moy jabo ‘I will go’ occurring in the larger
utterance : jodi tay
hubo, moy jabo ‘If she sleeps, I will go’ is therefore considered as the
principal/main clause and jodi tay hubo ‘If she sleeps’ is considered as
subordinate clause. In view of these, it may be stated that a subordinated
clause is the one which is subordinate to another clause in larger utterance,
whereas a principal/main clause is not subordinate to any other clause in a
larger utterance and further a principal clause is identical with a simple
sentence.
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A principal clause is defined as that clause or the constituent of a
larger utterance which is not subordinated to any other clause and which can
occur independently as a simple sentence and coversely, a subordinate clause
is defined as that clause or constituent of a larger utterance which cannot
occur independently as a simple sentence.
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3.6.2.
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Functions of
Clauses |
A major function of the clauses is to link together two or more simple
sentences within a larger sentence. This is achieved by two devices, viz.,
coordination and subordination. The coordination is the linking together of
two or more clauses of equivalent status and function, as in :
|
|
yam khelise ‘Shyama played’
sonia huyse ‘Sonia slept’
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A coordinating particle  ru ‘and’
can combine these two simple sentences to form a compound sentence, as in :
|
|
yam khelise ru
sonia huyse
‘Shyama played and Sonia slept’
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The illustrative example given above has two sentences, which were
converted into clauses (both independent clauses) by connecting them with
the coordinating particle ru there
by the two simple sentences form part of a larger utterance. This can be
represented as:
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|
|
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A opposed to this, a subordinate clause is a non-symmetrical relation
holding between two clauses i.e., A and B are held in such a way that A is
the constituent or part of B. In other words, A (the subordinate clause) has
no status or privilege of occurrence independent of B. This relation can be
represented as :
|
| |
<____________________ |
|
(a) |
|
|
| |
The illustrative
examples of these two types are given below:
|
| (a) hoday ek myil
jabi ru doktor chodbi |
|
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 |
| ‘walk a mile
daily and keep the doctor away’ |
| [(lit. always
one mile go (imp) and doctor leave (imp)] |
|
1 2
3 4 5 6
7 8
9 |
| konuba mas cota
kunuba da´or |
|
1 2 3
4 5 |
| ‘Some fish are
small, some are big’ |
| (lit. some fish
small some big’) |
|
1 2 3
4 5 |
| (b) moy n
jayle tay nhibo |
|
1 2 3 4
5 |
| ‘If I do
not go, she/he would not come’ |
| (lit. I no go if
he/she no come will) |
|
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 |
The same can
also be expressed by using conditional particle jodi ‘if’, as in:
|
| jodi moy njabo,
tay nhibo |
| 1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 |
| (lit. If I no go
will he/she no come will) |
|
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 |
moy tak poise
dise kintu muk kitab n«y diya |
‘I gave him
money, but he did not give me the book’, etc.
|
The
subordination of one clause to another in a sentence is usually
indicated by one or the other particles/markers, though it is not
essential to have an overt marker. Though the subordinators forming the
core of the class consist of single words like : jodi/le ‘if’, nimitu
‘so’ because, kintu ‘but’, etc., there is also a small class of
correlative subordinators, i.e, combinations of two markers, one a
conjunction occurring in the subordinate clause and the other
occurring in the principal clause. The subordinate clause of condition
can be expressed either by suffixing the conditional modal marker to
the principal verb or by placing the conditional marker at the
beginning of the clause. A few illustrative examples are cited below:
|
| jodi tay jabo
moy kam koribo |
or
tay jabole moy kam koribo
‘If he/she goes I will work’
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