Identify the principal clause in the following sentence:
The physiotherapist told my grandmother how often she should do the knee exercises.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → The physiotherapist told my grandmother
Principal clause before a noun clause:
- The principal (main) clause is the part that is left when the subordinate clauses are taken out. It has the main subject and the main verb.
- This sentence has one subordinate clause. “How often she should do the knee exercises” is a noun clause, the object of “told”. Take it out. What is left, “The physiotherapist told my grandmother”, is the principal clause.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: how often she should do the knee exercises — Incorrect. This is the noun clause. It is the object of “told” and does not make sense alone.
Option 2: she should do the knee exercises — Incorrect. This is only part of the noun clause. It leaves out its joining words, “how often”.
Option 3: The physiotherapist told my grandmother how often — Incorrect. This part takes in “how often”. Those words begin the noun clause, not the main clause.