Clause Pattern: Subject – Verb – Complement (SVC)
This pattern consists of a subject A noun phrase (a person or a thing) or a nominal clause normally placed before a verb phrase and which acts as the performer of the verb. more.. , a monotransitive verb A verb which takes only a direct object realised by a noun phrase. more.., and a complement A complement is a word, phrase or clause which completes another element. Any element can take a complement. Complements add further information to the elements they complement. more.. clause. The complement clause may be a that-clause A finite dependent clause consisting of the word "that" and a finite clause. more.., a wh-clause A clause which begins with a wh-word (who, what, which, where, when, why, how, whether, whatever, whichever ) and acts either as a dependent interrogative clause or a nominal relative clause. more.., an infinitive clause Infinitive clauses are non-finite to-clauses. The infinitive verb is normally preceded by the marker "to". more.., or an ing-clause A participle clause (present participle) used as a noun phrase modifier, subject, direct object, adverbial, extraposed subject, subject predicative, and as part of an adjective phrase. more...
That clauses
Wesubject knowtransitive verb
that the Earth has had at least five major ice ages that clause . (Su 2022)Wherever we look, wesubject can seetransitive verb
that the seasons are changing that clause . (Doddridge 2022)Studiessubject showtransitive verb
that rising temperatures are already affecting precipitation, glaciers, weather patterns, tropical cyclone activity and severe storms that clause . (Weatherhead 2021) (info) That clauses can be quite long.Wesubject knowtransitive verb
that musical tastes begin to crystallize as early as age 13 or 14 that clause. (McAndrew 2019)Thissubject showstransitive verb
that babies prefer infant-directed speech to adult-directed speech that clause . (Lam-Cassettari 2019)
Wh-clauses
No onesubject knowstransitive verb
who invented music wh-clause . (Dallman 2022)There are a couple of ways wesubject can try to tellcomplex verb phrase
how old a dinosaur was when it died wh-clause (how is a wh-word) . (Syme 2019)Have yousubject ever wonderedtransitive verb
why you feel sleepy wh-clause ? (Chronaki 2019)Nobodysubject knowstransitive verb
where human evolution will lead wh-clause. (Simons 2021)Everyone was then tested to seetransitive verb
if they could remember what they had typed wh-clause . (Noreen 2015)
Infinitive clauses
Theysubject were askedtransitive verb
to memorise both lists infinitive clause. (Noreen 2015)Anyonesubject can claimtransitive verb
to be a journalist infinitive clause , irrespective of their actual function. (Watson 2023)Eat less meat and more vegetables, pulses and grains, and don’t forgettransitive verb
to turn off the light when leaving a room or the water when shampooing infinitive clause . (Byskov 2019)Remember transitive verb
to check on elderly or frail neighbours infinitive clause. (Lopes, Power, and Crabtree 2020) (info)This is an imperative so there is no subject.So instead of avoiding products based on speculation, wesubject needtransitive verb
to take a holistic look at our own consumption habits infinitive clause . (Marty et al. 2023)
Ing-clauses
Other electronssubject just keeptransitive verb
running around in the atoms ing-clause . (Abbas 2019)First, the woodsubject startstransitive verb
getting hotter ing-clause . (Nolan 2019)When the baby planet gets massive enough, the force of gravitysubject beginstransitive verb
crushing it, making it denser ing-clause ("making it denser" is a result arverbial) . (Laycock 2023)In fact, studies have found that by the time we turn 33, most of ussubject have stoppedtransitive verb
listening to new music ing-clause. (McAndrew 2019)Isubject can remembertransitive verb
being a baby ing-clause . (Justice, Conway, and Akhtar 2018)
Test your understanding of this Subject – Verb – Complement (SVC) pattern Go to the (SVC) exercise page.
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