Grammar: Sentence: Combining clauses in a sentence

Binding clauses together (subordination)

Subject in non-finite clauses related by binding

When a dependent clause that is non-finite is linked with an independent clause in a sentence, the Subject is often omitted:

After working for an hour, Bozo turned on the television.
 dependent clause [non-finite]       dominant [independent] clause

Usually we can guess the Subject from the dominant (independent) clause, ie Bozo in this example. The Subject has been omitted in the dependent clause because Bozo is the Subject in both clauses. This process of omitting is called 'ellipsis'.

But dependent non-finite clauses can also make the Subject explicit. Here is an example of the dependent clause having the same Subject as the dominant (independent) clause:

(In order) for Bozo to get his work done, he had to forget about television.
                  dependent clause [non-finite]                       dominant [independent] clause

Here the Subject in the dependent non-finite clause is introduced with the preposition for, and this may be preceded by in order to make the meaning of the clause explicit. Sometimes the Subject is introduced with the preposition with:

With Bozo being late with his homework, he had no time for television.
                dependent clause [non-finite]                     dominant [independent] clause

If the Subject in the dependent clause is preceded by with and expressed by a pronoun, then there is a choice between different forms of the pronoun:

With him/his being late with his homework, Bozo had no time for television.
             dependent clause [non-finite]                              dominant [independent] clause

Here is an example of the two clauses in a binding relationship having different Subjects:

With Bozo being busy with his homework, Ricky had no-one to play with.
                   dependent clause [non-finite]                     dominant [independent] clause

Note that the term Subject is written with a capital letter to remind us that it is a functional term.

For more information on the Subject, see Grammar: Clause: Using clauses to interact: Further reading: The role of the Subject

For more information on ellipsis, see Communicative functions: Creating links in text: Omitting and replacing words in texts

When dealing with language in the classroom, it is useful to be able to identify the Subject in non-finite clauses, whether it is made explicit or not. If you would like some practice in identifying the Subject in a text, click here.