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Valinova Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Clauses and phrases, ack!

I'm working through identifying types of phrases and clauses (adverbial, adjective, appositive, noun phrase, noun clause, etc.), but two examples are stumping me. They are:

1. No longer able to depend on good hunting and fishing, Aborigines had to take jobs outside of their traditional communities.

2. Given their sovereign nation status, the reservations have their own laws and governing organization.

They both appear to be phrases instead of clauses. I want to say "verb phrase", but they can't be because they aren't the subject predicates. Are they noun phrases?

Any clarification is appreciated!
  

Top answer

Valinova Are they noun phrases? No. What they "really are" may depend on the analytic system you are using.

  • Valinova Are they noun phrases?
  • No.
  • What they "really are" may depend on the analytic system you are using.
  • Both of them have the sense of "because" to my ear.
  • ) That makes them adverbial subordinate clauses in my opinion.
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1 Answers
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ValinovaAre they noun phrases?
No. What they "really are" may depend on the analytic system you are using.

Both of them have the sense of "because" to my ear. (Because they were no longer able to ...; Because they have sovereign nation status, ...) That makes them adverbial subordinate clauses in my opinion.

CJ

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