I certainly agree with Ed Vavra's position that subordinate clauses are components of the main clause, inasmuch as they function as subjects (see 1 below), direct objects (see 2), adverbials (3), and so on, of the main clause. 1. That he will have good luck is doubtful. 2. Both said I was wrong. 3. Both were stunned when I made my claim. Apparently Ed and his colleagues were assuming different definitions of "main clause," but it seems odd to stipulate a definition of "clause" in which the subject of the clause would not be a component of the clause. Dick Veit UNCW At 03:54 AM 12/02/2000 -0500, you wrote: >Like Bill McCleary, I wish Herb luck, but I doubt that he will have it. >As long-time members of this list already know, there is little >agreement about what should be taught even in ATEG. I got into a >discussion of grammar with two of my colleagues, one in English comp, >the other in Tech Writing. Both were stunned when I said that a main >clause includes its subordinate clause(s). Both said I was wrong. When I >asked them what they would do with the sentence "What he knows is what >he has seen." they told me that neither "What he knows" nor "what he has >seen" is a clause. > Of course, if the survey I took in Seattle still holds, >approximately half the members of ATEG do not believe that subordinate >clauses are part(s) of main clauses, and when I have asked for >discussion of this question on this list, my question has been ignored. >If this group cannot agree on what (specifically) should be taught, I >don't see how we can expect people who are not very interested in >grammar to listen to us. >Ed V. > >To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html >and select "Join or leave the list" > >Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/