Learning Objectives
Teacher Framing:
This lesson completes Unit 14X by introducing common subordinate clause types that students will meet frequently in reading and writing. Lesson 145 established the difference between main and subordinate clauses. Lesson 146 now teaches that subordinate clauses can perform different jobs. Relative clauses identify or add information about a noun, often using relative pronouns such as “who,” “which,” “that” or “whose.” Conditional clauses create possibility, requirement or consequence, often using “if” or “unless.” Non-finite clauses use non-finite verb forms such as “walking,” “to leave” or “broken by the storm” and can compress action, cause, time or background information without a finite verb. Students should not be pushed into excessive technicality; the analytical aim is to explain how these clauses attach, restrict, condition or compress meaning.
Student Learning Objectives:
By the end of this lesson, students should be able to:
- identify relative, conditional and non-finite clauses;
- explain what job each clause performs;
- and analyse how these clause types add, restrict, condition or compress information.
Core Knowledge:
Subordinate clauses do different jobs. A relative clause gives more information about a noun, as in “the girl who waited by the gate.” A conditional clause creates a condition, as in “I’ll leave if the rain returns.” A non-finite clause uses a verb form that does not show tense by itself, as in “walking across the playground, I cried from my injuries” or “I left early to avoid the crowd.” These clauses matter because they help writers attach extra information, create possibility, or compress meaning into a smaller space.
Key Ingredients:
Key Vocabulary:
- Relative clause: a subordinate clause that adds or identifies information about a noun using a pronoun such as who, which, that or whose.
- Conditional clause: a subordinate clause that creates a condition, often using if or unless.
- Non-finite clause: a clause using a verb form that does not show tense by itself.
Key Sentence Stems:
- The relative clause is…
- This clause gives more information about…
- The conditional clause is…
- The condition created is…
- The non-finite clause compresses…
- This clause restricts/adds/conditions information by…
- This clause type affects meaning because…
Key Thinking:
A relative clause and a conditional clause are both subordinate, but they do different jobs. “The boy who waited by the gate” identifies or describes the boy. “If the boy waited by the gate” creates a condition. A non-finite clause may look clause-like but does not have a finite verb showing tense by itself.
Models
Non Literary Warm Up:
Imagine giving instructions for finding a student. “Find the student” is too vague. “Find the student who is holding the blue folder” uses a relative clause to identify the right person. “If the student is absent, give the folder to the teacher” uses a conditional clause to explain what should happen in a certain situation. “Holding the blue folder, the student waited by the door” uses a non-finite clause to compress extra information.
Literary example – :
The cyclist who missed the turning stopped to check the map. If the road was closed, she would have to walk.
The relative clause “who missed the turning” gives extra information about the cyclist and explains why she stops. The conditional clause “If the road was closed” creates uncertainty because the next action depends on whether the road can be used. These subordinate clauses help the writer specify the cyclist and create a possible problem.
The letter, [which had arrived without a stamp], lay unopened on the kitchen table. [If Nora recognised the handwriting], she did not show it. [Standing by the sink], she dried the same cup twice and listened to the rain against the window. The envelope, [torn slightly at one corner], seemed too thin to contain good news. [Unless someone spoke first], the room would stay silent.
The writer uses subordinate clause types to create uncertainty and tension. The relative clause “which had arrived without a stamp” gives information related to the letter, making it seem suspicious. The conditional clause “If Nora recognised the handwriting” creates uncertainty because the reader does not know whether she understands who sent it. The non-finite clause “Standing by the sink” provides Nora’s position without adding to the tense, keeping the focus on her behaviour. Another non-finite clause, “torn slightly at one corner,” adds a small detail that makes the envelope seem fragile or disturbed. Finally, “Unless someone spoke first” creates a condition for the silence to end. These clauses add, condition and information so that the reader senses tension without being told directly what the letter contains.
Now Apply To This To Our Text:
Students should now read the material chosen by the teacher and complete the following sequence:
- identify any relative, conditional or non-finite clauses (hint, they sometimes sound like a phrase said in a whisper, or in brackets);
- label the job each clause performs (is it related to the subject or verb? Is it providing a conditional expectation, or is it lacking a tense?);
- decide whether the clause adds information, restricts meaning, creates a condition or compresses detail;
- select one clause that strongly affects interpretation;
- write one analytical paragraph explaining how the clause type shapes what the reader understands.
Exit Question:
Consider the Scandi-Noir image of the header. What could you say about it, using clauses that begin who,, which, that or if, unless, or contain a finite verb (a verb that does not share the dominant tense of the sentence).
Homework:
Choose a short paragraph from a story, article or notice. Find one relative clause, one conditional clause and one non-finite clause if possible. If the text does not contain all three, write your own examples linked to the same material. Explain what each clause adds, restricts, conditions or compresses.