Subordination
Similarly, the following are examples of subordination of various classes of elements (in brackets):
modifier in a NG: A very lovable (if rather dirty), small boy.
Cs in a clause: He is quite brilliant (though totally unreliable).
adjuncts in a clause: We arrived (late (though not too late)) for the wedding.
dependent clauses: I’ll let you borrow the CDs (as soon as I’ve finished) [provided
you bring them back [when I need them]].
In this complex sentence, the fourth clause when I need them is dependent on the third clause provided you bring them back; these together form a block which is dependent on the block formed by the first (independent) clause I’ll let you borrow the CDs and its dependent clause as soon as I’ve finished.
‘Sentence’ is the term traditionally used to denote the highest grammatical unit on a scale of rank. While not rejecting this term, we shall prefer, however, to use the term ‘clause’ to refer to one independent unit. This applies also to a superordinate clause with embedded clauses in one or more functions. We keep the traditional term ‘compound sentence’ for units of two or more coordinated clauses, while the equally traditional term ‘complex sentence’ applies to units containing dependent clauses or dependent and conjoined clauses, as we have seen in some of the examples above. We shall say that in a complex sentence any number of clauses can be involved.
