条款

什么是子句?

There are two types of 条款: 独立子句s and 从属子句s.

An 独立子句 can stand alone as a complete 句子.

例子: The Skidmore student passed all her final exams.

A 从属子句 cannot stand alone as a complete 句子 because it "depends" on more information 结束这个想法.

例子: Since the Skidmore student failed all her final exams.

The above clause is a 从属子句 because it is not a complete thought. 它有 a subject and a verb, but the word "since" indicates that there is some information 失踪.

结合条款

When you write 句子s, you have some choices as to how to use independent and dependent 条款. 只要记住这些规则:

• You can combine two 独立子句s when you use correct punctuation.
• You can combine a 从属子句 and an 独立子句.
• You simply can use an 独立子句 as a full 句子.
• You cannot join two 从属子句s to make a full 句子.
• You cannot let a 从属子句 stand alone as a 句子.

Example 1: 结合条款 with a coordinating 结合

When you combine two 独立子句s, you need a connecting word along with the 逗号. The connecting words are called coordinating 结合s:
            for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.

Here are two 独立子句s, each a full 句子:

Kate was the best player on the team. She was the smartest girl in her graduating class.

To combine these 独立子句s, we use a coordinating 结合:

Kate was the best player on the team, and she was the smartest girl in her graduating class.

Notice we used the coordinating 结合 "and" along with a 逗号. 还要注意 that the 逗号 goes before the coordinating 结合. 一个常见的错误是把 the 逗号 after the coordinating 结合.)

Example 2: 结合条款 with a subordinating 结合

When you combine a 从属子句 and an 独立子句, you need a subordinating 结合. Here are some subordinating 结合s:

            since, because, although, after, as, as though, before, if, once, since, though, unless, until, when, whether, while.

Unlike coordinating 结合s, which join two 独立子句s and are placed after the 逗号 that separates the two 条款, subordinating 结合s are placed at the beginning of a clause - which means they can appear at the very beginning of 这个句子.

例子: When the Skidmore student's parents came to visit, they were appalled at the mess 在他的宿舍.

Notice that we've used the subordinating 结合 "when" at the beginning of the 句子. If we discarded the subordinating 结合, we could make this into two 独立子句s: The Skidmore student's parents came to visit. 他们震惊了 at the mess 在他的宿舍.

下面是另一个例子: Because Alex wore his Superman costume to school, everyone laughed at him.

Notice that "Because Alex wore his superman costume to school" is a 从属子句 that begins with a subordinating 结合, and "everyone laughed at him" is an 独立子句. "Everyone laughed at him" could be a complete 句子, but "Because Alex wore his Superman costume to school" cannot stand as its own 句子. 当一个 从属子句 is followed by an 独立子句, separate them with a 逗号.

Example 3: 结合条款 with a semicolon

You can join two 独立子句s by placing a semicolon between them. 确保 the 条款 are closely related in meaning.

The lecturer who spoke on Wednesday inspired controversy; the students asked for a study group to consider his topic further.

In the section on punctuation, you'll find more information about using semicolons.