Dependent or Independent Clause?

Front

What is an independent clause?

Back

An independent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought. It can stand alone as a sentence.

Front

What is a dependent clause?

Back

A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb but does not express a complete thought. It cannot stand alone as a sentence.

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Example of an independent clause.

Back

"The falcon soared majestically." This is an independent clause because it expresses a complete thought.

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Example of a dependent clause.

Back

"When my mother arrives." This is a dependent clause because it does not express a complete thought.

Front

What is the main difference between independent and dependent clauses?

Back

The main difference is that independent clauses can stand alone as sentences, while dependent clauses cannot.

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Can a sentence have both an independent and a dependent clause?

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Yes, a sentence can have both. For example: "When it rains, I stay indoors." Here, "When it rains" is a dependent clause, and "I stay indoors" is an independent clause.

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What punctuation is often used to separate independent clauses?

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A comma is often used before a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) to separate independent clauses.

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What is a phrase?

Back

A phrase is a group of words that does not contain a subject-verb pair and does not express a complete thought.

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Identify the clause: "Before you turn in your test."

Back

This is a dependent clause because it does not express a complete thought.

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Identify the clause: "I failed my test."

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This is an independent clause because it expresses a complete thought.