Clauses: main, subordinate and joining words
Tests: 3 of 10 right · Exam: 4 of 4 right · Kind: ★★ · Understood: 9 of 14 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72
Lesson 28 of the english course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.
Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.
Test 1 · ★★ · right ✓
«'Because it was raining.' is a sentence cos it's got a full stop». What's the best reply?
- 1. Yes, every group of words with a full stop is a sentence — score 6
- 2. It's a subordinate clause: it needs a main clause — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
- 3. It's a command, because «because» is bossy — no support
- 4. It's a phrase, because it has no verb — score 7
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 7, tied with another option at 7 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 28, line 4: «A phrase has no verb. «After the match» is a phrase; «after the match ended» is a clause, because ended is a verb. Kai writes «I like pizza and I like chips.»…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same thing acted on «clause» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 2 · ★★ · wrong ✗
★★ «Although she was tired Amy finished the race.» Where does the comma go?
- 1. It needs no comma — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. After «Amy» — no support
- 3. After «tired» — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. After «Although» — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 3 · ★★ · wrong ✗
★★ «after the match» is a phrase. Which change turns it into a clause?
- 1. after the match ended — ✓ the right answer · score 2
- 2. after the long match — ← Mova's choice · score 3
- 3. after the match, today — score 3
- 4. after the big match on Saturday — score 3
Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 3, tied with another option at 3 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 28, line 4: «A phrase has no verb. «After the match» is a phrase; «after the match ended» is a clause, because ended is a verb. Kai writes «I like pizza and I like chips.»…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same doer «match» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2). The right option, 1, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 4 · ★★ · wrong ✗
★★★ «When the bell rang, the children who were waiting ran out.» How many clauses are there?
- 1. One — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Four — no support
- 3. Three — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. Two — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 5 · ★★ · right ✓
★★★ Which sentence has a subordinate clause at the END and so needs no comma?
- 1. We went out when the rain stopped. — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. The rain stopped. We went out. — no support
- 3. We went out, and the rain stopped. — no support
- 4. When the rain stopped, we went out. — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 6 · ★★ · wrong ✗
★★★ Swap the clauses round and punctuate: «You'll catch the bus if you're quick.»
- 1. You'll, if you're quick catch the bus. — no support
- 2. If, you're quick, you'll catch the bus. — ← Mova's choice · score 5
- 3. If you're quick, you'll catch the bus. — ✓ the right answer · score 5
- 4. If you're quick you'll, catch the bus. — score 5
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 5, tied with another option at 5 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 28, line 2: «Subordinate clauses usually start with a subordinating conjunction: because, when, if, although, while, after, before, until, since or as. Isla writes «Because…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «catch» (+3); the same thing acted on «bus» (+2). The right option, 3, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 7 · ★★ · right ✓
In a cartoon, a robot speaks only in subordinate clauses: «Because I am hungry. When the oil runs out.» Why does it sound strange?
- 1. Each one needs a main clause to make sense — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 9
- 2. Its sentences are too long — no support
- 3. It uses far too many commas and full stops in every line — no support
- 4. Robots can't use verbs — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 9, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 28, line 14: «To find the main clause, cover each part and see which one still makes sense alone.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «make» (+5); the same thing acted on «sense» (+4). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 8 · ★★ · wrong ✗
What would happen if a whole story was one sentence joined by «and then… and then…»?
- 1. It would become a poem — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. It would be hard to follow — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. It would be easier to read — no support
- 4. It would have no verbs — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 9 · ★★ · wrong ✗
«our kid says 'if' is just a word, not a conjunction». What's true?
- 1. If is a noun, the name of a word — ← Mova's choice · score 2
- 2. If is a preposition, like under — no support
- 3. If is only used in maths and coding, never in a sentence — no support
- 4. If is a subordinating conjunction — ✓ the right answer · no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 13, line 5: «The National Curriculum in England lists about 100 words for Years 3–4 that children should learn to spell.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «list» (+2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 10 · ★★ · wrong ✗
«the wee lad ran home, his mam was waiting». Which fix is correct?
- 1. the wee lad ran home. his mam was waiting. — ← Mova's choice · score 6
- 2. The wee lad ran home because his mam was waiting. — ✓ the right answer · score 6
- 3. The wee lad ran home, his mam was waiting at the door for him. — score 6
- 4. The wee lad ran home, his mam, was waiting. — no support
Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 6, tied with another option at 6 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 7, line 17: «Slang in this lesson: «fixin' to» means «about to» in the US South; «boss» means great in Manchester and Liverpool; «me mam» is Northern English for «my mum».», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same doer «me mam» (+2). The right option, 2, scored 6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓
Identify the main clause in the sentence «If you are quick, you will catch the bus».
- 1. If — no support
- 2. you will catch the bus — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
- 3. quick, you will — no support
- 4. If you are quick — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 28, line 2: «Subordinate clauses usually start with a subordinating conjunction: because, when, if, although, while, after, before, until, since or as. Isla writes «Because…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «catch» (+3); the same thing acted on «bus» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises a subordinate clause?
- 1. A clause containing a verb which cannot stand alone as a sentence — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
- 2. A sentence consisting of one word only, such as a command addressed to a dog — score 3
- 3. A group of words containing no verb whatsoever — score 2
- 4. A clause which invariably ends in a question mark — score 7
Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 7, tied with another option at 7 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 28, line 4: «A phrase has no verb. «After the match» is a phrase; «after the match ended» is a clause, because ended is a verb. Kai writes «I like pizza and I like chips.»…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same doer «clause» (+2); the same thing acted on «verb» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓
Select the response consistent with the established conventions concerning a subordinate clause placed before the main clause.
- 1. It is to be followed by a full stop — no support
- 2. It must be enclosed in brackets — no support
- 3. It is to be followed by a comma — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
- 4. It requires no punctuation — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 28, line 10: «When a subordinate clause comes before the main clause, a comma follows it.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «follow» (+3); the same doer «comma» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓
Ascertain which of the following constitutes a phrase rather than a clause.
- 1. after the match — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. after the match ended — no support
- 3. because the team lost — no support
- 4. when the whistle blew — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/english/28-clauses-main-subordinate-and-joining-words/