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PE2379 ch02.qxd 24/1/02 16:04 Page 75<br />

click<br />

subject and a FINITE VERB. A clause forms a sentence or part <strong>of</strong> a sentence<br />

and <strong>of</strong>ten functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb.<br />

For example:<br />

I hurried home.<br />

Because I was late, they went without me.<br />

Clauses are classified as dependent or independent, e.g.:<br />

I hurried because I was late.<br />

independent dependent<br />

clause clause<br />

A clause is different from a phrase.<br />

A phrase is a group <strong>of</strong> words which form a grammatical unit. A phrase does<br />

not contain a finite verb and does not have a subject-predicate structure:<br />

For example:<br />

I liked her expensive new car.<br />

George hates working in the garden.<br />

Phrases are usually classified according to their central word or HEAD,<br />

e.g. NOUN PHRASE 1 , VERB PHRASE, etc.<br />

see also DEPENDENT CLAUSE, RELATIVE CLAUSE<br />

cleft sentence n<br />

a sentence which has been divided into two parts, each with its own verb,<br />

to emphasize a particular piece <strong>of</strong> information. Cleft sentences usually<br />

begin with It plus a form <strong>of</strong> the verb be, followed by the element which<br />

is being emphasized.<br />

For example, the sentence Mrs Smith gave Mary a dress can be turned<br />

into the following cleft sentences:<br />

It was Mrs Smith who gave Mary a dress.<br />

It was Mary that Mrs Smith gave the dress to.<br />

It was a dress that Mrs Smith gave to Mary.<br />

In English a sentence with a wh-clause (e.g. what I want) as subject or<br />

complement is known as a pseudo-cleft sentence. For example:<br />

A good holiday is what I need.<br />

What I need is a good holiday.<br />

cliché n<br />

a word or expression which has lost its originality or effectiveness because<br />

it has been used too <strong>of</strong>ten. For example:<br />

It’s a crying shame.<br />

click n<br />

a stop made with an ingressive velaric airstream, found in a number <strong>of</strong><br />

African languages.<br />

75

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