different between clause vs modifier

English

Etymology

From Middle English clause, claus, borrowed from Old French clause, from Medieval Latin clausa (Latin diminutive clausula (“close, end; a clause, close of a period”)), from Latin clausus, past participle of claudere (“to shut, close”). See close.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kl??z/
• Rhymes: -??z
• Homophone: claws

Noun

clause (plural clauses)

1. (grammar) A verb, its necessary grammatical arguments, and any adjuncts affecting them.
2. (grammar) A verb along with its subject and their modifiers. If a clause provides a complete thought on its own, then it is an independent (superordinate) clause; otherwise, it is (subordinate) dependent.

   • However, Coordination facts seem to undermine this hasty conclusion: thus, consider the following:
     (43)      [Your sister could go to College], but [would she get a degree?]
     The second (italicised) conjunct is a Clause containing an inverted Auxiliary, would. Given our earlier assumptions that inverted Auxiliaries are in C, and that C is a constituent of S-bar, it follows that the italicised Clause in (43) must be an S-bar. But our familiar constraint on Coordination tells us that only constituents belonging to the same Category can be conjoined. Since the second Clause in (43) is clearly an S-bar, then it follows that the first Clause must also be an S-bar — one in which the C(omplementiser) position has been left empty.

3. (law) A separate part of a contract, a will or another legal document.

Usage notes

In “When it got dark, they went back into the house”, “When it got dark” is a dependent clause within the complete sentence. The independent clause “they went back into the house” could stand alone as a sentence, whereas the dependent clause could not.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

• close

Translations

Verb

clause (third-person singular simple present clauses, present participle clausing, simple past and past participle claused)

1. (transitive, shipping) To amend (a bill of lading or similar document).

Further reading

• clause in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• clause in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Caelus, secula

French

Etymology

From Old French clause, from Medieval Latin clausa.

Noun

clause f (plural clauses)

1. clause

Latin

Participle

clause

1. vocative masculine singular of clausus

Middle English

Alternative forms

• clawse, claus

Etymology

From Old French clause, from Medieval Latin clausa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?klau?z(?)/

Noun

clause (plural clauses)

1. sentence, clause
2. statement, line (of a text)
3. writing, text, document, letter
4. A section or portion of a text; a part of a series of quotes
5. (law) A clause, term, or consideration; a section in a legal document.

Descendants

• English: clause

References

• “clause, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-23.

English

Etymology

modify +? -er

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?m?d?fa??/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?m?d?fa??/
• Hyphenation: mod?i?fi?er

Noun

modifier (plural modifiers)

1. One who, or that which, modifies.
2. (grammar) A word, phrase, or clause that limits or qualifies the sense of another word or phrase.
3. (programming) A keyword that qualifies the meaning of other code.

Synonyms

• qualifier

Derived terms

Related terms

• postmodifier
• premodifier

Translations

French

Etymology

From Latin modific?, modific?re, from modus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /m?.di.fje/

Verb

modifier

1. to change, modify

Conjugation

Related terms

• modifiable
  • immodifiable
  • modifiabilité
• modification
  • modificateur
• modifieur

Further reading

• “modifier” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).