Chapter 23 Clauses of Cause P552—557 Jie Ma

Chapter 23 Clauses of Cause P552—557 Jie Ma

What is clauses of cause? • Clauses of cause answers “why” question. • Eg: I got up early so I would get to the airport on time. BrainStorming:

Clauses of Cause Two kinds of causes: Purpose and reason Clause of purpose usually imply some intention or plan by the subject of the main clause. Clauses of reason do not. Eg: A. I got up early so I would get to the airport on time. (purpose) B. I got up early because the birds were making so much noise outside.(reason)

Clauses of Cause The main subordinators that introduce purpose clauses are “so”and “in order”. A. I got up early so I wouldn’t be late. B. I got up early (in order) to get to work on time. adjunct of purpose

Clauses of Cause In order can also introduce purpose clauses followed by that  a modal+ a bare infinitive. Eg. He decided to postpone his trip a few days in orderthat he might have enough time to finish writing his report.

Clauses of Cause The subordinator “so” is often optionally followed by “that”. These finite clauses with “so (that)” often have a modal such as can or could. Alternatively, so can be followed by as and introduce an infinitive purpose clause. A. I sent everyone an e-mail so (that) we could be sure of a quorum. B. I sent everyone an e-mail so as to be sure of a quorum.

PURPOSE CLAUSES OF AVOIDANCE Purpose clauses of avoidance are a special class of purpose clauses which express the idea that an action in the main clause has the purpose of avoiding a possible undesirable outcome in the adverbial clause. Eg: Step away from the machine before you get hurt. = Step away from the machine so that you won’t get hurt.

PURPOSE CLAUSES OF AVOIDANCE Clauses introduced by “lest” also convey the idea of avoidance. They generally contain a bare infinitive verb. Eg: When he heard the guard coming, he quickly ejected the CD and turned the computer off, lestthey discover that he had been trying to break into their data bank.

PURPOSE CLAUSES OF AVOIDANCE The idiomatic expression “for fear” also introduces clauses that imply avoidance. Eg: A. He never joined in their games for fear (that)he would be ridiculed as an unathletic nerd who couldn’t catch a football. B. He never joined in their games for fearof being ridiculed as an unathletic nerd who couldn’t catch a football.

CLAUSES OF REASON The main subordinators that introduce reason clauses: because, for, inasmuch as, seeing as/that, and since. A. They had to cancel the lecture because she missed her plane. B. She kept quiet, for she was afraid of annoying him. C. Inasmuch as you have apologized, I will consider the matter closed. D. Seeing as/that you have already done a lot of work on this project, you might as well finish it.

CLAUSES OF REASON Clauses introduced by for must appear after the main clause, but clauses with all of the other reason subordinators can appear before or after the main clause. Asis most frequently used as a time clause subordinator, but it also introduces reason clauses, appearing in this function more frequently in British English than in American English. Seeing may occur alone or with either that or as, with dialect possibly affecting the choice.

Clauses of Result Clauses of result are introduced by either the conjunction so or the idiomatic expression with the result. Somay or may not be followed by that. with the resultMUST followed by that. Eg: A. It had rained heavily the night before, so (that) the track was covered with water. B. He’s lived a very frugal life, with the result thathe now has a lot of money.

Clauses of Result So (that) can also introduce purpose clauses, the result and purpose uses can be distinguished on the basis of syntactic tests and intonation. A result clause with so that cannot precede the main clause because this places the result before the cause. A. It rained last night, so (that) the track was covered with water. B. *so (that) the track was covered with water, it rained last night.

Clauses of Result In contrast, purpose clauses with so that can precede the main clause. Eg: A. He got up earlier so that he wouldn’t be late for work on his first day. B. So that he wouldn’t be late for work on his first day, he got up early.

Clauses of Result In order tocan be substituted for so that in a purpose clause with no change of meaning. It cannot be substituted in the result clause or change the intended meaning of the sentence. A. He left early in order not to be late for work on his first day. B. *It rained last night in order to the track was covered with water. Result clauses with so (that) have falling intonation and a small pause before the so, but this does occur with so thatpurpose clauses. A. He had just cashed his paycheck [pause],so he had more than enough money to pay the bill. (result) B. He had cashed his paycheck so that he could pay the bill. (purpose)

Clause of Concession Clauses of concession, (or concessive clauses), express a contrast with the main clause. Usually referred to as contrast clauses in ESL/EFL textbooks. The main subordinators introducing clauses of concession are although, even (though),whereas, and while.

Clause of Concession An example of the kind of contrast that a concessive clause creates . Eg: Mary doesn’t speak Frenchalthoughshe grew up in France. (=Mary to be able to speak French if she grew up in France) Concessive clauses can appear sentence initially as well as finally. Mary doesn’t speak Frenchalthough she grew up in France. (= Although she grew up in France, Mary doesn’t speak French.

Clause of Concession The subordinator though alternates with although, with some native speakers considering though more formal. When though is preceded by even, seem yet more surprising or unexpected. Eg: Even though he had excellent athletic ability, access to the best coaches and equipment, and trained for years, he never really developed into a competitive athlete.

Clause of Concession While, primarily a temporal subordinator whereas also introduce contrasting clauses. A. While/ Whereas the salad was tasty, the main course was rather bland. B. While/ Whereas many Mexicans speak Spanish, hardly any can speak Chinese.

Clause of Concession While and whereas differ from although and (even) though clauses in one way: they do not suggest that the main clause might be expected to be false; they simply express a contrast. Whereas, in particular, cannot always be used in place of although. Eg: *Whereas she grew up in Tehran, she doesn’t speak Farsi.

Clause of Concession Clauses with although, though, or while that have be can sometimes be shortened by omitting the subject and be. A.Although/Though/While it was expensive, it was not particularly well made. B. Although/Though/While expensive, it was not particularly well made.

Clause of Concession The meaning conveyed by adverbial clauses of concession can also be conveyed by the preposition despite or prepositional collocation in spite of followed by the fact and a that clause. Despite and in spite of also introduce clauses beginning with a present participle. A. In spite ofthe fact that she grew up in Paris, she doesn’t speak French. B.Despite the fact that she really didn’t like him, she decided to marry him. C. In spite of/despitehaving grown up in Paris, she doesn’t speak French.

Chapter 23 Free Adjuncts P557—558 Jie Ma

Free adjuncts Free adjuncts, sometimes called supplementive clauses, are adverbial subordinate clauses that are loosely tied to the main clause in that they are Notintroduced by a subordinator. Eg:Waiting for the bus, he read a newspaper. (The main clause is preceded by a free adjunct.)

Form In terms of form, free adjuncts have the following characteristics: • They are NOT introduced by a subordinator as are regular subordinate clauses. • They contain a present participle. • They have NO overt subject, but in most cases the missing subject is felt to be identical to the main clause subject. • They can precede or follow the main clause and are set off from it by a falling intonation and a pause, represented by a comma in writing.

Form These characteristics of free adjuncts are apparent in the examples. Backing out of the parking space, he bumped into a passing car. Present participlecomma NO overt subject falling intonation NOT introduced by pause a subordinator

Form B. The train stopped suddenly,throwing some of the passengers out of their seats. comma Present participle NO overt subject falling intonation NOT introduced by pause a subordinator

Let’s do grammar activity!

Exercise1 Rewrite each sentence using a subordinator that won’t change the meaning of the sentence. Other change may be needed. (There may be more than one correct answer.) Example: Despite the fact that she was very rich, she had an unhappy life. Answer: Although she was very rich, she had an unhappy life.

Exercise1 1. He couldn't visit her very often because she lived over on the other side of town. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Since she wanted to be sure that there were no errors in the report, she proofread it twice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. While many older people like classical music, very dew young people do. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. The elections were held on time, through many polling places did not have ballot boxes. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. He refused to sign the petition for fear of being branded a troublemaker. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. In spite of trying like mad to please her superiors, Lucy never received a promotion. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Exercise 2 In the following pairs, identity the kind of clause that the subordinatorintroduces in each sentence. Example: (a) He left the office early so that he could have some time to spend with his son. (b) He left the office late, so he didn’t have any time to spend with his son. Answer: (a) =purpose clause; (b) = result clause

Exercise 2 1. a. You had better give me that carving knife. You might cut yourself. b. You had better give me that carving knife before I leave this afternoon. Otherwise, I might forget to return it to the caterer. 2. a. Since you have already started work on this project, I guess you should be allowed to finish it. b. Since you have started work on this project, I have heard nothing but good things about it. 3. a. A storm was brewing, so a stiff breeze was blowing. b. He went back inside so he could warm up. 4. a. While he was handsome, he really wasn’t very intelligent. So he was never very popular with women, except those who liked good-looking men. b. While he was handsome, he was popular. However, with the passage of time, his popularity waned.

The End Thank You!

Chapter 23 Clauses of Cause P552—557 Jie Ma