Sentence Types & Clauses

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What is an independent clause?

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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.

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What is a dependent clause?

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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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What is an adverbial clause?

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An adverbial clause is a dependent clause that functions as an adverb, modifying a verb, adjective, or adverb. It often answers questions like when, where, why, or how.

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What is an adjective (relative) clause?

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An adjective clause is a dependent clause that modifies a noun or pronoun. It usually begins with a relative pronoun like who, whom, whose, which, or that.

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What is a noun clause?

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A noun clause is a dependent clause that functions as a noun in a sentence. It can act as a subject, object, or complement.

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Example of an independent clause.

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"She enjoys reading books." This is a complete thought and can stand alone.

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Example of a dependent clause.

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"Although she enjoys reading books," This is not a complete thought and cannot stand alone.

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Identify the clause: "When the sun sets, the sky turns orange."

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Adverbial Clause: "When the sun sets" modifies the verb "turns."

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Identify the clause: "The book that I borrowed was fascinating."

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Adjective/Relative Clause: "that I borrowed" modifies the noun "book."

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Identify the clause: "What you said surprised me."

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Noun Clause: "What you said" acts as the subject of the verb "surprised."