Multiclass and Multifunction Subordinate Clauses in Arabic

Abstract

The clause is a unit lower than the sentence in the hierarchical rank scale of units though, like the sentence, it has a subject and a predicate. Some sentences may contain only one clause and are, therefore, called simple sentences, while others that include more than one clause are called non-simple sentences (compound, complex). The current study focuses on the second type and specifically the complex sentence which typically contains two clauses one of which is the main clause while the other is subordinate since it functions in the structure of the main clause to realize one of four functions, namely, subject(S), object (O), complement(C) or adverbial (A). Subordinate clauses (SCs)can be classified into two categories: nominal SCs and adverbial SCs. The former can function as S, O or C whereas the latter can function as A only. However , some SCs belong to different classes and realize different functions .The study tries to shed light on complex sentences in Arabic since they have not been investigated before.In fact,grammarians of Arabic do not acknowledge the existence of complex sentences in Arabic at all. The study ,therefore, tries to prove that complex sentences and ultimately SCs exist in Arabic just like other live languages. It aims at listing the categories of SCs in Arabic and the functions that can be achieved by each of these categories.