Lesson overview

Introduction
UNIVERSAL
Middle years and up
clause components
clause structure
grammar
subjects
verb groups
complements
modifiers
complex sentences
implied subjects
event structure
word economy
efficiency
svo
objects
In this lesson, we take a grammatical dive into the structure of clauses. We look at the four components of clauses—subjects, verb groups, complements, and modifiers—and discuss each in turn. We discuss how to determine the number of clauses in a sentence, explicit versus implied subjects, and how verbs and context determine what extra elements a clause requires to make sense. While this lesson is more grammar focussed than other Writelike lessons, we do explore briefly how understanding clause structure will prepare students to write complex sentences and be more efficient in their writing.