CalifJim  +  619737 Wed, 24 Dec 08 02:40 AM Ross' musical talents are not as amazing as he and Sam think. There are two finite verbs; therefore, there are two clauses.  Yes.  are and think. I thought of rearranging it: He and Sam think that Ross' musical talents are not amazing. (He, by the way is Ross.) Would re-arranging the sentence like this be correct even though I have omitted the as... as (idiom)? You can rearrange a sentence any way you like, but that doesn't guarantee it means the same thing as it did before you rearranged it!  This rearrangement doesn't mean the same thing as the original.   I fail to see what you were attempting to accomplish by rearranging it.  _______ Nevertheless, taking the new sentence: He and Sam think=main clause  Yes. that Ross' musical talents are not amazing=Complementizer 'that' PLUS a noun clause/complement clause.  Almost. You are saying that this structure is a complementizer (that) AND a noun clause. That's not true.  The complementizer is part of the noun clause.  that is inside the noun clause. The noun clause is that Ross's musical talents are not amazing.  The noun clause includes the complementizer that. ____ Last question, I promise.  Uh-huh.  Sure.  CJ CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,452 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche Clauses, Nouns, Idioms, Writing, Sentences

	Eddie88  +  619794 Wed, 24 Dec 08 03:58 AM I am aware that the complementizer is a par of the noun clause; I shouldn't have used the word AND, sorry. And I just rearranged it because I struggled to identify the clauses in the original sentence. I can't seem to identify the clauses this way. It looks as though 'Ross' musical talents' is the noun clause 'are'=verb and the rest is the complement. But there is another clause within the complement...That is why I got confused, so I rearranged it to make it a that clause. I struggle to see the two clauses as they are in the original sentence!  So if changing the sentence around changes the meaning, then what are the two clauses in the sentence written as it first was? Eddie88 Joined on Mon, Nov 10 2008 New Zealand Full Member 466 Clauses, Nouns, Writing, Sentences, Apologies

	CalifJim  +  619910 Wed, 24 Dec 08 06:34 AM Ross' musical talents are not as amazing as he and Sam think. In the original sentence (above) you have a fairly complex adjective phrase which contains a comparative clause.  You have here a comparison of degree. Ross' musical talents - subject are - linking verb not - adverb as amazing as he and Sam think - subject complement - adjective phrase in the form of a comparative structure as amazing as he and Sam think : as ... as  - the framework of the comparative structure  (adverbs of degree) amazing - the adjective highlighted in the comparison - head of the adjective phrase he and Sam think - the comparative clause he, Sam - subjects and - the coordinating conjunction to join the subjects think - the verb of the comparative clause The underlying statement is complex: as amazing = equally amazing = amazing to a degree equal as = to the degree that Ross's musical talents are not [amazing to a degree equal] [to the degree that] he and Sam think (that Ross's musical talents are amazing.) CJ CalifJim Clauses, Adverbs, Adjectives, Writing, Sentences

	Eddie88  +  619938 Wed, 24 Dec 08 07:00 AM And here I am thinking I knew most of teh subordinate clauses. I'll have a read about these comparitive clauses. I thought I struggled with this for a reason. So 'not as amazing as he and Sam think' is a subject complement, and is also an adjective phrase, as its function, and a comparitive clause as its form. Hope I have it right. Thanks, CJ. Eddie88 Clauses, Adjectives, Writing

	CalifJim  +  620568 Wed, 24 Dec 08 08:20 PM You got it -- except the not is an adverb, which you could think of as belonging to the verb is, so it's a toss up whether you want to include it as part of the adjective phrase.  I didn't in my analysis above, but there are good arguments that it fits in as part of the adjective phrase. Only "as he and Sam think" is the comparative clause. Otherwise, your recap is correct. CJ CalifJim Clauses, Adverbs, Adjectives, Writing