Sentences are built from smaller predications. A clause is a unit that typically contains a predicate and its arguments, minimally something like a subject and a verb, whether or not it stands alone as a sentence.

Independent clauses can form complete sentences; dependent clauses function inside larger structures as complements, modifiers, or adverbials. Relative, complement, and adverbial clauses expand expressive capacity. Languages differ in how they mark clause boundaries and dependency.

Clause analysis is central to syntax teaching and to parsing technology. Misidentifying boundaries leads to punctuation errors and attachment ambiguities. Field grammars define clause types carefully for each language described.

• Unit built around a predicate and its arguments
• May be independent or dependent
• Includes relative, complement, and adverbial types
• Basic building block of sentences