Independent and Dependent Clauses Independent and Dependent

A clause is a group of words that contains both a subject and a verb. Clauses A clause is a group of words that contains both a subject and a verb.

Dependent clauses will function in one of three ways: Independent Dependent An independent clause can stand alone and function as a complete thought or idea. A dependent clause cannot stand alone; it relies/depends on the rest of the sentence to function as a complete thought or idea. Dependent clauses will function in one of three ways:

Noun Noun clauses will function as the subject, do, io, pn, op. Words that can start noun clauses: How However That What Whatever When Where Which Whichever Who/Whom Whoever Whose Why Adjective Adjective clauses will begin with relative pronouns or relative adverbs and answer these questions: Which one? What kind? How many? How much? Words that can start adjective clauses: Who/whom Adverb Adverb clauses will begin with subordinating conjunctions and answer these questions: How? When? Where? Why? To what extent? Words that can start adverb clauses: After *Since Although *So long as As *Though As far as *Unless As if *Until As long as *When As soon as *Whenever As though *Where Because *Wherever Before *Where Even though *Wherever If *Whereas Inasmuch as *While In order that *So that Provided that *Than

Noun Clauses: In order to properly identify these, it is crucial that you understand the functions of a noun. Subject- What the sentence is about. Whoever chose that color scheme is a genius. Direct Object- Follows an ACTION verb and answers the question who? or what? is receiving the action. Travis decided what we were doing after prom. Indirect Object- Also follows an ACTION verb. Will come between the verb and direct object and will answer to whom/for what the action was given. My mom gave whoever would listen a harangue. Predicate nominative- Follows a LINKING verb. Renames the subject of the sentence. My birthday gift was what I wanted, a guitar. Object of a preposition- the noun or pronoun of the prepositional phrase. We talked about why the war happened, but we still didn’t understand. Appositive- Renames the noun or pronoun that came before it. Chris’s favorite memory, when he won the gold medal, is also his favorite topic of conversation. Subject- What the sentence is about. Whoever chose that color scheme is a genius. Direct Object- Follows an ACTION verb and answers the question who? or what? is receiving the action. Travis decided what we were doing after prom. Indirect Object- Also follows an ACTION verb. Will come between the verb and direct object and will answer to whom/for what the action was given. My mom gave whoever would listen a harangue. Predicate nominative- Follows a LINKING verb. Renames the subject of the sentence. My birthday gift was what I wanted, a guitar. Object of a preposition- the noun or pronoun of the prepositional phrase. We talked about why the war happened, but we still didn’t understand. Appositive- Renames the noun or pronoun that came before it. Chris’s favorite memory, when he won the gold medal, is also his favorite topic of conversation.

Adjective Clauses: These clauses will always follow the noun or pronoun they modify. They will include a subject and verb and all modifiers of THAT clause. Tori asked the girl who was selling cookies a question, but she did not receive an answer. We watched the meteor shower that our teacher had mentioned in class. The superhero whom the boy admired most was Captain America. That is the chef whose food you recommended. The school board proposed a plan, which many opposed, yet it surprisingly passed. The area where we live is mostly rural, but it is close to the city. My parents told me the reasons why I cannot go on spring break. You were born during a time when technology is ever present.

Adverb Clauses: These clauses will modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Look for the subordinating conjunctions to begin them. An introductory adverb clause will ALWAYS be followed by a comma. Often, these clauses can be moved around the sentence without changing the meaning. She took a nap while the baby was sleeping. Your test will be next week unless I change my mind. If the play is cancelled, the class will see the movie instead. The sprinter was faster than the distance runner.*** (was fast is implied) As long as you love me, I’ll be your silver; I’ll be your platinum; I’ll be your gold.  (Will be is the verb) Levi went to doctor after he fell down the elevator shaft. The puppy followed Alannah wherever she went. Even though they lost, the team still played well.