Are these dependent clauses

Question

Hi there teachers!

Is there any difference between dependent clauses and subordinate clauses? Or are they just two different names of one thing?

Are the following capitalized clauses in the following sentences dependent clauses?

- I don't understand WHY PEOPLE LIE.

- WHAT YOU DO is your own business.

- She didn't tell me WHAT SHE HAD DONE.

Thank you!

BillJ · Accepted Answer

LaboriousIs there any difference between dependent clauses and subordinate clauses? Or are they just two different names of one thing?

Generally, subordinate clauses are dependent ones, and vice versa.

LaboriousAre the following capitalized clauses in the following sentences dependent clauses? - I don't understand WHY PEOPLE LIE. - WHAT YOU DO is your own business. - She didn't tell me WHAT SHE HAD DONE

Your first and third examples are subordinate (interrogative) clauses.

Strictly speaking, your second example is ambiguous. The underlined element in "What you do is your own business" could be a noun phrase in a fused relative construction, or an interrogative. Compare:

[1] Is what you do really your own business?

[2] It's your own business what you do.

In [1] there is subject-auxiliary inversion, so it can only be a noun phrase. In [2], by contrast, we have extraposition, so it must be an interrogative clause.

Are these dependent clauses

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