{"id":3329,"date":"2011-12-20T12:05:55","date_gmt":"2011-12-20T04:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vappingo.com\/word-blog\/?p=3329"},"modified":"2024-01-15T14:14:31","modified_gmt":"2024-01-15T14:14:31","slug":"dependent-and-independent-clauses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vappingo.com\/word-blog\/dependent-and-independent-clauses\/","title":{"rendered":"Dependent and Independent Clauses"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Commas<\/a>This article takes a look at dependent and independent clauses<\/strong>, give you tips on how you can identify them, and explains why understanding what they are is important for correct punctuation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A clause is a group of words that contains both a subject (a noun or noun phrase) and a\u00a0predicate (a simple verb or compound verb phrase, along with any objects
\ncomplementing the verb). There are two types of clauses: independent and dependent. Independent clauses are also referred to as main clauses, and dependent clauses are also known as a subordinate or\u00a0relative clauses.<\/p>\n

It is important that you are able to differentiate between dependent and independent clauses because using correct punctuation within a sentence often depends on your ability to separate the two appropriately.<\/p>\n

Dependent clauses<\/h3>\n

Dependent clauses are groups of words that contain a subject and a verb but do not express a complete thought, i.e. they cannot be read in isolation and make complete sense:<\/p>\n

When I arrived at the science lab . . .<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here, we have a verb, \u201carrived,\u201d and a noun, \u201clab,\u201d but we do not know what happened when I arrived at the science lab. The thought is incomplete, and the clause is a dependent clause because it requires further information to make sense.<\/p>\n

Many introductory phrases<\/a> are also dependent clauses.<\/p>\n

Independent clauses<\/h3>\n

Independent clauses are groups of words that contain a subject and a verb and do make complete sense on their own, i.e. they do not need additional information to form a complete thought:<\/p>\n

I found the professor covered in green slime.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The basic difference between dependent and independent clauses is that dependent clauses cannot stand on their own and make sense, while independent clauses can.<\/p>\n

Placing them together gives us further information:<\/p>\n

When I arrived at the science lab, I found the professor covered in green slime.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Identifying dependent and independent clauses<\/h3>\n

Dependent clauses often begin with a dependent marker word, which is a word that appears at the beginning of an independent clause and transforms it into a dependent clause.<\/p>\n

In our example, the introduction of the word \u201cwhen\u201d acts as a dependent marker word because it means we need more information. What happened when I arrived at the science lab?<\/p>\n

Common dependent marker words<\/h3>\n

The following words are some of the more common dependent marker words that are used in the English language:<\/p>\n