Talk:Clause

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Contents 1 Is the article's subject-predicate breakdown correct? 2 Clause vs phrase 3 Why is there no comma in one example? 4 Article is really horribly bad 5 Rewrite

[edit] Is the article's subject-predicate breakdown correct?

Isn't it:

The dog ran to the other dog and made a thrusting movement on the ther dogs back side.
Subject: The dog
Predicate: thrusting movement 
Object: backside

? -- JeLuF

Not the way I was taught in school:

 The dog | ran through the yard.
(subject) (predicate=all the rest)

You might analyze "to run through" as a phrasal verb, in which case "the yard" would indeed be the object of the verb, but it's still only a part of the predicate. --Brion

These are two different notions of 'predicate'. The traditional, Aristotelian view of the sentence had a subject/predicate division, where the predicate is basically everything but the subject. Modern logic, following Frege, has a predicate/argument distinction. With this distinction, the verb ("run through" here) would be the predicate, and the subject and object would be its arguments. --Chris 20:45, 6 Mar 2005 (UTC)

"Modern logicians" aside, grammarians are not flexible in their use of the term. "Predicate" does not mean the same thing as "verb." The predicate of a sentence includes the verb and everything that comes after it. Brion was correct. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 130.58.241.222 (talk • contribs).

[edit] Clause vs phrase

If a phrase has no verb, then what is a verb phrase? If a verb phrase is a phrase, then why can't a clause be a phrase? I can see why a phrase is not a clause, but not the other way around.--Westendgirl 07:37, 25 November 2005 (UTC)

Phrases CAN have verbs, but they don't have to. Clauses do have to. Carl Kenner 07:47, 29 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Why is there no comma in one example?

How come: "I am a bus driver and I drive a bus." Doesn't have a comma before the coordinating conjunction? Those are two independent clauses, are they not? I am a bus driver, and I drive a bus. --Senseiireland 22:52, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Article is really horribly bad

The entire "Clause" page is really horribly bad, far from usual Wikipedia standard. I know I should fix things rather than just complaining, but it's mind-boggling that there are so many versions of this page and it's still such a lousy page. 213.89.144.38 01:07, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Rewrite

I've rewritten almost the entirety of the article to be, well, less bad. If there's something wrong in the new version, or something missing from it, please be bold! —Ruakh_TALK 20:01, 16 December 2006 (UTC)