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I am studying SFL grammar and I have this sentence that I need to break down into clauses and say what type of clauses they are.

Studies show that when caught by fishermen, sea trout are more likely to be returned to the water than salmon.

I assume that the first part is a projecting clause, but it is the "when caught by fishermen" that perplexes me.

Is it an embedded clause within the projecting clause?
Or is it an embedded 'by'-clause with ellipted participant and process -- "when caught by fishermen"?

Jackie
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    According to Wikipedia SFL is a "part of a social semiotic approach to language." Back away slowly but avoid eye contact. Semioticians can sense fear, and given a chance they will neutralize the higher thought centers of your brain. – deadrat May 26 '16 at 20:30
  • The analysis of "when" is problematic. Some see it as a preposition, others as a subordinator. For those who see it as a prep, the constituent when caught by fisherman is a PP headed by "when" whose complement is the non-finite subordinate clause caught by fishermen. For those who see "when" as a subordinator, it’s a subjectless non-finite subordinate clause (though the subject "sea trout" is easily retrievable from the matrix clause). Whichever analysis is preferred, the when- constituent is an adjunct in clause structure – BillJ May 26 '16 at 21:07
  • @BillJ Your comment is unlikely to satisfy Jackie because it's not phrased in the jargon of SFG. I can tell because your comment is coherent. For instance, to answer her question about "the projecting clause", it will help to know that the originator of SFG says that "in projecting clauses the α clause expresses the ideational component of either locution, mental or factual projection; and the β clause carries the ideational realisation of the projection." Or maybe it won't help. – deadrat May 26 '16 at 22:34
  • @deadrat Ah, yes, that confused meaning-based mish-mash based largely on Michael Halliday's thinking. – BillJ May 27 '16 at 06:33
  • I am happy to have ANY feedback, really. Thank you both for your ideas. – Jackie May 27 '16 at 13:36

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