Independent and dependent clauses and the four basic sentence structures, with example sentences for each.
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- What is an independent clause?
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A clause with a subject and verb that expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence.- How do you identify an independent clause?
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It must have a subject, a predicate, and express a complete thought.- Can an independent clause stand alone as a sentence?
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Yes, it expresses a complete thought by itself.- Which is an independent clause: "after the storm" or "the rain stopped"?
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"The rain stopped" is independent because it has a subject and expresses a complete thought.- Can an independent clause have a compound subject?
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Yes, two or more subjects can be joined by a conjunction (and, or).- Can an independent clause have a compound predicate?
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Yes, two or more verbs can be joined by a conjunction.- What is a dependent clause?
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A clause with a subject and verb that does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone.- Can a dependent clause stand alone as a sentence?
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No, it leaves the reader hanging and requires an independent clause to complete the thought.- What is a subordinating conjunction?
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A word that connects a dependent clause to an independent clause.- Name three subordinating conjunctions.
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Examples: because, when, if, although, after, before, since, unless, while- What makes a clause dependent instead of independent?
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A subordinating conjunction at the beginning that makes it unable to stand alone.- Does a dependent clause have a subject and verb?
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Yes, but the subordinating conjunction makes it depend on an independent clause.- What is a simple sentence?
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A sentence with one independent clause and no dependent clauses.- Can a simple sentence have a compound subject and a compound predicate?
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Yes, as long as it remains one independent clause.- Is this a simple sentence: "The cat slept on the couch"?
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Yes, it has one independent clause and no dependent clauses.
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