Independent Clause Activities

What makes a clause independent

A clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb (the predicate). An independent clause (also called a main clause) can stand alone as a complete sentence, because it expresses a complete thought.

• The train arrived. (subject: the train; verb: arrived)
• Call me tomorrow. (an imperative; the subject you is understood)

So, in answer to the common question “what words make up an independent clause?”: a subject, a verb, and whatever else is needed to complete the meaning, such as an object or complement.

Independent vs dependent clauses

A dependent clause (also called a subordinate clause) has a subject and a verb but cannot stand alone. It usually begins with a word such as because, although, when, if, who, which or that.

• Because the train was late is a dependent clause. It leaves us waiting for the main idea.
• Because the train was late, we missed the meeting. The independent clause is we missed the meeting.

A quick test: if you can put a full stop after it and it still makes sense by itself, it is independent.

Combining two independent clauses

When two independent clauses are joined, the result is a compound sentence. There are three common ways to join them:

1. A comma plus a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so): I like tea, but my brother prefers coffee.
2. A semicolon: It was raining; we stayed inside.
3. A full stop, making two sentences: It was raining. We stayed inside.

Joining them with only a comma is a comma splice, and joining them with nothing is a run-on. Both are errors in standard written English. Words like however and therefore are not conjunctions, so they also need a semicolon or full stop before them.

Types of clauses (lists vary)

People often ask for “the seven types of clauses”. There is no single universal list, and different teachers and books group them differently. A common set of categories is:

• independent (main) clause
• dependent (subordinate) clause
• relative (adjective) clause
• adverbial clause
• noun clause
• conditional clause (a kind of adverbial clause)
• non-finite or reduced clauses

If you are given a specific list, learn that one for your class. For everyday grammar, knowing the difference between independent and dependent clauses is the most useful starting point. The page on adverbs of manner also notes how adverb clauses work.

Exercise 1: Find the independent clause

Write the independent clause or clauses in each item. If there is none, write “none”.

1. After the rain stopped, we went outside.
2. I like tea, but my brother prefers coffee.
3. When the bell rang, the students left, and the teacher locked the door.
4. Running down the hill.
5. She knows that he is right.
6. Call me tomorrow.

Exercise 2: Combine the clauses

Join each pair into one sentence, using a conjunction or a semicolon.

1. It was raining. We stayed inside.
2. I wanted to go. I was too tired.
3. You can take the bus. You can walk.

Exercise 3: Fix the comma splice

1. The movie was long, we enjoyed it.
2. He studied all night, he passed the test.
3. The shop opens at nine, it closes at six.

Answers

Exercise 1

1. we went outside (After the rain stopped is dependent)
2. I like tea and my brother prefers coffee (two independent clauses)
3. the students left and the teacher locked the door (When the bell rang is dependent)
4. none (this is a fragment: there is no subject and no finite verb)
5. She knows that he is right (the whole sentence; that he is right is a dependent clause inside it)
6. Call me tomorrow (a complete imperative)

Exercise 2 (sample answers)

1. It was raining, so we stayed inside. (or It was raining; we stayed inside.)
2. I wanted to go, but I was too tired.
3. You can take the bus, or you can walk.

Exercise 3 (sample answers)

1. The movie was long, but we enjoyed it.
2. He studied all night, and he passed the test. (or He studied all night; he passed the test.)
3. The shop opens at nine; it closes at six. (or The shop opens at nine, and it closes at six.)

Activities for classes and self-study

• Highlighter hunt. Take a short text. Highlight independent clauses in one colour and dependent clauses in another. Compare with a partner.
• Clause cards. Write independent and dependent clauses on separate cards. Learners match dependent clauses to independent ones, then say which pairs make good sentences.
• Run-on repair. Give learners a paragraph with several comma splices and run-ons. They fix each one in two different ways.
• Compound sentence builder. Provide ten short sentences. Learners combine them into five compound sentences using for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
• Own-writing audit. Pick a paragraph you wrote recently. Count how many sentences contain two or more independent clauses and check the punctuation between them.

For more mixed practice with these structures, try the sentence correction exercises or the exercises on identifying noun phrases, which covers another building block of a clause.