Independent and Dependent Clauses

·      Independent Clause- has a subject and a verb. It CAN stand alone as a complete sentence and makes sense by itself. (Independent means CAN stand alone and does not need anything else to help it.)

EXAMPLE: Jim took an umbrella because it was raining.

·      Dependent Clause- has a subject and a verb, but it CANNOT stand alone as a complete sentence by itself. (Dependent means CANNOT stand alone because it depends on another part of the sentence to help it make sense.)

EXAMPLE: Jim took an umbrella because it was raining.

NON-EXAMPLE: Jim took an umbrella to school.

(“to school” is NOT a dependent clause because it does not have a subject and a predicate.)

****Remember: A dependent clause DOES have a subject and a

         predicate; however, it still does not make sense by itself

         and needs help.