Independent and Dependent Clause

A clause is a group of related words that contains a subject and a verb.

Clause = Subject + Verb

 

Clauses are the basic building blocks of sentences in the English language.

·         A subject is a person or thing that is doing something or being something.

·         The subject performs the verb.

·         A verb is the action word in a sentence.

 

Independent clauses

An independent clause is a group of related words that contain a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought.

Independent Clause =
Complete Thought

Independent clauses are complete sentences. They begin with a capital letter and end with punctuation, such as a period.

Examples:

·        I picked a flower for you.

·        My mom is nice.

·        The teacher taught me how to read.

·        The woman sang.

 

Dependent clauses

Dependent clauses contain a subject and a verb, but do not express a complete thought.

Dependent Clause =
Incomplete Thought

A dependent clause is not a complete sentence.
The words in purple below are called dependent marker words and will be explained in the next section.

Examples:

• When I picked a flower for you
  
  What happened when I picked the flower?
  This is not a complete thought or sentence.
• If my mom is nice
  
  What happens if my mom is nice? This is not a complete thought or sentence.
• While my teacher taught me to read
  
  What happened while my teacher taught me to read?
  This is not a complete thought or sentence.
• Because the woman sang
  
  What happened because the woman sang?
  This is not a complete thought or sentence.