How about kicking around a few example sentences? Mayhaps we'll get a debate started, the entire thread of which you might publish in "Syntax." For example, I wonder whether the subordinating particle and the placement of the clause will have something to do with its emphasis as main or secondary idea. A "because" clause placed initially, seems to carry much emphasis; a, say, "when" clause placed at the end of a sentence seems to carry secondary emphasis. ==Cheerio, Reinhold ============================================================================ Dr. Reinhold Schlieper Humanities Department 500 Shadow Lakes Boulevard Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Apartment 139 Daytona Beach FL 32114 Ormond Beach FL 32174 Phone: 904-226-6664 Phone: 904-676-9392 ============================================================================