• Key Stage 2 • Grammar
A subordinate clause is a clause that depends on another part of the sentence. It adds information but cannot stand alone as a sentence. Pupils meet subordination in Year 2 and learn the term subordinate clause in Year 3. This guide explains what subordinate clauses are, how they differ from main clauses and how to spot them.
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The Quick Answer
- A clause is a group of words built around a verb.
- A subordinate clause depends on another part of the sentence and adds information to it.
- Subordinate clauses often start with a subordinating conjunction such as when, if, because or although, or a relative pronoun such as who or which.
- Pupils use subordination from Year 2 and learn the term subordinate clause in Year 3.
What Is a Subordinate Clause?
The national curriculum glossary says a clause which is subordinate to some other part of the same sentence is a subordinate clause. For example, in “The apple that I ate was sour”, the clause “that I ate” is subordinate to “apple”, which it modifies.
| Example | What the subordinate clause does |
|---|---|
| That’s the street where Ben lives. | A relative clause that modifies street |
| He watched her as she disappeared. | An adverbial that modifies watched |
| What you said was very nice. | Acts as the subject of was |
| She noticed an hour had passed. | Acts as the object of noticed |
These examples come from the national curriculum glossary.
Main Clauses and Subordinate Clauses
| Main clause | Subordinate clause |
|---|---|
| Makes sense on its own | Adds information to another part of the sentence |
| “We can watch TV” | “when we’ve finished” |
| “Joe can’t practise kicking” | “because he’s injured” |
Join them together and you get a complex sentence: “We can watch TV when we’ve finished.”
Subordinating and Co-ordinating Conjunctions
The glossary describes two main types of conjunction:
- Co-ordinating conjunctions such as and, but and or link two words or clauses as an equal pair: “Kylie is young but she can kick the ball hard.”
- Subordinating conjunctions such as when, if, because, although and while introduce a subordinate clause: “Everyone watches when Kyle does back-flips.”
More Examples
- Because it was raining, we stayed inside.
- I’ll call you when I get home.
- Although he was tired, Sam finished the race.
- The dog that lives next door barks all night.
- If you’re coming to the party, please let us know.
When a subordinate clause comes first, it is usually followed by a comma.
Common Mistakes
- Writing a subordinate clause as a sentence: “Because it was raining.” is incomplete. It needs a main clause.
- Missing the comma: “When the bell rang we went outside” reads better as “When the bell rang, we went outside.”
- Confusing conjunction types: but joins two equal clauses, so “I was tired but I kept going” has two main clauses.
Subordinate Clauses in KS2
Pupils use subordination with when, if, that and because in Year 2. In Year 3 they learn the terms clause and subordinate clause and use conjunctions to express time, place and cause. Relative clauses, a special type of subordinate clause, follow in Year 5. Subordinate clauses can appear in the KS2 grammar, punctuation and spelling test. See also relative clauses and KS2 grammar terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a subordinate clause?
A clause that depends on another part of the same sentence. It adds information but does not make sense as a sentence on its own.
What is the difference between a main clause and a subordinate clause?
A main clause makes sense on its own. A subordinate clause adds information to another part of the sentence.
What words start a subordinate clause?
Subordinating conjunctions such as when, if, because and although, or relative pronouns such as who, which and that.
What year are subordinate clauses taught?
Pupils use subordination in Year 2 and learn the term subordinate clause in Year 3.
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Sources: Department for Education, National curriculum in England: English programmes of study, including English Appendix 2: vocabulary, grammar and punctuation and the English glossary.
