A clause is a group of words with a subject and some action. In English, we have both independent clause and dependent clause. A dependent clause is also called a subordinate clause.
An independent clause is the same as a simple sentence. A subject is existing or doing something.
Here are some simple sentences. Each one is also an independent clause.
Mom is baking a cake.
The game is postponed.
The dog barked.
A dependent clause (also called a subordinate clause) has a subject doing something just like an independent clause, but the subordinate clause cannot stand alone. Here are some subordinate clauses:
While Dad mows the lawn.
Because it is raining.
When the doorbell rang.
You can see that each of these subordinate clauses makes no sense. The clause does not finish a thought, so the reader is waiting for more information. That’s why a subordinate clause is called a dependent clause – the clause is dependent on being attached to an independent clause.
We can combine the independent clause with the subordinate clause to make a complete sentence, like this:
Mom is baking a cake while Dad mows the lawn.
The game is postponed because it is raining.
The dog barked when the doorbell rang.
A clause is a group of words that includes a subject and a verb. An independent clause can stand alone. A dependent clause must be attached to an independent clause.
▶You try it. Decide – is this clause an independent clause or a subordinate clause? After we eat dinner. Did you figure out that this clause cannot stand alone? I hope you decided that it was a dependent clause.