 A clause is a word group that contains a verb and its subject and that is used as a sentence or as a part of a sentence.

 Definition: A group of words that contains a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought.  Example: The baby elephant was all alone. Subject: Verb:

 Definition: A group of words that contain a subject and verb but does not express a complete thought and cannot stand by itself as a sentence.  Generally clauses that begin with: when, whom, because, which, that, if, or until do not express complete thoughts.  Example: If the baby hooked trunks with his mother  Example: Because the elephant fell

 Directions: Write down which of these is an independent clause and which is a dependent clause. 1. If we walked after the storm 2. he walked alone through the grass 3. following his mother 4. he lives in Africa 5. the baby needed his mother to help him 6. when the storm passed

Directions: Identify whether the underlined part of the sentence is an independent, subordinate, or not a clause. 1. I walked to the auditorium with my English teacher. 2. I made another batch of cookies, after Alicia ate them. 3. If the cat wore a sweater, he would be called was cute. 4. An adorable child, with brown hair, spilled his milk. 5. The sister attempted to clean up the mess.

6. When does the movie Twilight come out? 7. Several of the characters are vampires. 8. I like to read vampire books.