clauses

True or False: In the sentence 'Although he was tired, he finished his homework,' the underlined part is an independent clause.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

An independent clause can stand alone as a complete sentence. The clause 'Although he was tired' cannot stand alone because it starts with a subordinating conjunction ('Although') and doesn't express a complete thought.

In the sentence 'When the bell rings, the students rush out of the classroom,' which part is the independent clause?

• When the bell rings

• the students rush out of the classroom

• out of the classroom

• When the bell

Answer explanation

The independent clause is 'the students rush out of the classroom' because it contains a subject (students) and a verb (rush) and expresses a complete thought. 'When the bell rings' is a dependent clause that tells *when* the action happens.

Read the sentence: 'The team won the championship, while they practiced every day.' Which subordinating conjunction would make the most logical sense in place of the underlined word?

• because

• although

• until

• wherever

Answer explanation

The conjunction 'because' correctly shows the cause-and-effect relationship: the team won *because* they practiced. 'While' suggests actions happening at the same time, which is less logical here.

Complete the sentence with an independent clause that makes logical sense: 'After I finish my chores, ______.'

• because I was tired

• I plan to watch a movie

• while my brother played video games

• so that I can relax

Answer explanation

'I plan to watch a movie' is an independent clause that can stand alone as a sentence and logically completes the thought started by the dependent clause 'After I finish my chores.' The other options are dependent clauses or phrases.

True or False: In the sentence 'I wanted to buy the new game, but I didn't have enough money,' the underlined word 'but' introduces a dependent clause.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

'But' is a coordinating conjunction (part of FANBOYS) that connects two independent clauses. Subordinating conjunctions (like 'because', 'although', 'if') are the ones that introduce dependent clauses.

Which option best combines these two sentences into one sentence with a dependent and an independent clause? 'The movie was very long. We still enjoyed it.'

• The movie was very long, and we still enjoyed it.

• Although the movie was very long, we still enjoyed it.

• The movie was very long; we still enjoyed it.

• We still enjoyed the very long movie.

Answer explanation

This option correctly uses the subordinating conjunction 'Although' to turn 'The movie was very long' into a dependent clause, creating a complex sentence. The other options use different sentence structures.

True or False: A dependent clause can stand alone as a complete sentence.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

By definition, a dependent (or subordinate) clause does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone as a sentence. It must be attached to an independent clause to form a complete thought.

Which of the following groups of words is an independent clause?

• While the music played

• Because the pizza was delicious

• The dog barked loudly

• If you need any help

Answer explanation

'The dog barked loudly' is the only option that has a subject ('dog') and a verb ('barked') and expresses a complete thought, making it an independent clause. The others are dependent clauses.

Which of the following is a sentence fragment because it lacks an independent clause?

• The game starts at 7 PM.

• Since we have a test tomorrow.

• I finished my project, so I can relax.

• Stop!

Answer explanation

'Since we have a test tomorrow' is a sentence fragment. It's a dependent clause that needs an independent clause (like 'we should study tonight') to be a complete sentence.

Consider the sentence: 'Because it was raining, the picnic was canceled.' What happens if you remove the word 'Because'?

• The sentence becomes a fragment.

• The sentence becomes two independent clauses.

• The meaning of the sentence is reversed.

• The sentence becomes ungrammatical.

Answer explanation

Removing 'Because' changes the dependent clause 'Because it was raining' into the independent clause 'It was raining.' The result is two separate independent clauses: 'It was raining' and 'the picnic was canceled.'