Complete and Incomplete Thoughts

Mustang Minute 3-2 Go back in time. Visualize yourself being one- year-old. Describe: When you were one – what did you rely on your parents for? Now that you are 12 or 13, what do you rely on your parents for? When you are 18, how much will you rely on your parents?

What is an Independent Clause? A group of words that has A subject A verb Shares a complete thought   It is a sentence because it can stand by itself.

Examples of an Independent Clause: Because she is older than her brother, she tells him what to do.

What is a Dependent Clause? A group of words that has A subject A verb Does not have a complete thought It cannot stand on its own and thus is not a complete sentence

Examples of a Dependent Clause:   Because she is older than her brother,

Common dependent word markers: after, although, as, as if, because, before, even if, even though, if, in order to, since, though, unless, until, whatever, when, whenever, whether, and while.

Practice: If it is a complete thought, If it is an incomplete thought, then clap your hands in a circle because a circle represents being whole/complete. If it is an incomplete thought, Then stamp your feet and raise your right arm, because the arm represents that it is hanging.

Because I forgot the exam was today

The Logan family was black and because of their skin color, they were persecuted by other members of their town.

If you do not eat breakfast

Budget cuts mean that the number of students in the classroom will increase.

But we still get our trip to Lagoon this year.

What Happens when a Dependent Clause is left by itself? It is a sentence fragment and does not express a complete/whole idea. It leaves your audience hanging without a finished thought.

How Can I Turn a Dependent Clause into a Complete Thought? Combine it with another sentence Ex. “Because she is older than her brother” is combined with the sentence “She tells him what to do.” Join them with a comma! (,) 2. Remove the dependent marker. Ex. “She is older than her brother.”

WRITE AND WIPE You and your partner receive one whiteboard. You will take turns: 1. deciding if it is a complete/incomplete thought (fancy words = independent/dependent clause). 2. If it is a dependent clause, you will correct it to make it a complete thought. You get one point for identifying it correctly and one point for correcting it. There will be 7 practices. Whoever wins a high five of honor!

1. Before he sat down

2. He practiced dribbling for hours because he wanted to make the basketball team.

3. If at first you don’t succeed

4. Since there was not enough food in the house,

5. When her older brother scored a goal while she was goalie,

6. because ice cream is delicious.

Since the invention of bubble gum,