Explaining co-ordinate and sub-ordinate clauses and conjunctions - E4-04W

Co-ordinate and subordinate clauses and conjunctions

 

Consider these two sentences:

 

Charlie sunbathed on the beach for a while, then he went for a swim.

Charlie sunbathed on the beach for a while, until his skin started to go red.

 

In the first case, we have two clauses each of which could perfectly well exist on its own:

Charlie sunbathed on the beach for a while.

He (Charlie) went for a swim.

 

When we combine them to make the first sentence above, we call them co-ordinating clauses, while the conjunction which joins them - ‘then’ – is known as a co-ordinating conjunction.

 

In the second case, the two sentences would be:

Charlie sunbathed on the beach for a while.

His (Charlie’s) skin started to go red.

 

The second of these sentences on its own presents a problem: the meaning is incomplete. In order to understand the whole picture, I need the sunbathing. The opposite is not true. I can describe Charlie on the beach sunbathing and this is perfectly understandable without reference to the red skin resulting.

 

Clauses are in a main-subordinate relationship when the meaning of one, but not of both, is clear on its own. The conjunction which joins them is called a subordinating conjunction - ‘until’ in this case.

 

The main co-ordinating conjunctions are and, but, or, nor and then.

 

The most common subordinating conjunctions are because, so, although, as, when, while, since, before, after and in case,

 

These typically introduce adverbial clauses, though there exist other types of subordinate clause, such as relative clauses, -ing clauses and infinitive clauses.

 

How do these structures affect the writing of good English?

 

Unless you are a highly skilled writer going for a special effect, you should NOT string whole trains of clauses together using ‘and’ or ‘then’.

 

We went over to Mark’s house, then we called at Sally’s, then Tracey phoned up to ask if we could pick her up, then we drove over to her place, then we had to stop for petrol.  

 

I am exaggerating a little, but unskilled writers of English do quite often produce text not very different from the above. How, then, can we deal with such information – if, for some reason, it has to be included?

 

We called at Mark’s house then Sally’s, after which Tracey called to ask for a lift so we went over to hers, by which time we needed a petrol stop.

 

In other words, we have shortened the main clause and made the following ones into subordinates, to escape the monotony of the ‘then’s.

 

By the time Tracey called to ask for a lift, we had already picked up both Mark and Sally. So we went over to Tracey’s to collect her, then stopped for petrol. / After we’d gone over to Tracey’s to collect her, we had to stop for petrol.

 

The information has not got any more interesting, unfortunately, but at least we are trying to deal with it in a more lively fashion, in order to try and avoid boring the reader rigid.

 

The kindest solution here (for the poor reader) would be to compress to the maximum:

 

‘We called for Mark, Sally and Tracey in that order, then stopped for petrol.’

 

Do we care that the visit to Tracey’s was prompted by a phone call? Life is too short – jettison all but the essential information! Or, better still, make sure that you have something with which to grab the reader’s attention!

 

On the evening of the robbery, we went first to Mark’s, meeting him at the back street garage near his house where the tools had been hidden. Then to Sally’s because – petite and blonde as she was – she’d been in the police and was our expert weapons provider….

 

In conclusion, as students of English it is essential to keep in mind the purpose for which you are studying grammar, sentence structure and so on. These are no more than tools, and every craftsman (even a burglar!) is in danger of seeing his performance reduced by the limitations of his tool kit. This work on clauses is technical – think of it only as providing a platform from which you can eventually launch yourself into the writing of clear, vivid, precise English – whether you are writing business reports, university essays or works of fiction.

 

[If anyone reading this is wondering about the author’s writing, you will find quantities of it – both fiction and non-fiction prose and poetry on my blog at http://94stranger.wordpress.com   – so you can always visit and see whether I am able to practice what I preach!]