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Dr. Richard Nordquist is professor emeritus of rhetoric and English at Georgia Southern University and the author of several university-level grammar and composition textbooks.
Updated on July 25, 2019An independent clause (also known as a main clause) is a word group that has both a subject and a verb and can stand alone as a sentence. A dependent clause (also known as a subordinate clause) is a word group that has both a subject and a verb but can't stand alone as a sentence.
A sentence may consist of a single independent clause, multiple independent clauses linked by a conjunction, or a combination of independent and dependent clauses. The key to distinguishing a dependent clause is this: a dependent clause adds information to the independent clause. Perhaps it gives context about time, place, or identity, perhaps it answers "why?" the action in the independent/main clause is happening, perhaps it clarifies something from the main clause. Whatever the case may be, the information contained in that clause is in support of the the main clause.
This exercise will help you recognize the difference between an independent clause and a dependent clause.
For each item below, write independent if the group of words is an independent clause or dependent if the group of words is a dependent clause.
The details in this exercise have been loosely adapted from the essay "Bathing in a Borrowed Suit," by Homer Croy.
