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Independent and Dependent Clauses. How do they work together?. Independent and Dependent Clauses. Independent Clause- a complete thought that can stand on its own. It does NOT depend on another group of words to make sense. It makes sense on its own.
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Independent and Dependent Clauses How do they work together?
Independent and Dependent Clauses • Independent Clause- a complete thought that can stand on its own. It does NOT depend on another group of words to make sense. It makes sense on its own. • Dependent Clause-begins with a subordinating conjunction or “signal word” such as while, whenever, although, because, etc. It DEPENDS on an independent clause to form a complete thought.
Independent Clauses • My mother and I drove to Jacksonville yesterday because we wanted to go shopping. • “My mother and I drove to Jacksonville yesterday” is an independent clause. It makes perfect sense by itself.
Dependent Clauses • My mother and I drove to Jacksonville yesterday because we wanted to go shopping. • “Because we wanted to go shopping” is a dependent clause. It depends on the independent clause to make sense. If there is no independent clause attached to it, we would refer to it as a fragment.
Signal Words: Dependent Clauses • There are several words that usually signal the start of a dependent clause, such as: • Because, although, while, when, whenever, until, where, wherever, though, even if, which, before, whether, if. (There are more, but these are some of the most common.)
Can you spot the dependent clause? • Although she is not a fan of broccoli, Mary loves asparagus and other vegetables. • Whenever she is feeling blue, Clarice likes to listen to music.
Answers: • Although she is not a fan of broccoli, Mary loves asparagus and other vegetables. • Whenever she is feeling blue, Clarice likes to listen to music.
Can you spot the dependent clause? • Devon drove his girlfriend Lisa to the movies yesterday because she has been wanting to see the latest Brad Pitt movie. • I exercised on my new treadmill while watching television.
The Answers: • Devon drove his girlfriend Lisa to the movies yesterday because she has been wanting to see the latest Brad Pitt movie. • I exercised on my new treadmill while watching television.
Simple and Compound sentences: • When a sentence contains one independent clause and NOTHING ELSE, it is called a simple sentence. Example: • Mary rode her bike to the park. • When a sentence contains two independent clauses, it is called a compound sentence. Example: • Mary rode her bike to the park, and she listened to the band play.
Take Notice: • The two independent clauses were joined together by a comma and a conjunction. If we left off the conjunction, it would be a run-0n sentence! • Correct:Mary rode her bike to the park, and she listened to the band play. • Incorrect: Mary rode her bike to the park, she listened to the band play.
Semi colons: • Only semi-colons can take the place of a comma and a conjunctions when bridging two independent clauses together. • Also correct: Mary rode her bike to the park; she listened to the band play.
