Independent Clauses for intermediate learners
Independent clauses can stay alone and they are used as a whole meaningful sentence. In this lesson, we will learn about them.
What Are Independent Clauses?
As you might know, we have two types of clauses in English. Independent clauses are ones that do not need anything to be complete and can stand on their own. In this lesson, we are going to learn all about them.
Types of Independent Clauses
Independent clauses can make different kinds of sentences together. However, we are going to learn about two of them. Look at the list below:
Simple Sentences
Simple sentences consist of one independent clause and are complete on their own. Look at the following examples:
Hannah and her friend are going to the party.
I don't want to talk to people.
He is writing an article on this book.
Compound Sentences
When we connect two independent clauses together, we form a compound sentence. We mainly use coordinating conjunctions in order to do so. Note that each sentence has its own meaning. Look at the following examples:
They are going to the party
Sally is washing the dishes
Hannah will be doing her homework
Independent Clauses Formation
An independent clause consists of a subject and a verb and some words or phrases that give further explanation of the subject. The subject of the clause can be a noun, a noun phrase, or a pronoun. Look at the following examples:
Here, we have a subject, the main verb, an auxiliary verb and a prepositional phrase.
Connecting Two Independent Clauses
As it was mentioned above, we can use coordinating conjunctions to connect two independent clauses together. Look at the following list to have a quick review of them:
Now, let us examine some examples below:
She can solve her problems
The students have finally made their decision
I changed my mind ,
Warning!
Please note that coordinating conjunctions can sometimes function as subordinating conjunctions. Look at the following examples:
I really like riding a bike
Independent Clauses Vs. Sentences
All independent clauses are sentences but not all sentences are independent clauses. Some sentences may have one or more dependent clauses. Look below:
I am watching Netflix.
This is an independent clause and it is a complete sentence.
Talking to a stranger, my mom suddenly fell to the floor.
Here, we have a dependent clause followed by an independent one in the sentence.
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