A main clause (also known as an independent clause) is a group of words in a larger sentence that could stand alone as a complete simple sentence. It contains a subject and a verb. In most cases, a main clause expresses a complete idea.
The term “main clause” usually refers to the independent clause in a complex sentence, which also contains at least one subordinate clause (also called a dependent clause). All clauses include a subject and a verb, but not all clauses are independent.
For example, a subordinate clause doesn’t communicate a complete idea because it begins with a dependent marker (e.g., “if” or “which”). A subordinate clause needs a main clause in order to make complete sense.
Main clause examples If Moira can’t babysit, Jocelyn will miss the movie.
Alexis started a businessafter she finished high school.
The hotel got a great reviewbecause the staff was so friendly.
The word to typically functions as a preposition (e.g., as a preposition of direction indicating a destination). “To” is also part of the full infinitive verb form (e.g., “to eat”).
The word with is a preposition and conveys meanings such as “together in the same place as” (e.g., “Keep it with you at all times”), “having/featuring” (e.g., “The one with the polka dots”), and “using” (e.g., “Crush the biscuits with a rolling pin”).
Its part of speech is always a preposition in standard modern English, unlike many other prepositions, which can often fulfil a variety of other grammatical functions (e.g., “for,” “on,” “in,” “to,” and “by”).
With examples in a sentenceI put it here with all the other travel documents.
Who did we see that movie with?
It’s a kind of cabaret with music, dance, and comedy.
The word on is typically a preposition. Function words like prepositions don’t convey very much meaning on their own. They express meaning as a result of their grammatical relationship with the other words in the sentence.
A double negative is a sentence that uses two negatives—such as “not” and “nobody.”
In formal English grammar, double negatives are incorrect because the two negative words cancel each other’s meaning. For example, “I didn’t talk to nobody” technically means “I talked to at least one person rather than zero people.”
Although you should avoid double negatives in formal situations (e.g., essays, cover letters, or job interviews), double negatives are perfectly fine in creative writing and casual conversation. Double negatives are also common in movies, TV shows, pop songs, poetry, and fiction.
Avoiding double negative mistakes is a two-step process:
Know which English words are negatives.
Use only one negative in each clause or sentence.
Double negative example
The Fall Guyisn’thardly the best movie, but I did enjoy it.
The Fall Guy is hardly the best movie, but I did enjoy it.
The word in is typically a preposition. Prepositions are function words rather than content words. Function words like prepositions don’t carry much meaning on their own, but convey meaning through their grammatical relationship with the other words in the sentence.
In English grammar, negatives are words—such as “no,” “not,” and “never”—that show something is untrue, not happening, or of zero quantity. For example, the sentence “Nobody wants this” means “zero people want this.” It’s the opposite of “Everybody wants this” or “Someone wants this.”
Common negatives include “not,” “none,” “nobody,” “nowhere,” and “nothing.” Some qualifiers—such as “barely” and “hardly”—are also negatives.
The main grammar rule for negatives is to only use one per sentence. A double negative is grammatically incorrect because two negatives in the same sentence cancel each other. For example, grammatically, “We never go nowhere” means “We always go somewhere” instead of “We never go anywhere.”
Negative sentences examples Kara has never seen an Alfred Hitchcock movie.
The candidate barely won the election.
Nothing is more important than friends and family.
Function words like “in,” “on,” “at,” and for (prepositions)—which are typically covered in grammar rather than vocabulary lessons when you’re learning a language—convey meaning by helping to show relationships between different parts of a sentence. Content words, on the other hand, like “definition” (a noun) or “define” (a verb), which we think of as “vocabulary,” carry a lot of meaning on their own.
Because for typically doesn’t mean very much as an individual word, knowing how it functions in terms of its part of speech is key to understanding what it communicates. “For” almost always functions as a preposition, helping to express ideas such as “intention,” “purpose,” “reason,” and “duration.”
For (preposition) in a sentence examplesI bought this shirt for Clive.
A modifier is an adjective, adverb, or group of words that describes or limits the meaning of one or more other words in a sentence. The word “modify” means “to change.” When used correctly, modifiers make writing more precise.
For example, by itself, the noun “shirt” isn’t very precise. However, when you add one or more modifiers, like in the examples below, “shirt” can have a variety of slightly different meanings. As the examples illustrate, a word or group of words can have more than one modifier in the same sentence.
Modifiers in sentences examplesErika made Cathy a blue and purple tie-dyed shirt.
The green button-down shirt in the laundry basket needs to be ironed.
My favorite flannel shirt, which belonged to my grandfather, has a hole in the front pocket.
Published on
January 29, 2025
by
Nicole Routh, M.Ed
Revised on
July 14, 2025
Ordinal numbers—such as “second” and “95th”—provide helpful details about sequences and rankings. You can write ordinal numbers as words or numerals combined with “-st,” “-nd,” “-rd,” or “-th” (e.g., “17th”). Some style guidelines recommend words for “first” through “ninth” and numerals for “10th” and higher.
In a sentence, an ordinal number can play these roles:
A determiner that shows the position of a noun in a numbered sequence (“the fifth season of Stranger Things” or “the 90th percentile”)
An adverb that modifies a verb to show the order of events (e.g., “eat first and then watch TV”)
An adverb that modifies an adjective to show a noun’s ranking (e.g., “the second tallest building”)
When an ordinal number is a determiner, it goes after another determiner (e.g., the definite article “the” or the possessive adjective “your”).
Ordinal numbers examplesWe spent the thirdday of vacation snorkeling in Akumal.
Firstwrite your outline, and then start the first draft.
The thirdlongest river in the world is the Yangtze River.
