Finite and non-finite clauses

For a sentence to be complete in English, it requires a finite verb.  A finite verb shows tense and can also show number and person when using the present tense (e.g. ‘sings’ denotes present tense, third person singular). A finite clause or sentence can stand on its own and make sense, e.g.

She is staring into space. (present progressive/continuous)

He was frightened by the traffic. (simple past - passive voice)

She frightened the cat. (simple past)

In the above examples, as in usual sentences, the subject is included.  When present or past participles are used as a non-finite verb, the subject is rarely included and the participle appears on its own.  E.g.

Staring into space – present participle ‘staring’

Frightened by the noise – regular past participle

Lit by a candle - irregular past participle

Past participles often look like the simple past tense with regular verbs having the same –ed suffix. However for irregular verbs (often the verbs coming from Old English), the form is different.  (For more on past participles, click on the past participle label on the right-hand side of my blog.)

Clauses containing non-finite verbs are called non-finite clauses.  Because they don’t contain a finite verb, they can’t be the main clause in a sentence as they would not make sense standing alone as a simple sentence. Therefore, they must stand as a subordinate clause and require a finite clause to complete the sentence.  In this way, complex sentences are formed.  

Staring into space, he heard nothing around him.

Frightened by the noise, the horse reared up.

Lit by a candle, the room looked romantic.

Using participles in non-finite clauses to create complex sentences adds variety to children’s writing. They can also experiment with swapping the clauses around for effect (and investigating the correct punctuation to use).  What is more effective?

Frightened by the noise, the horse reared up.

The horse reared up, frightened by the noise.

We can also add ‘to’ to the base form of the verb to create another non-finite form: the infinitive, e.g. to light, to drive.

To light a candle, you will need a match.

Non-finite clauses encourage children to vary their sentence structure.  In effect, the non-finite construction is filling the same function as a conjunction, by joining two clauses together within a sentence.

Developing KS2 sentence level writing using 'The Ice Bear' by Jackie Morris

This version of an Inuit myth is another beautiful book by Jackie Morris.  As always, her illustrations are stunning and the story is captivating; however, as a teaching and learning text, it can be used in many different ways.  The rich language will help children improve their description and widen their vocabulary, the story provides opportunities for book talk on many different levels  and the variation in sentence structures make this a valuable text for developing different aspects of writing, dependent on the children’s needs.

Below are some of the grammatical elements you could teach from this book, together with the relevant Sentence Toolkit tools which you can use with these.  Under each element, I have listed a few examples from the text.  Which element you choose to teach will depend on what aspect of writing you want the children to develop, based on their identified next steps.

Expanded noun phrases which provide wonderful description  (Sentence Toolkit: tape measure)

There are many examples in this text of noun phrases using pre-modification only (where the main noun is in final position in the phrase).

• his bone-tipped spear
• thin powder snow
• her golden white fur

The text is very rich in expanded noun phrases which are post-modified with prepositional phrases.  I have emboldened the main verb in the following examples:

• the scent of snow
• a pale shard of shining light
• the smooth beads of amber
• a hiss of hot breath

There are also examples of noun phrases expanded with relative clauses.  Some of these are introduced by the relative pronoun; however in some examples the relative pronoun is elided and the clause starts with a past participle. 

• the great white bear who had held them close in the blue ice cave (relative pronoun ‘who’)
• the place where the boy had sunk to his knees (relative pronoun ‘where’)
• the bear that had taken the life of his child (relative pronoun ‘that’)
• a bundle wrapped in a scrap of white fur (the main noun ‘bundle’ is post-modified by a subordinate structure ‘wrapped in a scrap of white fur’.  This non-finite past participle is in relative clause position and could have been written ‘which was wrapped …’)
• fingers, clawed by the cold (the subordinate relative clause could have been written ‘which were clawed by the cold’)

Similes (Sentence Toolkit: medium size paintbrush)

• like a raven’s wing
• like a fragment of fire

Adverbial phrases of where, how and when  (Sentence Toolkit: saw)

• high into the darkness of winter, over the frozen sea (this could be considered as 3 where adverbials together: high, into the darkness of winter, over the frozen sea)
• on the hard-packed snow (where)
• over his footprints (where)
• with a mittened hand (how)
• like a flame on the cold white (how)
• in the beginning of time (when)
• in the dark months (when)

Compound sentences  (Sentence Toolkit: glue gun)

Compound sentences in this text vary the sentence structures used and create different effects.  For example, the first sentence of the book is a compound structure which links two main points, both of equal importance:

• In the beginning of time people and animals lived together on the earth and there was no difference between them.

Other compound sentences vary pace or build tension in the text:

• The storm came in fast but his dogs moved faster. 
• She dropped the treasure and it lay like a flame on the cold white.  The boy moved to take it, and in flew the bird. 
• He walked over ice ridges and down into valleys. 
• The cold clung to him, it gnawed at him and fear began to suck at his bones. (a list of main clauses in a compound structure)

Subordinate clauses.  There are examples in this text of the four subordinate structures used to create complex sentences (underlined).  (Sentence Toolkit: all four spanners and also the comma screwdriver where the subordinate clause starts the sentence)  

• Into this world they were born, in the dark months, when the cold and the wind turned water to stone. 
• As he reached out a hand to the biggest of the bears(,) the amber treasure fell to the snow.  (Although authors do not always punctuate according to the convention we are teaching in schools, children should learn to use a comma when the sentence starts with a subordinate clause.) 
• As he stooped to pick up the brightest and best, in flew the raven and snatched it away. (As with many of the sentences in this book, sentence structures are complicated with a mix of compound and complex.  I would be using these with more able writers to vary their compositions.)
•  Maddened by grief(,) he followed the trail of the running bears, a river of paw prints on the frozen sea. (The subordinate clause starts the sentence and is introduced by the non-finite past participle.  Again when innovating sentences like these, children will need to demarcate the clause boundary with a comma where the subordinate clause starts the sentence.) 
• He followed the trail, picking up each shining piece, cupping them in his mittens. (2 subordinate clauses introduced by the non-finite present participle.)
•  She held them close to keep them warm in the blue ice cave that was their world. (Infinitive used to introduce subordinate clause.)

     With level 5 and 6 writers I would also use this text to explore the way authors use structures that are not complete sentences to create effects.  Although the phrases used have a capital letter at the start and a full stop at the end, unless they have a finite verb, they are not complete sentences in English.  However, many examples can be found that ‘break the rule’ and Jackie Morris uses these to great effect.

• So small.  (Adjective phrase)
• His last hunt before true winter.  (Expanded noun phrase)
• Two eyes, black as midwinter. (Expanded noun phrase)
• Dark hair like a raven’s wing. (Expanded noun phrase)
• Two hands, fingers clawed by the cold. (Expanded noun phrase)
• A child. (Noun phrase)
• A piece of amber, smoothed by the oceans, coloured, clear and beautiful, like a fragment of fire, washed ashore from a far-off place.  (Amber is the main noun and this is post-modified by the three relative clauses starting with past participles ‘smoothed’, ‘coloured’ and ‘washed’.  Although these three verbs are used, since they are non-finite, there is no main clause and the whole structure is an expanded noun phrase.  With support, more able writers will be able to see the pattern of participles and use this structure themselves with an element of understanding about how it is formed.  Others will be able to imitate the pattern.)

To see other texts recommended on this blog, click here.  And for more Texts that Teach, check out this link.

Tell Me A Dragon: teaching sentence structures through a great text

Tell Me A Dragon, by Jackie Morris, is a beautiful book.  It has the most wonderful illustrations, which will both support and motivate children to write more descriptively, and the structure of the sentences on each page provide children with models for writing which they can imitate or innovate. 

How you use the text will depend on the year group you are teaching and the grammatical features you have identified for development with your pupils.   I've provided a few examples from the text for each grammatical element, together with the relevant Sentence Toolkit tools which you could use with these.  Once children have understood how to use the structure and had fun with writing their own examples, they could perhaps produce a class or group book, writing sentences to describe their own dragons.

Noun phrases which provide beautiful description, using both pre- and post-modification of the noun  (Sentence Toolkit: tape measure)

• the silver moon-path,  (premodification only)
• the secret music of the wind (postmodified with prepositional phrase)
• whisper-thin wings of rainbow-hues (wings are pre-modified with 'whisper-thin' and post-modified with 'of rainbow hues')

Adjectival phrases (Sentence Toolkit: large paint brush)

•  snaggle-toothed, fierce and brave
• jade-winged and amber-eyed with a tail as long as a river (the adjectival phrases is extended by adding a prepositional phrase introduced by 'with'.  Within this prepositional phrase, the noun phrase 'a tail' is also post-modified with a simile.  The children don't need to analyse the structure in a technical way, but the model is fantastic for imitating and innovating.  E.g. My dragon is steely-scaled and stony-eyed with spikes as hard as granite.)  

  Similes (Sentence Toolkit: medium size paintbrush)

• as big as a village
• as long as a river

Simple adverbial phrases of where and when, suitable as models for writers beginning to use adverbials (Sentence Toolkit: saw)

• across the sky
• in the waves
• all day
• from far away and long ago
• around my pillow
• into my dreams

Subordinate clauses.  There are two subordinate structures I would use this text for.  (Sentence Toolkit: spanners - the conjunction spanner and the -ed spanner - and also the comma screwdriver) 

If I were developing subordination of time (Year 2), the model  I would use would be:

• When she laughs, petals ride on her breath. 

 Introducing the use of 'when' to start the sentence, will lead to the children automatically creating subordinate structures.  Alongside this, you and the class should note how the comma has been used to separate the two parts (clauses, but you wouldn't be using that term in Year 2 necessarily) of the sentence.  Children could think of other things their dragon might do, e.g. When he snarls, When she flies, and go on to complete the sentence with a main clause.

If I were developing other ways of creating complex sentences, in order to vary sentence structure, I would use the  model below.  I would use this with Year 5 and 6 pupils who were already using conjunctions for subordinate clauses:

• Curled around my ear, my dragon sings sweet songs and tells me strange stories from far away and long ago.
• Curled around my pillow...

This structure uses a past participle followed by a prepositional phrase to introduce the subordinate clause.  Children could use this pattern to develop their own dragon sentences.  Where else could the dragon be curled?  Around my arm, neck, shoulder? What other verbs could be used here?  Children could brainstorm their own past participles: wrapped (around my arm), rested (on my shoulder), draped (over my shoulder), hidden (under my hat).  Have some fun with it and get children used to the structure.  Even if they don't know the terminology, they will be able to start sentences with the pattern and will, therefore, be varying their construction of complex sentences.

Punctuation (Sentence Toolkit: screwdrivers, hyphens)
The text provides good models of punctuation, in particular use of commas to mark phrases and clauses and hyphens to create compound constructions to modify/describe nouns.  For example: snaggle-toothed, jade-winged, amber-eyed, sea-dragon, ice-dragon.

To see other texts recommended on this blog, click here.  And for more Texts that Teach, check out this link.

Survival at 40°C Above: developing sentence structures with KS2 children

I've recently discovered Debbie S Miller's book: Survival at 40°C Above.  This book would be ideal for linking cross-curricular topic work on habitats with literacy, as it is beautifully written and exemplifies many of the sentence elements that we would want to introduce and develop with children.  As soon as I started reading it, I could hear the mellifluous tones of David Attenborough in my head, guiding me through the Simpson Desert in the literary, non-fiction style that has become a genre of its own.  I haven't read any of Debbie Miller's other books yet, but am looking forward to Survival at 40°C Below!

With a text as good as this, it would be possible to develop many aspects of children sentence level writing but, of course, a literacy unit would probably only focus on one or two of these at most.  There are excellent models of the following elements; I've provided a few examples from the text for each one, together with the relevant Sentence Toolkit tools which you could use with these.

Noun phrases which provide beautiful description as well as precise vocabulary.  Although the content is non-fiction, these phrases help create the literary style of this text.   (Sentence Toolkit: tape measure)

• This vast, rippled desert (premodification only)
• the tan coloured skin of this large lizard (postmodified with prepositional phrase)
• the long, wind shaped dunes that twist and turn across Australia (postmodified with relative clause)

 Powerful verbs and verb phrases (Sentence Toolkit: hammers)

• The goanna detects the shadow of this predator with the tiny sensor eye on top of his head and immediately races to hide in a tuft of spinifex.
• Darting across the sand, this striped lizard discovers a perfect spot to bask in the sunlight that also offers a good lookout for possible predators.
• Triops erupt from this new source of life.

Adverbial phrases of where, when and how (Sentence Toolkit: saw)

•  By noon the sand is blistering hot beneath a cloudless sky.
• During this scorching time, the goanna moves to a grove of gidgee trees.
• Each shiny strand acts like a tiny mirror.

Subordinate clauses.  There are a variety of these - adverbial and relative, using conjunctions and non-finite forms, particularly the present participle.  The text exemplifies how subordinate clauses can be placed in different positions in the sentence for effect.  (Sentence Toolkit: spanners for adverbial clauses and tape measure for relative clauses)

• As the night sky melts away, the Simpson Desert horizon glows like a campfire. (adverbial, finite)
• Flicking his tongue, the goanna laps up a good meal of protein. (adverbial, non-finite)
• Seeds lie dormant, lacking enough moisture to sprout. (adverbial, non-finite)
• Some of the kangaroos lick their arms and paws to cool themselves. (adverbial, non-finite)
•  The moon casts soft light on new seedlings that will turn dust bowls into lush carpets of plants. (relative)

Punctuation (Sentence Toolkit: screwdrivers)
The text provides good models of punctuation, in particular brackets and commas to mark phrases and clauses.

To see other texts recommended on this blog, click here.  And for more Texts that Teach, check out this link.

Guardian Grammar Quiz

 Do these sorts of quizzes really help teachers or students or do they add to confusion about the way the English language is structured?

While I have no problem with many of the questions, why have they included the two below?


Question 5
Which of the following sentences uses a subordinate clause at the beginning?

1.  Male penguins keep warm by huddling together
2.  In order to stay alive, male penguins keep warm by huddling together
3.  Huddling together helps male penguis to stay alive and keep warm

You only have the option of ticking one sentence, yet two begin with subordinate clauses.  Number 2 starts with an adverbial subordinate clauses, using the conjunction 'In order to'.  No problem if this was the only subordinate clause.  However, number 3 also starts with a subordinate clause.  'Huddling together' is a nominal clause filling the subject slot of the main clause.  There is also a nominal non-finite (infinitive) clause filling the object slot and, in addition, this has a compound structure as it contains the verbs 'stay' and 'keep' linked by the co-ordinating conjunction 'and'. 

 Huddling together       helps       male penguins to stay alive and keep warm
        Subject (S)       Verb (V)                         Object (O)

The nominal clause, 'Huddling together' is created by using the non-finite (present participle) form of the verb 'huddle'.

So this sentence has four verbs (huddling, helps, to stay and (to) keep), making four clauses in all.  I do hope this is not what we will find in the Year 6 grammar and punctuation test!

I also have concern about question 12.
Identify the main clause in the following sentence:
The rescuers, who were drafted in by the officials, were stunned by the destruction.
1.  The rescuers
2.  The rescuers were stunned
3.  Who were drafted in by the officials

Why do they not include the instrumentative 'by the destruction' as part of the main clause?  Surely the whole sentence, with  the relative (subordinate) clause removed, would read 'The rescuers were stunned by the destruction.'  This is a passive equivalent of the sentence 'The destruction stunned the rescuers.'

Testing children's knowledge of grammar is not going to make them better writers and, in my opinion, we shouldn't be wasting valuable teaching time on grammar tests.  Far better to explore, discuss and experiment with the wonderful variety of structures that English provides and consider how we can use these to create and vary effects for our readers.  Our language is very complex and to try and simplify it for tests is a complex business in itself.  Those who are driven to provide test materials and worksheets for teachers and children have a real responsibility to make sure that the aspect they are testing is unambiguous and the question only tests the structure they intended to test. 

Subordinate clauses

Teachers often ask me questions about subordinate clauses and complex sentences, so here are a few details.  

A subordinate clause is a clause that is not the main clause in a sentence and cannot stand on its own as a sentence.  Use of a subordinate clause will create a complex sentence.  In some grammar texts the subordinate clause is referred to as the dependent clause and the main clause as the independent clause.  Sometimes subordinate clauses may start a sentence; sometimes they may be positioned at the end of a sentence and sometimes they may be embedded within the sentence.

There are different types of subordinate clause: adverbial, relative and nominal.  You can link to these pages for a bit more information on each type of clause.