Adverb Clause of Comments

Another type of subordinate clause is the adverb clause of comment or comment clause. An adverb clause of comment generally functions as a disjunct or a conjunct and makes some comment on what is said in the main clause:

• This is, as you can see, a specimen of 3rd-century Roman pottery. 
• She was, as is well known, a member of the Republican Party. 
• What’s more, she was an active member of the party. 
• As you know, her husband is a well-known television personality. 
• What was worse, I was totally lost. 
• Foot-and-mouth disease is, as you probably already know, a highly infectious disease of cattle, sheep and pigs. 
• As I say, there's no harm done and we'd best just forget about it. 

The comment clause can come without an introductory conjunction:

• He is, I believe, a Buddhist. 
• It was, you see, the very last thing I had expected to happen.