Friday, April 6, 2018

Markers of subordination

     
   There are two main indicators that a clause is subordinate:

1    The presence of a subordinating conjunction. Clauses which        areintroduced by one of the subordinating conjunctions are
      subordinate clauses. Here are some examples:

          James left the room because he was angry.

          If you need more money, just phone me.

          I read a magazine while I was waiting.

However, not all subordinate clauses are introduced by a 
subordinator. The subordinator that, for instance, may be
omitted:

         [1] Paul knows that Amy prefers tennis.

         [2] Paul knows Amy prefers tennis.

In [1] that indicates that the clause that Amy prefers tennis
is subordinate. In [2], however, there is no formal marker of
subordination, though the clause Amy prefers tennis is still
a subordinate clause. So while a subordinator always indicates a
subordinate clause, not all subordinate clauses are introduced by
a subordinator.

2      The form of the verb phrase. If the verb phrase is non-finite
        then the clause in which it occurs is a subordinate clause.

       We recall that the non-finite verb forms are (1) the base form
       (often with to), (2) the -ed form and (3) the -ing form.
       These three verb forms give their names to three subordinate            clause types:

to-clauses

      The road was widened to improve the traffic flow.
      To receive all the channels, you may need an antenna.
      A satellite must reach an altitude of 100 miles to get clear of
      the atmosphere.

-ed clauses
    
     Deprived of oxygen, plants will quickly die.
     The warriors faced each other, dressed in black armour.
     Designed for drafting, mechanical pencils are also useful for
     sketching.

-ing clauses

     Michelangelo painted lying on his back.
     The teacher stood in the doorway, saying nothing.

     Emily rang the doorbell, her heart pounding.

 In a to-clause, to sometimes occurs as in order to or so as to:
     
    In order to reduce heat loss, we’ve sealed the window frames.
    
    Be punctual so as to reduce waiting time.

The form of the verb phrase, then, is a marker of subordination.
If the verb phrase is non-finite, the clause which contains it is a

subordinate clause.