When is a sentence not a sentence?

Question

The man drove the car.The man who drove the car.Like the man who drove the car.Do all three word groupings represent complete sentences, and if not why not?

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,
The man drove the car. Fine.

The man who drove the car. 'Who drove the car' is a subordinate clause. There is no complete main clause.
eg The man ( who drove the car ) was killed.

Like the man who drove the car.This is just a subordinate clause. It needs a main clause.
eg The passenger was killed, ( like the man who drove the car ) .

Do all three word groupings represent complete sentences, and if not why not?
Have you studied clauses yet? If you haven't, you are not really ready to understand this.

Clive

JIM1984 · Answer

CliveHi,The man drove the car. Fine. The man who drove the car. 'Who drove the car' is a subordinate clause. There is no complete main clause.eg The man ( who drove the car ) was killed.Like the man who drove the car.This is just a subordinate clause. It needs a main clause.eg The passenger was killed, ( like the man who drove the car ) .Do all three word groupings represent complete sentences, and if not why not?Have you studied clauses yet? If you haven't, you are not really ready to understand this.
Clive

Thanks very much for your reply, nice and simple. Actually I do know a bit about clauses, and understand precisely what you mean. Actually, I just think I'm a bit rusty. I understand about the necessity of a main clause, and the rest being secondary or subordinate: about the subordinate not being able to stand by itself, and that sort of thing. I do, however, appreciate that liberties can sometimes be taken. And, to what degree is the question. I'm thinking about the title of Laurie Lee's famous book - 'As I Walked Out One Morning'. Still, poetry is poetry, and a law onto itself I suppose.
Once again, thank you.

When is a sentence not a sentence?

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