A clause consists of a subject and main verb. Not all clauses function as sentence elements. Look at the two contrasting examples below.
We know that he is a fool. (SUBJECT + VERB + CLAUSAL OBJECT)
The man who is a fool knows nothing. (The clause is qualifying the man and is not a sentence element in its own right)
The clause can function as a subject, object and adverbial sentence element.
Whether he is guilty is the issue. (CLAUSAL SUBJECT + VERB + COMPLEMENT)
We know that Mr Jenner eats cabbage. (SUBJECT + VERB +CLAUSAL OBJECT)
We arrived before they left. (SUBJECT + VERB + CLAUSAL ADVERBIAL)
Clauses, whether they are sentence elements or not, are themselves composed of sentence elements. Look at the example below.
We know that he is a fool. SUBJECT + VERB + OBJECT (OBJECT = SUBJECT + VERB+ COMPLEMENT)
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