English clause syntax

<p>This article describes the <a href="/facts/Syntax/6PxSV98p">syntax</a> of <a href="/facts/Clause/EHKUG2NV">clauses</a> in the <a href="/facts/English_language/tpkxGt7b">English language</a>, chiefly in <a href="/facts/Modern_English/etWbLYRj">Modern English</a>. A clause is often said to be the smallest grammatical unit that can express a <a href="/facts/Proposition/0877MFMD">complete proposition</a>. But this <a href="/facts/Semantics/1L4WwLAP">semantic</a> idea of a clause leaves out much of English clause syntax. For example, clauses can be questions,: 161  but questions are not propositions. A syntactic description of an English clause is that it is a <a href="/facts/Subject_(grammar)/h5M1cQJ2">subject</a> and a <a href="/facts/English_verbs/6oGpx1Mz">verb</a>. But this too fails, as a clause need not have a subject, as with the imperative,: 170  and, in many theories, an English clause may be verbless.: 222  The idea of what qualifies varies between theories and has changed over time.
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English clause syntax open-in-new

English clause syntax