Matrix clause

Question

"The bottom line is that looking ahead if Brexit doesn’t work for young people in our country, in the end it will not be sustainable." (The Guardian.)

Is The bottom line is that if Brexit doesn't work, it will not be sustainable a matrix clause in the sentence above?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

tkacka15The bottom line is that looking ahead ~~if Brexit doesn’t work for young people in our country,~~ in the end it will not be sustainable.

Only the if-clause is not part of the matrix clause. Note my strike-out above.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

I would add more punctuation.

The bottom line is that, looking ahead, if Brexit doesn’t work for young people in our country, in the end it will not be sustainable.
OR
The bottom line is that — looking ahead – if Brexit doesn’t work for young people in our country, in the end it will not be sustainable.

It's hard to see looking ahead as a dependent within a larger construction, so I think you were right to omit it from your matrix clause. But I would include in the end and for young people in our country since both are adjuncts in clause structure.

BillJ · Answer

tkacka15
"The bottom line is that looking ahead if Brexit doesn’t work for young people in our country, in the end it will not be sustainable." (The Guardian.)
Is The bottom line is that if Brexit doesn't work, it will not be sustainable a matrix clause in the sentence above?

The clause in which a subordinate clause is embedded is called the matrix clause. In your example, there is a large subordinate clause (functioning as complement of “be”), so in this case the entire sentence is a matrix clause.

Note that the matrix clause is not just the clause excluding any embedded subordinate clauses that may be present, but the entire clause including the embedded ones.

And some subordinate clauses include their own embedded subordinate clause(s), so that one matrix clause can be embedded within a larger one. Compare

[1] He said [that Liz was ill].

[2] I think [he said [that Liz was ill]].

In [1] there is one matrix clause - the sentence as a whole. It's a matrix clause because it contains the bracketed embedded subordinate clause (i.e. "that Liz was ill").

In [2] there are two matrix clauses, one embedded within the other: the sentence as a whole is a matrix clause since it contains the embedded clause in outer brackets (i.e. "he said that Liz was ill"), and the embedded clause itself is also a matrix clause since it contains the further embedded clause in inner brackets (i.e. "that Liz was ill").

CalifJim · Answer

tkacka15
"The bottom line is that looking ahead if Brexit doesn’t work for young people in our country, in the end it will not be sustainable." (The Guardian.)
Is The bottom line is that if Brexit doesn't work, it will not be sustainable a matrix clause in the sentence above?

To continue from what BillJ has told us, you would then identify every clause in your example sentence that contains at least one subordinate (embedded) clause as a matrix clause (MC). I see three matrix clauses in your sentence and I've bracketed the embedded clauses.

MC1: The bottom line is [that looking ahead if Brexit doesn’t work for young people in our country, in the end it will not be sustainable].
MC2: that looking ahead [if Brexit doesn’t work for young people in our country, in the end it will not be sustainable].
MC3: [if Brexit doesn’t work for young people in our country], in the end it will not be sustainable

Hopefully BillJ will correct this if it's wrong.

CJ

Matrix clause

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