Question

Identify the main clause in the following sentence-
As soon as I heard about the calamity in Bhuj, I called up my friend living there to inquire about her safety.

a) As soon as I heard about the calamity in Bhuj.
b) I called up my friend living there to inquire about her safety.
c) I heard about the calamity, I called up my friend.
d) None of the above.

Answer 1

Hint: Clause refers to a group of words that contain a verb in a given sentence. A clause can also function as a complete sentence in itself.

Complete answer:

As given in the hint, a clause contains a subject and a predicate.
There are two types of the clause-
1) Independent Clause- We also call it a ‘Main clause’. The main clause has a subject and a verb that express a complete meaning. Hence, it can stand alone as a sentence.
Example- She kicked the ball.
2) Dependent Clause- We also call it a ‘subordinate clause’. The subordinate clause does not express a complete meaning. Hence, it cannot stand alone as a sentence.
Example- When she kicked.
Now, let’s examine the given options-
a) As soon as I heard about the calamity in Bhuj- This is a dependent clause because it expresses an incomplete meaning. Hence, it is an incorrect option.
b) I called up my friend living there to inquire about her safety- This is an independent clause because it expresses a complete meaning and has the ability to stand alone as a sentence. Hence, it is the correct option.
c) I heard about the calamity, I called up my friend- The given sentences contain parts of both independent and dependent clauses. Hence, it is an incorrect option.
The correct answer is Option ‘b’.

Note: We join an independent and a dependent clause with subordinating conjunction to form a complete meaningful sentence.