Independent Clause
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Some Real-Life Examples of Dependent and Independent Clauses
- The secret of lifeis honesty . If youcan fake that, you've got it made . (Groucho Marx)
- If youhave heard this story before, don't stop me , because I'd like to hear it again. (Groucho Marx) (Notice there is no subject in the independent clause. "Don't stop me" is an order (i.e., an imperative sentence), and the subject "you" is implied. We'll discuss the comma before "because" later.)
- Go, and never darken my towels again. (Groucho Marx) (These are both imperatives. The subject "you" is implied in both.)
- Outside of a dog, a bookis a man's best friend . Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read . (Groucho Marx)
The Link between an Independent Clause and a Dependent Clauses
- If Iheld you any closer, Iwould be on the other side of you . (Groucho Marx) (The dependent clause is linked to the independent one with the subordinating conjunction "if.")
- Wivesare people "who" feel they don't dance enough. (Groucho Marx) (The dependent clause is linked to the independent one with the relative pronoun "who.")
- Whoever named it neckingwas a poor judge of anatomy . (Groucho Marx) (According to the yes-camp, "whoever named it necking" is a dependent clause despite being the subject of the independent clause.)
| Type | Example |
|---|
| Adjective Clause | I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member. (Groucho Marx)
(The dependent clause "that would have me as a member" describes the club. It's an adjective clause.) |
| Adverbial Clause | I find television very educating . When it's on, I go into the other room and read a book. (Groucho Marx)
(The dependent clause "When it's on" modifies the verb "go." It is an adverbial clause.) |
| Noun Clause | A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere . (Groucho Marx)
(According to the yes-camp, "that the animal is going somewhere" is a dependent clause despite being part of the independent clause.) |
The Types of Sentence Structure. The number of independent clauses and dependent clauses in a sentence determines the sentence-structure type. There are four.
| Type | Structure | Example |
|---|
| Simple Sentence | One independent only | Humour is reason gone mad . (Groucho Marx) |
| Complex Sentence | One independent and at least dependent | No man goes before his time , unless the boss leaves early. (Groucho Marx) |
| Compound Sentence | two independents | I have had a perfectly wonderful evening , but this wasn't it . (Groucho Marx) |
| Compound-Complex Sentence | At least two independents and at least one dependent | Those are my principles , and if you don't like them, I have others . (Groucho Marx) |
Why Independent Clauses Are Important
There's only one reason to care about independent and dependent clauses: comma placement.
There are three, well, four at a push, noteworthy points linked to comma placement.
(Point 1) Use a comma before an "and" that links two independent clauses.
If your "and" links two independent clauses, precede it with a comma. This rule does not apply only to "and." It applies to any coordinating conjunction (e.g., "but," "or"). Put another way, the rule is "use a comma before a conjunction that joins the independent clauses in a compound sentence."
- Yesterdayis dead , and tomorrowhasn't arrived yet . Ihave just today , and I'm going to be happy in it . (Groucho Marx) (This quotation has two compound sentences. In each one, there are two independent clauses linked by "and" with a comma.)
- I never forget a face , but in your case Iwill be glad to make an exception . (Groucho Marx) (Remember that it's all coordinating conjunctions not just "and.")
- Ihave a mind to join a club and beat you over the head with it . (Groucho Marx) (There is no comma before the "and" because "beat you over the head with it" is not an independent clause. This is a simple sentence, i.e., it's one independent clause with one subject.)
- In Hollywood, brideskeep the bouquets and throw away the groom . (Groucho Marx) (There is no comma before the "and" because "throw away the groom" is not an independent clause.)
(Point 2) Use commas with nonessential dependent clauses that start with "who" or "which" (or any relative pronoun for that matter).
If a dependent clause functioning as an adjective is essential to specify its noun, it's not offset with commas. (NB: In these examples, the dependent clauses are shaded.)
- My sister wholives in London was arrested. (Here, the clause is essential to identify "my sister." From this, readers would infer that I have more than one sister.)
- My sister, wholives in London , was arrested. (Here, the clause is nonessential. It does not specify "my sister." From this, without more context, readers would infer that I have one sister. The clause is just additional information. It could be deleted without disrupting the readers' understanding of "my sister.")
- The first thing which Ican record concerning myself is that I was born. This life, which neither time nor eternitycan bring diminution to , began. My mind loses itself in these depths. (Groucho Marx) (Here, the first dependent clause is essential to specify "thing." The second clause is nonessential. It does not specify "life." It is just additional information. Therefore, it is nonessential and offset with commas. The nonessential clause could have been offset with brackets instead of commas or even deleted, and that's a good test of whether a clause is essential or nonessential.)
- Anyone whosays he can see through women is missing a lot. (Groucho Marx) (Here, the clause is essential to specify "anyone.")
When used to head an adjective dependent clause, "which" and "who" are relative pronouns. Such clauses are often called "relative clauses."
Remember that this rule does not apply only to "who" and "which." It applies to any relative pronoun (e.g., "whose," "why"). Read more about relative pronouns.
(Point 3) Use a comma after an adverbial dependent clause that sits before the independent clause. Don't use a comma before the clause if it follows the independent clause.
Using a comma after a fronted adverbial dependent clause is such a common style, it's becoming increasingly safe to call it a rule. The purpose of the comma is to aid reading. It shows your readers where the clause ends. Omitting a comma isn't a hideous crime (and lots of writers do it, even prefer it), but omitting the comma can cause your readers to stumble as they try to find the end of the dependent clause.
Can you read these without stumbling?
- When the witch cooked her cat lurked by her feet.
- While cleaning the water can steam.
Here are some examples with commas. (NB: In these examples, the independent clauses are shaded.)
- If itis meant to be, itwill be .
- Whenever Isee you next, remind me not to talk to you . (Groucho Marx)
- Before Ispeak, Ihave something important to say . (Groucho Marx) (As the adverbial dependent clauses are at the front, they are offset with commas.)
With the clause at the back, there's no comma.
- Itwill be if itis meant to be.
- Remind me not to talk to you whenever Isee you next.
- Ihave something important to say before Ispeak.
(Point 4) There's more to Point 3.
Let's complicate the issue a bit. The rule that states "do not use a comma when the adverbial clause follows the independent clause" is not really the rule. In fact, the rule for post-positioned adverbial clauses is the same as for post-positioned adjective clauses (see Point 2). In other words, use a comma if the adverbial clause is nonessential. The problem is that it's way more difficult to decide whether an adverbial clause is essential or nonessential than it is with an adjective clause. As the vast majority of adverbial clauses are essential, it's pretty safe, but not entirely safe, to declare that a post-positioned adverbial clause isn't preceded by a comma.
- Jack didn't win because he was the best player. He won because he paid the referee. (In this example, Jack actually won. The dependent clause "because he was the best player" is deemed essential to distinguish it from the situation below.)
- Jack didn't win, because he was the worst player. (In this example, Jack lost, as you'd expect the worst player to.)
- Jack didn't win because he was rich. (Now we're unsure whether Jack won. The absence of a comma tells us he did win, but, really, who'd read this sentence and deduce that Jack won?)
- He died as you'd expect a young officer to. (He died with honour.)
- He died, as you'd expect a young officer to. (This could mean he died because he was useless or because it was statistically likely.)
Key Points
- An "and" linking two independent clauses is preceded by a comma, and this applies to "but" and "or" too.
- If you'd happily put your relative clause, which will usually start with "which" or "who", in brackets or delete it, then it's nonessential and should be offset with commas.
- If your adverbial clause is at the front, offset it with a comma. Don't use a comma if it's at the back.
This page was written by Craig Shrives.
