb phrase composed of a verb with any objects and other elements. Every complete sentence is made up of at least one clause. Clauses can play a variety of roles in English, and there are numerous ways to structure and combine them. A sentence can have just one clause or it can have multiple clauses. The only defining characteristic of a clause is that it must contain a related subject and verb. Clauses can be independent or dependent. An independent clause (or main clause) makes sense by itself and expresses a complete thought, while a dependent clause (or subordinate clause) does not make sense by itself and does not express a complete thought.