principal clause

American  

noun

1. the main clause.

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Example Sentences

Department stores of all large cities are acquiring them is also a principal clause.

From Business English A Practice Book by Buhlig, Rose

So, in every conditional sentence, the prot'asis, or condition, differs considerably from the apod'osis, or principal clause, even where both are expressed as facts.

From The Grammar of English Grammars by Brown, Goold

Should the time be important a subordinate when or while clause may precede the principal clause of the sentence; i.e.,

From Newspaper Reporting and Correspondence A Manual for Reporters, Correspondents, and Students of Newspaper Writing by Hyde, Grant Milnor

In dependent clauses which are introduced by that, expressed or understood, the auxiliary should be used which would be proper if the dependent clause were a principal clause.

From Practical Grammar and Composition by Wood, Thomas

How could a predicate become associated with its subject, or a principal clause with its subordinate clause, if they were in separate consciousnesses, and how could the conclusion be drawn from them?

From Naturalism And Religion by Otto, Rudolf