Adverb clauses bring variety of information to sentences – time, place, manner, condition, concession, purpose, and more. Information on circumstance, provided by adverb clause of circumstance, is the topic of this post.
Learn more: This post covers just one adverb clause. Learn other types of adverb clause.
What is adverb clause of circumstance?
The adverb clause of circumstance mentions a condition whose fulfilment leads to the conclusion in the matrix clause. (Here, matrix clause is what’s left after removing the adverb clause: In the first example below, we should hurry up and finish our shopping is the matrix clause.) They’re introduced mainly by simple subordinators such as because, since, and as and complex subordinators such as seeing (that), as long as, and inasmuch as. Examples:
Note: (that) means that is optional.
Since the store is closing soon, we should hurry up and finish our shopping. [Fulfilment of the condition that the store is closing soon leads to the conclusion that we hurry up and finish shopping.]
Seeing (that) you are already here, we might as well discuss the proposal now. [Fulfilment of the condition that you are already here leads to the conclusion that we discuss the proposal now.]
As it was getting late, we decided to head home.
To get a simplistic meaning, you can view adverb clause of circumstance as representing a circumstance under which the event in the matrix clause happens: the circumstance of the store closing soon, the circumstance of you already being here, and the circumstance of we getting late.
The clause can be non-finite as well
We typically associate adverb clauses with what we’ve seen so far, the ones with subject and finite verb. (Grammatically speaking, these are finite adverb clauses.) But adverb clauses can be non-finite as well.
(Finite vs. non-finite clause: If you don’t know what finite, non-finite, and verbless clauses are, here is a simplified difference between the two. A finite clause contains a finite verb. It’s another term for noun clause, relative clause, and adverb clause. A non-finite clause contains a non-finite verb. It’s another term for infinitive phrase, participial phrase, and gerund phrase.)
Adverb clause of circumstance introduced by with can be non-finite. Examples:
With the deadline approaching, we need to work extra hours to complete the project.
With so many tasks to complete, the team has to stay late at the office.
