Independent and Dependent Clause

Independent and dependent clauses are the building blocks of sentences. A single independent clause can be a sentence, by itself. However, dependent clauses are used to make sentences more complete and more interesting. Using conjunctions and proper punctuation, dependent and independent clauses can be joined together to create interesting and complex compound sentences that are fun and engaging to read.

Independent Clause Defined

An independent clause is a clause that can stand on its own, by itself. It does not need to be joined to any other clauses, because it contains all the information necessary to be a complete sentences. Independent clauses have three components:

1. They have a subject – they tell the reader what the sentence is about.
2. They have an action or predicate – they tell the reader what the subject is doing.
3. They express a complete thought – something happened or was said.

• Contain a subject, a verb and expresses a complete thought
• It can stand alone as sentence by itself
• You can add a complement

An independent clause can be as simple as a subject and a verb:

• Examples:

–The sun rose. –Water evaporates rapidly in warm climate zones. Independent clauses can be quite complex, but the important thing to remember is that they stand on their own and make sense alone. For more examples of independent clauses, check out Examples of Independent Clauses.

Dependent Clause Defined

A dependent clause is a clause that does not express a complete thought. A clause can be dependent because of the presence of a:

• Marker Word (Before, after, because, since, in order to, although, though, whenever, wherever, whether, while, even though, even if)
• Conjunction (And, or, nor, but, yet)

Dependent clauses MUST be joined to another clause, in order to avoid creating a sentence fragment.

• Because I forgot my homework.
  

  This is a sentence fragment. We have a “because” but not a “why” or anything accompanying and following what happened “because” they forgot.

  • Because I forgot my homework, I got sent home.

  Here, the error is corrected. “I got sent home” is an independent clause. “I” is the subject, “got” is the verb, “sent home” is the object. A complete thought is expressed.

  Dependent clauses can become more complex if we add subjects, objects, and modifying phrases:

  • Jim, who likes books, read a book.

  Jim is the subject.

  “Who likes to read” is a dependent clause that modifies Jim. It contains “likes” which is a verb.

  Read is a verb.

  A book is the object.

Independent clause must :

• Begins with a subordinator

–When, while, if, that, or, who

• Doesn’t express a complete thought
• Is also called a sentence fragment.
• Its an incomplete sentence and it is an error
• Examples

–… when the sun rose … –… whom the voters elected …   References: http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/grammar-rules-and-tips/independent-and-dependent-clauses.html Presentations.