Independent and dependent clauses
What is a Clause?
A clause is a group of words that contain a subject and a predicate
Subject = Person, place, thing
Predicate = Part of a sentence or clause that contains the verb
An independent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a predicate/verb and expresses a single, complete thought.
Example: The dog ate my homework.
Subject
predicate
Subject - What the clause is about (person, place or thing)
Predicate/verb - Tells us what the subject is or what the subject is doing
Highlight the subject in red and the predicate in blue
Write 10 independent clauses. Highlight the subject in red and the predicate in blue.
A dependent clause is a group of words that contain a subject and a predicate but does not expresses a complete thought.
Example: When Mrs Tele’a drove to school.
This is an incomplete thought. The reader is left wondering what happened when Mrs Tele’a drove to school
Subject
predicate
Dependent clauses often start with the subordinating conjunctions:
After Before Until Although Since While
Whatever As Though When Because Unless
Examples
Write 10 dependent clauses. Highlight the subject in red and the predicate in blue.
Read the clauses below and write down if they are independent or dependent
The boy was hungry | |
When she sat down | |
At lunch time | |
Mrs Judd is grumpy today | |
Although Ms Tapuke laughed uncontrollably | |
Mr Wiseman is awesome | |
While they were playing in the garden | |
Because she cried all night long | |
The plant won’t take long to grow | |
Before the girl came to school | |
Independent or dependent