Remember to refer to the Lesson One vocabulary list if you are uncertain about what a word means.

Sentences

Before discussing independent and dependent clauses, it is important to discuss the basics of a sentence. For a sentence to be a complete, understandable thought, it must have a subject and a verb. The verb is the core of a sentence, indicating the action or state of being, while the subject performs the action or state of being.

Subjects are usually nouns, which indicate a person (Sally, Sam, Joe), place (New York, Brazil, China), or thing (car, bus, street). These nouns can be singular (only one) or plural (more than one). Plural forms usually end with an s.

• Singular noun examples: computer, desk, pencil, teacher
• Plural noun examples: computers, desks, pencils, teachers

Verbs indicate action in the sentence (play, jump, run) or a state of being (am, is, was, were, been, being). The verbs are underlined in the sentences below:

• Melissa ran to catch the bus.
• He jumps onto his skateboard.
• She laughs aloud.

Some nouns are collective, meaning they refer to a group, as in the following examples: audience, band, class, club, crowd, collection, committee, family, flock, herd, and team. Although these words imply more than one, they are considered singular because they refer to one entire group.

Now that you know the basics about subjects and verbs, you are ready to identify them in a sentence.

The best way to find the subject of a sentence is to look at who performs the action of the sentence. First, find the verb (the verbs are underlined in the sentences below), then ask yourself a question about who or what performed the action.

Clauses

Now that you know about subjects and verbs, it is time to learn about independent and dependent clauses[1]. All clauses contain a subject and a verb, and the subject is performing the action or state of being of that verb.

An independent clause is a group of words containing a subject and verb that expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence.

Here are a few examples:

• Kayla enjoys making pancakes with her mother.
• John plays soccer after school with his friends.
• It is hard to balance school and extracurricular activities.

A dependent clause contains a subject and verb, but it does not express a complete thought. In other words, it depends on other words to make it a complete sentence.

Here are a few examples:

• when he went to the store
• after everyone enjoys the movie
• while the team plays

Did you find the subject and the verb in each of those examples? What is it that makes these clauses incomplete thoughts, even though all of them have subjects and verbs?

If you noticed that the words when, after, and while made these examples seem incomplete, you are on the right track. You can identify a dependent clause by its dependent marker[2]; when, after, and while are all examples of dependent markers.

These words suggest that there is more to what is being said, making it so the ideas they introduce cannot stand on their own. For example, "Everyone enjoys the movie" is a complete thought, but when you add after to the beginning of it, it suggests that there is more to what is being said. "After everyone enjoys the movie" cannot stand alone.

If a clause starts with one of the following dependent markers, you can identify the clause as a dependent clause:

Now it is your turn to see if you can identify independent clauses versus dependent clauses. Go to Section 1.2: Independent and Dependent Clause Practice in the Lesson One Assignments folder for some practice exercises. A PDF version

Assignment 1.2

After you have finished the practice exercises, complete the Assignment 1.2 Quiz in the Lesson One Assignments folder.

[1] Sometimes independent clauses are also called main clauses, whereas dependent clauses are referred to as subordinate clauses.

[2] Dependent markers are also known as subordinating conjunctions, indicating that they make one thought or clause less than or dependent on another.