Independent & Dependent Clauses

What are Independent vs Dependent Clauses?

Independent Clauses (Full Sentences)

An independent clause is a full sentence containing a subject, verb, and a complete thought.

Examples:

• He ran.

• I was late to work.

• The paper does not specify which type of format it must be in.

• The instructor spent the class period reviewing the difference between independent and dependent clauses.

Dependent Clauses (Half-Sentences)

A dependent clause contains a subject and a verb, but not a complete thought. It creates a half-sentence, dependent on another half to make sense. Remember when your high school English teacher told you not to begin sentences with "Because"? This is why.

Examples:

• Because I woke up late this morning. (What happened?)

• When we arrived in class. (What occurred?)

• If my neighbor does not pay his rent on time. (What will happen?)

Dependent clauses can often be identified by special words called subordinating conjunctions. If a sentence begins with one of these words, it is "dependent" and creates half a sentence. Some of those words are: after, as, although, because, before, even though, if, once, rather than, since, that, though, unless, until, when, whenever, whereas, and while.

Joining Them Together

Just because a sentence can stand on its own doesn’t mean it has to. One or more sentences can be added together to form a compound sentence, and sentences can be added to dependent clauses to form complex sentences. Click on the infographic below to see how, or view our Conjunctions page.