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According to research, struggle to gain proficiency in writing. This is partially due to a tentative grasp of grammar. It can be intimidating to dive into the world of nouns, subjects, and conjunctions—just to name a few parts of speech—but mastering these elements is essential. Today we’re going to look at two important components of the sentence: independent and dependent clauses and share examples of each. Understanding how these clauses work will allow you to write with clarity and depth. By the time you’ve reached the end of this article, you’ll be a pro.

What are Clauses?

First, let’s cover the basics. What exactly is a clause, anyway? A clause contains a subject and a predicate. The subject is the thing that’s performing the action in a sentence. For example: “The cat meowed.” The cat is the one meowing, so the cat is the subject. The predicate contains the verb and describes what the subject is doing, thinking, or feeling. In this example, “meowed” is the predicate, as that’s what the cat is doing.

Both independent and dependent clauses contain a subject and a predicate. What makes them different is whether or not the clauses can stand on their own as individual sentences.

To understand the difference between independent and dependent clauses, let’s consider the following sentence: As soon as the cake appeared, she finished her vegetables. It contains two clauses: “As soon as the cake appeared” and “she finished her vegetables.” We discuss which is which below.

What is an Independent Clause?

You know a clause is independent if it could stand on its own as a sentence. Recall our example. “She finished her vegetables” is an independent clause because it expresses a full and grammatically correct thought.

• “She” is the subject, “finished” is the verb, and “vegetables” is the object, as it explains what she finished.
• The clause doesn’t require additional context to comprehend its meaning. You do not need “as soon as the cake appeared” to understand what “She finished her vegetables” means.

See if you can identify the independent clause in the following examples:

• He ran outside without putting his shoes on.
• The rain started before I made it home.
• She didn’t like to walk after the sun had set.

The following are independent clauses: “He ran outside”; “The rain started”; and “She didn’t like to walk.” These could all be read as sentences in their own right.

What is a Dependent Clause?

A dependent clause is a bit trickier than an independent clause. It also contains a subject and a predicate, but, unlike an independent clause, it cannot stand alone as a sentence. (At least, not without some serious confusion.) It’s called a dependent clause because it depends on the independent clause to function. It further describes what’s happening within the independent clause.

“As soon as the cake appeared” is a dependent clause because it is not a complete sentence on its own. If someone were to tell you, “as soon as the cake appeared,” you’d probably have a few questions. Who’s eating the cake? What were they doing before it appeared?

Independent Clause Examples/Dependent Clause Examples (Continued)

See if you can identify the dependent clauses in the following examples:

• He pet his favorite dog until the school bell rang.
• I bought my tickets when the theater opened.
• She ran by the lake that the town had drained.

The following are dependent clauses: “until the school bell rang,” “when the theater opened,” “that the town had drained.” None of these are complete phrases on their own. They all provide further context for what’s happening within the independent clause.

What Types of Dependent Clauses are There?

You’ll encounter of dependent claues. Like the examples above, they all work to further contextualize what’s occurring in the independent clause.

• Adverbial: An adverbial dependent clause describes the verb in the independent clause—it acts like an adverb, thus the name. An adverbial clause can answer four different questions: why, when, how or where.
  • In our original example, as soon as the cake appeared is an adverbial clause because it describes when she finished her vegetables.

• Relative: A relative dependent clause gives the reader more information about the independent clause—it acts like an adjective. These types of clauses are signaled by the pronouns that, which, who, whom, or whose.
  • For example: I met a woman on the train who only wears cashmere.
  • The independent clause is “I met a woman on the train.”
  • The dependent clause is “who only wears cashmere,” further describing the woman.

What is an Independent/Dependent Clause? With Examples (Continued)

• Nominal: These dependent clauses are the most complicated of the bunch. A nominal clause replaces the noun in a sentence. Luckily, there’s an easy trick to check if a clause is nominal. Replace the clause with “it” and see if it still makes sense. If it does, you’ve identified a nominal clause.
  • For example: She knew which email to send before the day ended.
  • The independent clause is “She knew.”
  • The dependent clause is “which email to send before the day ended.” If you replace the clause with “it”, the sentence still makes sense: “She knew it.”

What is the Most Common Type of Dependent Clause?

You’re most likely to run into adverbial clauses. These are typically signaled by , which link an independent clause to a dependent clause. Some common examples of subordinating conjunctions are “after”, “unless”, “although”, “in order that”,  and “until.”

Here are some examples of adverbial clauses:

• Although I was tired, I finished the race.
  • “I finished the race” is the independent clause, while “Although I was tired” is the adverbial dependent clause. “Although” is the subordinating conjunction.
• She didn’t click send until she corrected all the mistakes.
  • “She didn’t click send” is the independent clause, while “until she corrected all the mistakes” is the adverbial dependent clause. “Until” is the subordinating conjunction.
• He folded his clothes after they had dried.
  • “He folded his clothes” is the independent clause while “after they had dried” is the adverbial dependent clause. “After” is the subordinating conjunction.

How do Independent and Dependent Clauses Create Strong Sentences?

Combining independent and dependent clauses allows us to convey richer information in our sentences. The independent clause establishes the main action of the sentence, and the dependent clause adds depth or context to what’s occurring.

Here are some more examples:

• I bought a book after finishing my errands.
  • The independent clause is “I bought a book” and the dependent clause is “after finishing my errands.”
  • The dependent clause describes when “I bought a book.”
• She showed up to the party wearing a red dress.
  • The independent clause is “She showed up to the party” and the dependent clause is “wearing a red dress.”
  • The dependent clause describes what she was wearing as “She showed up to the party.”
• My sister doesn’t like swimming after it’s rained.
  • The independent clause is “My sister doesn’t like swimming” and the dependent clause is “it’s rained.”
  • The dependent clause describes why “My sister doesn’t like swimming.”

How to Avoid Mistakes When using Independent and Dependent Clauses

It’s easy to when using independent and dependent clauses. You can avoid these errors if you know what to look for. Here are some specific scenarios that often trip up writers.

• A run-on sentence occurs when two or more independent clauses are joined together without the necessary punctuation.
  • Example: They ran to the river it was frozen over.
  • This lacks the punctuation to make grammatical sense.
  • You could correct this in multiple ways. Some correct options include: “They ran to the river; it was frozen over”,  “They ran to the river. It was frozen over”, and “They ran to the river and found it frozen over.”

Independent Clause Examples/Dependent Clause Examples (Continued)

• A comma splice is a type of run-on sentence that occurs when a comma links two independent clauses. Because independent phrases are complete sentences, they need to be linked by a semi-colon. You can also turn the two independent clauses into separate sentences.
  • Example: He enjoyed eating ice cream, it was his favorite dessert.
  • You could correct this to “He enjoyed eating ice cream; it was his favorite dessert” or “He enjoyed eating ice cream. It was his favorite dessert.”

• A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence. These consist solely of dependent clauses, and as we learned above, dependent clauses cannot stand on their own.
  • Example: Before they left for the park.
  • To correct the sentence fragment, you must add further information. One way to do this is through the addition of an independent clause, such as in this example: “Before they left for the park, the boys put on their jackets.”

Using Independent and Dependent Clauses in Simple, Compound, and Complex Sentences

Three of the most common types of sentences are simple, compound, and complex. You can use your knowledge of independent and dependent clauses to use them correctly in your writing.

• A simple sentence consists of solely an independent clause. (Remember that if we were to write a sentence with only a dependent clause, it would be a grammatically-incorrect fragment.)
  • Example: I finished my book yesterday.
  • Example: He enjoys painting landscapes.
  • Example: She plays piano on the weekends.
• A compound sentence consists of two independent clauses joined together.
  • Example: Abby likes to garden; her favorite flowers to plant are roses.
    • First IC: “Abby likes to garden.”
    • Second IC: “Her favorite flowers to plant are roses.”
  • Example: William is a fan of mayonnaise, but Robert prefers ranch.
    • First IC: “William is a fan of mayonnaise.”
    • Second IC: “Robert prefers ranch.”
  • Example: Jewel loves mysteries, while Olivia prefers comedies.
    • First IC: “Jewel loves mysteries.”
    • Second IC: “Olivia prefers comedies.”

Independent Clause Examples/Dependent Clause Examples (Continued)

• A complex sentence consists of an independent clause joined to a dependent clause. These often contain the subordinating conjunctions that we discussed above.
  • Example: She only practices yoga early in the morning, because she takes classes after work.
    • IC: “She only practices yoga early in the morning.”
    • DC: “because she takes classes after work.”
  • Example: Once he completes his homework, Tom will meet up with his friends.
    • IC: “Tom will meet up with his friends.”
    • DC: “Once he completes his homework.”
  • Example: Opal cannot play soccer until her foot heals.
    • IC: “Opal cannot play soccer.”
    • DC: “until her foot heals.”

Independent Clause Examples/Dependent Clause Examples – Additional Resources

• Active vs. Passive Voice
• 20 ACT Grammar Rules
• 20 SAT Grammar Rules
• SAT & ACT Punctuation Rules
• 101 Common Phrasal Verb List 
• 40 Most Commonly Confused Words
• 400 Glorious Adjectives to Describe a Person
• 50 Common Prepositions You Need to Know