ClauseNot Santa

I. Definition:A group of words that

contains a subject and a verb

II. There are two kinds of clauses:

A. Independent (IC)and

B. Dependent (Subordinate) (DC)

A. Independent

A clause that expresses a complete thought and can stand alone

AKA A SENTENCE

Examples of Independent Clauses:

*he memorized a poem last night

*Mary will read her poem *many people enjoy poetry

When an independent clause (IC) starts with a capital letter

and ends with a period or question mark, it is a

SENTENCE.

*He memorized a poem.*Mary will read her poem at

school .*Many people enjoy poetry.

• Identify the independent clauses in Quick Check I, p. 929 of EOL. Circle IND if you think the sentence is an independent clause. Name the subject and verb of each independent clause.

B. Subordinate (or dependent) clause (DC)

It does not express a complete thoughtand

It cannot stand by itself as a sentence

Examples of Dependent or Subordinate Clauses

*because he memorized a poem

*when Mary reads her poem at school

*since many people enjoy poetry

• Identify the subordinate clauses in the sentences of Quick Check I, p. 929 of EOL. Circle SUB if you think the clause is subordinate, circle SUB. Name the subject and verb in each subordinate clause.

.

III. A. A dependent/subordinate clause (DC) will be a FRAGMENT when the clause begins with a capital letter

and ends with a period or question mark. This is a grammatical ERROR!

* Because he memorized a poem.*When Mary reads her poem at

school tomorrow.*Since many people enjoy poetry.

What makes one clause independent and another

dependent?

...because he memorized a poem…

He memorized a poem.

…when Mary read her poem at school...

Mary read her poem at school.

B. What makes a clause dependent/subordinate?

• A clause is dependent/subordinate (DC) when it begins with a subordinate word. A few examples…

• Who When While Which That Since Because Unless etc. etc. etc.

• Sometimes the subordinate word is understood to be present.

C. Sometimes the subject of the dependent/subordinate clause (DC) is a

pronoun.

• Examples:

• April, which is my favorite month, is going to be cold this year.

• Subject of SC is “which.” Verb of SC is “is.”

• The flower that grew in my yard was a rose.

• Subject of SC is “that.” Verb of SC is “grew.”

D. A dependent/subordinate clause (DC) needs an independent clause

(IC) to create a true sentence.

Because he memorized a poem, Mike will receive extra

credit.

Mike will receive extra credit because he memorized a

poem.

When Mary reads her poem at school, we will applaud.

We will applaud when Mary reads her poem at school.

E. Punctuation: When the dependent clause (DC) comes first,

it is usually followed by a comma.

When the rain stops,

the game will begin.

F. Punctuation: When the dependent clause (DC) comes

last, there is generally no comma.

The game will begin

when the rain stops.