In modern grammar, how can function as a subordinating conjunction when it introduces a clause that depends on a main clause.
Many learners type “is how a subordinating conjunction?” into a search box after meeting sentences like “I know how this works” or “Tell me how you did that”. Teachers, textbooks, and grammar sites do not always use the same labels, so the word how can feel slippery.
This article gives you a clear answer, shows where how behaves like a subordinating conjunction, and points out the other roles how plays. By the end, you will be able to label how with confidence and explain your choice to a learner or to a class.
Why How Feels Tricky To Classify
English has many words that switch class depending on context. Words such as that, when, before, and how can act as adverbs, determiners, pronouns, or clause markers. The label changes with the job the word does inside a sentence.
With how, the main source of confusion is that it appears in three very common patterns:
- Direct questions: “How are you?” “How tall are they?”
- Indirect questions: “I wonder how tall they are.”
- Exclamations and degree: “How strange that is.” “I hate how loud this is.”
In direct questions, how behaves like an interrogative adverb. In many indirect questions and exclamative clauses, how no longer asks for information; it helps mark a clause as dependent on something else. That pattern is where the subordinating conjunction label enters the picture.
Is How A Subordinating Conjunction? Clear Answer And Examples
Short answer: in several widely used grammar traditions, yes, how counts as a subordinating conjunction, or at least as a type of subordinator, when it introduces a clause that cannot stand alone.
Here is the key idea: a subordinating conjunction is a word that introduces a subordinate clause and links it to a main clause. Classic examples include because, if, since, and when. In sentences such as “I know how this works”, the clause “how this works” depends on the main clause “I know”, and how introduces that clause.
Some modern grammars prefer the label subordinator or clause marker for words in this slot. One reference on English subordinators even lists how as a marginal member of this group. The exact label can shift, yet the function stays the same: how helps mark the clause as subordinate.
Main Uses Of How In Clauses
The table below sets out common roles of how so you can see where the subordinating conjunction label fits.
| Use Of How | What The Clause Does | Example Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Direct question, manner | Asks about the way something happens | How did you solve the problem? |
| Direct question, degree | Asks about amount or extent | How hungry are you right now? |
| Indirect question, object clause | Marks a clause that serves as the object of a verb | I wonder how you solved the problem. |
| Indirect question after noun | Marks a clause that explains a noun | Tell me how the story ends. |
| Clause after verb of knowing | Marks a content clause after know, see, learn, find out, etc. | They know how the machine works. |
| Clause after verb of showing | Marks a clause that explains a process | She showed us how the app works. |
| Exclamative clause | Expresses strong reaction | How you have grown since last year! |
| Comparative style clause | Marks the manner inside a larger idea | Look at how he speaks to customers. |
In the first two rows, how acts as an interrogative adverb in a direct question. In the next five rows, how introduces a clause that depends on a verb or noun in another clause. That set fits the usual definition of a subordinate clause and justifies calling how a subordinating conjunction or subordinator there.
How In Direct And Indirect Questions
To see why the label changes, it helps to contrast direct and indirect questions. A direct question stands alone and ends with a question mark. An indirect question is usually embedded inside a larger sentence and may end with a full stop.
Direct Questions With How
In a direct question, how directly asks for information:
- How are you feeling?
- How does this camera work?
- How far is the station from here?
Here, how behaves like an adverb. It modifies the verb phrase, asking about manner, process, condition, or degree. The clause stands on its own, so how does not mark it as subordinate.
Indirect Questions With How Clauses
In an indirect question, how shows up inside a larger sentence:
- I do not know how this camera works.
- We will find out how far the station is.
- She asked me how I was feeling.
In each sentence, the part starting with how forms a clause that depends on the verb in the main clause. That how clause cannot stand alone in natural usage: “How this camera works.” sounds incomplete unless it appears as part of a larger sentence. Here, many descriptions treat how as a subordinating conjunction because it marks and links the subordinate clause.
So when someone asks “is how a subordinating conjunction?”, the safest answer is: yes, in these embedded question patterns, the word how behaves like one.
How As A Subordinator Or Clause Marker
Traditional school grammar often lists a short set of subordinating conjunctions such as because, since, if, and when. More detailed references explain that any word which introduces a subordinate clause and links it to a main clause can be treated as a subordinator. A grammar page from Cambridge states that subordinating conjunctions link a subordinate clause to a main clause in this way, and includes many common examples such as because, if, when, and in order that. You can see this in the
Cambridge Grammar page on conjunctions and linking words
.
Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries describe a subordinating conjunction as a word that begins a subordinate clause. That definition fits how when it introduces clauses like “how this works” or “how you did that”. You can read the wording in the
Oxford Learner’s Dictionary definition of subordinating conjunction
.
Some modern linguists prefer the term subordinator or complementizer here. One overview of English subordinators notes that how belongs in the group only in some uses and calls it a marginal member. That nuance matters for specialists, yet for day to day teaching and learning, you can still treat how as a subordinating conjunction whenever it clearly introduces a dependent clause.
How After Verbs Of Thinking And Saying
You meet this use all the time after verbs that report thoughts, questions, and statements. Common verbs in this group include know, wonder, remember, forget, decide, tell, ask, and explain.
- I know how you feel.
- They explained how the system works.
- She will tell us how the story ends.
In each case, the how clause gives the content of the thought or statement. It is a classic content clause. Because it depends on the main clause, the word how behaves as a clause marker; in many school systems that means it is a subordinating conjunction.
How In Clauses After Adjectives And Nouns
How can also introduce clauses after certain adjectives and nouns:
- I am not sure how this will turn out.
- We had no idea how late it was.
- The question is how we can reduce errors.
Again, the clause starting with how depends on the rest of the sentence. It gives extra information about the noun or adjective in front of it. In many grammar schemes that still fits the pattern “subordinating conjunction + subordinate clause”.
Quick Tests For How As A Subordinating Conjunction
Labels make more sense when you have simple tests. The checks below help you decide whether how is working as a subordinating conjunction in a specific sentence.
Simple Yes Or No Checks
Use these quick checks when you meet a new sentence with how:
- Can the clause with how stand alone? Say the clause by itself, with normal speech rhythm. If it feels like a complete question (“How are you?”), how is an interrogative adverb. If it feels incomplete (“How the system works.”), how is likely marking a subordinate clause.
- Does another verb depend on the how clause? Look for a verb such as know, wonder, explain, decide, or ask. If the how clause gives the content of that verb, how works like a subordinator.
- Is the main clause still complete without the how clause? Remove the how clause and read what remains. If you still have a complete sentence (“I know.” “She explained everything.”), the removed part was a subordinate clause, introduced by how.
- Does the sentence end with a question mark for a direct question? In direct questions such as “How are you?”, how acts as an interrogative adverb, not a subordinating conjunction.
- Does word order switch for a direct question? In direct questions you often see auxiliary verb + subject (“How did they react?”). In many how clauses that act as subordinate clauses, the word order follows a normal statement pattern (“how they reacted”).
One Line Memory Hook
Here is a short way to remember the idea:
When how introduces a clause that fills a slot inside a larger sentence, you can treat it as a subordinating conjunction.
Learners who keep asking “is how a subordinating conjunction?” can apply these checks sentence by sentence and see where the label fits.
Checklist Table For Spotting How As A Subordinating Conjunction
The next table turns the checks above into a fast reference sheet you can use while reading or marking writing.
| Test | What To Check | Result When Answer Is Yes |
|---|---|---|
| Stand-alone test | Say the how clause by itself | If it feels incomplete, how likely marks a subordinate clause |
| Main clause test | Remove the how clause | If the rest is a full sentence, how introduces a subordinate clause |
| Verb link test | Look for verbs such as know, wonder, explain | If the how clause gives their content, how acts as a subordinator |
| Question mark test | See whether the sentence is a direct question | If it ends with a question mark and stands alone, how is an interrogative adverb |
| Word order test | Check the order of auxiliary, subject, and main verb | If word order matches a statement inside the how clause, that clause is probably subordinate |
Common Errors With How Clauses
Even advanced learners stumble over how clauses. Many slip ups come from mixing patterns for direct questions and subordinate clauses.
Punctuation Errors Around How Clauses
One frequent issue is adding a question mark at the end of a sentence that only contains an indirect question:
- ✗ I do not know how this works?
- ✓ I do not know how this works.
When how introduces a subordinate clause like “how this works”, the whole sentence is a statement, not a direct question, so it should end with a full stop. The word how still acts like a subordinating conjunction here.
Another issue is using a comma between the main clause and the how clause where no pause is needed:
- ✗ She explained, how the system works.
- ✓ She explained how the system works.
The how clause in these examples is tightly linked to the verb explained, so no comma goes between them.
Fragment Errors With How
Writers also sometimes leave a how clause hanging with no main clause:
- ✗ How the game works.
- ✗ How we solved the issue.
On their own, those strings are sentence fragments. When you add a main clause, the how clause becomes a clear subordinate clause:
- ✓ This diagram shows how the game works.
- ✓ In this report we explain how we solved the issue.
In both corrected sentences, how introduces a subordinate clause that depends on the main clause, so you can treat how as a subordinating conjunction.
Teaching And Learning Ideas For How
If you teach grammar or help friends with writing, it pays to have simple tasks that show how switching context changes the role of how. Here are a few activity ideas.
Short Drills For Learners
Write pairs of sentences on the board or on a worksheet. In each pair, the first sentence uses a direct question, and the second uses an indirect question or content clause:
- How does this website work?
- She knows how this website works.
Ask learners to label how in each sentence and explain the difference in role. Encourage them to use terms like interrogative adverb, subordinate clause, and subordinating conjunction where they fit the pattern.
You can repeat the same drill with different verbs and topics so that learners meet how clauses in many contexts.
Writing Tasks With How Clauses
Another simple classroom task is to ask learners to write short explanations that include at least three how clauses. You can give prompts such as:
- Explain how your favourite game works.
- Describe how you learned a new skill.
- Write about how a device or app helps you with study or work.
Once the paragraphs are ready, ask learners to underline each how clause and write whether how is a subordinating conjunction or a question word in that sentence. This habit builds clear links between label and function.
Final Thoughts On How And Subordinate Clauses
The question “is how a subordinating conjunction?” only makes sense when you look at real sentences. How can work as an interrogative adverb in direct questions, yet in many content clauses and indirect questions it introduces a subordinate clause that depends on a main clause.
In those embedded patterns, you can treat how as a subordinating conjunction or subordinator without worrying about fine points of theory. The tests in this article give you a practical way to decide, so your teaching notes, grammar explanations, and exam answers stay clear and consistent.