Independent clause

Question

Hi,I am an employee involved in an industrial dispute in Australia and the response to this question has important ramifications in regards to that dispute.In the statement below does the bolded text have enough of the necessary attributes to qualify as an independent clause ?"The flat hourly rate of pay specified shall constitute the total package and takes into account all aspects of work arrangements".Thanks.

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

Yes, except you'd have to add the omitted subject.
eg
"The flat hourly rate of pay specified takes into account all aspects of work arrangements".

Clive

Dimsumexpress · Answer

BrianPar"The flat hourly rate of pay specified shall constitute the total package and takes into account all aspects of work arrangements".

This looks more like a compound sentence than an independence clause. If we break it into two parts;It may be looked at as:
"The flat hourly rate of pay specified shall constitute the total package.
"The flat hourly rate of pay specified shall takes into account all aspects of work arrangements".

Clive · Answer

Hi,
"The flat hourly rate of pay specified shall constitute the total package and takes into account all aspects of work arrangements".

Thanks for your reply Clive,

I am a mechanic, not a grammarian, so excuse my clumsy attempts.

The first clause preceding the conjunction "and" can obviously stand as a complete sentence in itself. Yes

The clause following "and" i.e. "takes into account all aspects of work arrangements" , as you contend, requires a subject. Yes

To be blunt about it, we (employees) require the "and" to be copulative, rather than cumulative, so as to introduce the clause which I bolded, as a independent clause referring, not to the "flat hourly rate" but to another subject.

That being a travel allowance mentioned else ware in the document.

Can the subject be the reader ? I don't see how you can possibly argue , in terms of grammar, that the clause refers to some other subject. The grammar intention seems quite clear to me.

Sorry, I'd be happy to support the workers if I could !

To elaborate, I am the reader, and co-author, in this sense.

The agreement is between two parties, employer and employee.

Does the authors / readers knowledge of other subjects raised in the agreement concerned, qualify as the object required to make the clause independent.

"TAKES into account all aspects of work arrangements" How would you write the sentence if you had to add a subject?

Clive

BrianPar · Answer

Thanks for your reply Clive,

It does seem I have attempted to bend the rules of grammar to the point were we have a catastrophic failure.
I accept that according to "grammar intention" the clause in question can only have reference to the flat hourly rate mentioned in first clause, the flat hourly rate being the obvious subject, the second clause being subordinate.

This correct reading is not a total disaster in regards to our dispute.

The reason being that the components of which the flat rate is constructed, that being, all aspects of work arrangements, contain within them a travel component, not the particular category of travel in contention, but the fact that travel already has a place in the discussion is certainly of benefit, as we move forward with this dispute.

It's good to see you are on the side of the workers mate.

Thanks for you help Clive

Independent clause

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