Independent and Dependent Clauses

What is a dependent and an independent clause? Clauses are groups of words containing a subject and a predicate. A subject is the part of a sentence telling who or what the sentence is about. The predicate is the part of a sentence telling what the subject is or what the subject is doing. Here’s an example:

Sam speaks.

The subject is Sam and the predicate that tells what Sam is doing is speaks. Here’s another example:

Sam is a dog.

The subject is still Sam, and the predicate, is a dog, tells what Sam is.

All simple sentences are independent clauses, such as Dogs bark. This sentence makes sense and stands on its own. But a dependent clause does not make sense and cannot stand on its own, such as When dogs bark.

Independent Clauses

Now that we know there are independent and dependent clauses, let’s explore each of these in more detail. An independent clause is a group of words containing a subject and a predicate that expresses a complete thought in and of itself. It stands alone and makes sense, such as this sentence:

A green bobble-head sits on my desk.

There are two parts of any clause: the subject and the predicate. There are also two kinds of subjects and two kinds of predicates. The two kinds of subjects are the simple subject and the complete subject. The simple subject is the noun that names the who or the what the sentence is about, and the complete subject contains all the words describing the simple subject plus the simple subject itself. In the above sentence, the simple subject is bobble-head, and the complete subject is A green bobble-head. Notice that the complete subject always contains the simple subject.

The simple predicate is the verb phrase that expresses either the simple subject’s action (what it’s doing) or the simple subject’s mode of being (what it is.) The complete predicate contains all of the words that help the simple predicate express whatever it is expressing about the subject. In the above sentence, sits is the simple predicate, and sits on my desk is the complete predicate.

Independent Clauses Examples

Try to spot the independent clauses among the italicized groups of words below. Remember the definition for an independent clause:

• contains a subject and a predicate
• makes sense on its own

Example 1: The famous children played on the swings.

Example 2: Because Fred ate the plums.

Example 3: Alice tripped on a rock.

Joining Two Independent Clauses

Compound sentences are formed by joining two independent clauses. Independent clauses are connected by using coordinating conjunctions, semicolons, or independent marker words.

• Coordinating conjunctions are words that join various elements of a sentence, in this case, independent clauses. There are only seven coordinating conjunctions in the English language, and they can be remembered with the acronym FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. Take the following: Your email came early. I answered it right away. These two independent clauses can be combined by using a comma and a coordinating conjunction: Your email came early, and I answered it right away.
• Semicolons can be used in place of the comma and the coordinating conjunction: Your email came early; I answered it right away.
• Independent marker words are just that: words that begin an independent clause, such as however, therefore, and nevertheless. For example: Your email came early; therefore, I answered it right away.

A common grammatical error when combining independent clauses is the comma splice, when independent clauses are combined with just a comma instead of a comma and a coordinating conjunction, such as Your email came early, I answered it right away. To correct this error, simply add a coordinating conjunction: Your email came early, so I answered it right away.

The seven coordinating conjunctions can be remembered by the acronym FANBOYS.

Dependent Clauses

A dependent clause is a group of words containing a subject and a predicate that cannot stand alone without an independent clause that completes its meaning. Dependent clauses do not make sense on their own. A dependent clause is sometimes called a subordinate clause or a dependent subordinate clause.

What makes a clause dependent? The use of subordinators makes a clause a dependent subordinate clause. Subordinators are words used at the beginning of a dependent clause putting it in a subordinate position to an independent clause. There are two classes of subordinates: relative pronouns, such as who, whom, that, whoever, whomever, and whichever, and subordinating conjunctions, such as until, unless, if, how, wherever, because, after, and although, among others. Subordinators are sometimes called dependent marker words.

Look at the following sentence:

Sam, who grew up on a puppy farm in Idaho, lived a happy life in Boston.

The dependent clause is who grew up on a puppy farm in Idaho with the relative pronoun, who, acting as the simple subject of the dependent clause.

Dependent Clauses Examples

Try to spot the dependent clauses among the italicized groups of words below. Remember the definition for a dependent clause:

• contains a subject and a predicate
• cannot stand alone
• begins with a subordinator

Example 1: Because the famous children played on the swings.

Example 2: When the press showed up for photographs.

Example 3: The parents asked politely.

Connecting Sentences and Clauses

When independent and subordinate clauses are combined, the result is called a complex sentence. Here’s an example:

The parents asked that the photographers do not take photos of the children.

The independent clause is The parents asked. The dependent clause is that the photographers do not take photos of the children. Note that the dependent clause depends on the independent clause for its meaning. The grammatical element connecting these clauses is the subordinator that, which is a relative pronoun.

Here’s another example of a complex sentence:

When the famous children played on the swings, photographers showed up to take pictures.

The independent clause is photographers showed up to take pictures.

The dependent clause is When the famous children played on the swings.

The subordinator is the subordinating conjunction when.

Difference Between Independent and Dependent Clauses

The difference between independent and dependent clauses is independent clauses express a complete thought and can stand on their own whereas dependent clauses cannot. The use of a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun subordinates the meaning of the dependent clause to the independent clause. Here is an example:

After she mows the lawn, my mother sips lemonade on the porch.

This complex sentence contains two clauses. The independent clause is my mother sips lemonade on the porch. This is the independent clause because it can stand alone by itself and still make sense. The dependent clause is After she mows the lawn. This is the dependent clause because it makes no sense by itself without the independent clause. The subordinating conjunction after, subordinates the meaning of this clause to the independent clause.

All simple sentences are independent clauses. A complex sentence is formed by combining an independent and a dependent clause.

Phrase vs Dependent Clause

Another group of words similar to a dependent clause is the phrase, a group of words working as a particular part of speech—noun, verb, adjective, or adverb—that may have a subject or a predicate but not both. A phrase vs dependent clause can be distinguished by whether the group of words contains a subject and a predicate. Here is an example of a dependent clause:

When the plant blooms.

The subject is plant, and the predicate is blooms. Here is an example of a phrase:

In the garden.

There is no predicate, but there is a subject, garden. Other examples of phrases are bulleted below.

• After the flood – this is a prepositional phrase acting as an adverb describing when something happened.
• That rusted car in the yard – this is a noun phrase that can be used as the subject of a sentence, such as That rusted car in the yard was stolen, or the object of a verb, such as Once, I drove that rusted car in the yard.
• was swimming in the pool – This is a verb phrase consisting of a predicate and a prepositional phrase acting as an adverb describing where the swimming happened.

All phrases are different from dependent clauses because dependent clauses contain a subject and a predicate whereas phrases contain either a subject or a predicate but not both.

Lesson Summary

An independent clause is a group of words containing a subject and a predicate that expresses a complete thought and can stand alone. All simple sentences are independent clauses, such as The oak is the largest tree in my yard. Compound sentences are formed by joining two independent clauses by using coordinating conjunctions, semicolons, or independent marker words. Coordinating conjunctions are words that join various elements of a sentence. There are only seven coordinating conjunctions in the English language, remembered through the acronym FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. Independent marker words are words that can be used to begin an independent clause, such as however, therefore, and nevertheless. A comma splice is a grammatical error when only a comma is used to join two independent clauses rather than using a comma and a coordinating conjunction.

A dependent clause, also called a subordinate clause or a dependent subordinate clause, is a group of words containing a subject and predicate that does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone. Dependent clauses do not make sense without being subordinated to an independent clause, such as When my neighbor plowed our shared driveway, I thanked her with a gift of homemade cookies. The dependent clause is When my neighbor plowed our shared driveway. Subordinators are words that begin dependent clauses and subordinates them to independent clauses and include two types: relative pronouns, such as who, that, or whichever; and subordinating conjunctions, such as until, if, and how. Subordinator is synonymous with dependent marker word. A complex sentence results when a dependent clause is joined with an independent clause. A phrase is a group of words containing a subject or a predicate but not both and should not be confused with a dependent clause, which contains both a subject and a predicate.