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.

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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

"She enjoys reading books."

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Example of a dependent clause.

Back

"Although she enjoys reading books..." (This clause cannot stand alone.)

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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: "When I was five, I started kindergarten."

Back

This sentence contains both a dependent clause ("When I was five") and an independent clause ("I started kindergarten").

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Identify the clause: "The dog is playing catch."

Back

This is an independent clause.

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Identify the clause: "Because it was raining."

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This is a dependent clause.

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What is the main difference between independent and dependent clauses?

Back

The main difference is that an independent clause can stand alone as a complete sentence, while a dependent clause cannot.

Front

Can a sentence have more than one independent clause?

Back

Yes, a sentence can have multiple independent clauses, often joined by coordinating conjunctions.