Independent and Dependent Clauses

One of our last grammar topics is independent and dependent clauses. The independent clause is a simple sentence. It has a subject and a verb and can stand alone as a complete thought. A dependent clause is a group of words that has a subject and a verb, but it cannot stand alone as a sentence. It does not express a complete thought. The dependent clause begins with a subordinate conjunction or a relative pronoun. If it comes first in the sentence, there needs to be a comma separating it from the independent clause (just like this sentence). No comma is needed if it comes after the independent clause (just like this sentence). Be careful, because some subordinate conjunctions can be prepositions. You need to make sure there is a verb in the group of words in order for it to be a clause and not a phrase!

Think of the independent clause as the mommy cat and the dependent clause as the kitten. The mommy cat can stand on her own (she's independent), but the kitten can't. The kitten is dependent and has to "stick with" the mommy. Likewise, the dependent clause needs to be attached to the independent clause in some way.

Check out this quiz to help you with this topic:

http://www.csus.edu/owl/index/sent/clause_quiz.htm

Lastly, can you write a sentence that uses a dependent clause??? Post it! I'll tell you if you're right or wrong!