Dependent Clause
Definition:
A group of words that has both a subject and a verb but (unlike an independent clause) cannot stand alone as a sentence. Also known as a subordinate clause. Dependent clauses include adverb clauses, adjective clauses, and noun clauses.
Examples and Observations:
"A dependent clause (also called a subordinate clause) is a clause that cannot stand alone, because something about it implies that there is more to come. On its own, a dependent clause is left hanging, its meaning incomplete. It must be combined with an independent clause in order to form a complete sentence.
"One type of dependent clause is essentially an independent clause with a subordinating word tacked on. Specifically, it opens with a conjunction that indicates a dependent relationship with information elsewhere in the sentence."
(Anne Stilman, Grammatically Correct. Writer's Digest Books, 1997)
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."
(Philo)
"Never forget me, because if I thought you would, I'd never leave." (A. A. Milne)
"It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all." (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"
(Albert Einstein)
"There can be levels of complexity within complex sentences. Within a dependent clause, for instance, there can be another dependent clause. For example, in the following sentence there is a main clause . . ., a dependent clause in an adverbial relationship with the main clause (in italics), and a dependent clause [bold italics] in an adverbial relationship with the first dependent clause:
If you want to survive the elements when you go hiking, you should remember to bring along a drink, pocket knife, whistle, map, torch, compass, blanket and food. (Peter Knapp and Megan Watkins, Genre, Text, Grammar: Technologies for Teaching and Assessing Writing. University of New South Wales Press, 2005)
"Never play cards with a man called Doc. Never eat at a place called Mom's. Never sleep with a woman whose troubles are worse than your own."
(Nelson Algren)
"We learn what we have said from those who listen to our speaking."
(Kenneth Patchen)
"I still need the camera because it is the only reason anyone is talking to me."
(Annie Leibovitz)
"It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was."
(Anne Sexton)
"When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people; as I grow older, I admire kind people."
(Abraham Joshua Heschel)
"A dependent clause (also called a subordinate clause) is a clause that cannot stand alone, because something about it implies that there is more to come. On its own, a dependent clause is left hanging, its meaning incomplete. It must be combined with an independent clause in order to form a complete sentence.
"One type of dependent clause is essentially an independent clause with a subordinating word tacked on. Specifically, it opens with a conjunction that indicates a dependent relationship with information elsewhere in the sentence."
(Anne Stilman, Grammatically Correct. Writer's Digest Books, 1997)
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."
(Philo)
"Never forget me, because if I thought you would, I'd never leave." (A. A. Milne)
"It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all." (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
"If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"
(Albert Einstein)
"There can be levels of complexity within complex sentences. Within a dependent clause, for instance, there can be another dependent clause. For example, in the following sentence there is a main clause . . ., a dependent clause in an adverbial relationship with the main clause (in italics), and a dependent clause [bold italics] in an adverbial relationship with the first dependent clause:
If you want to survive the elements when you go hiking, you should remember to bring along a drink, pocket knife, whistle, map, torch, compass, blanket and food. (Peter Knapp and Megan Watkins, Genre, Text, Grammar: Technologies for Teaching and Assessing Writing. University of New South Wales Press, 2005)
"Never play cards with a man called Doc. Never eat at a place called Mom's. Never sleep with a woman whose troubles are worse than your own."
(Nelson Algren)
"We learn what we have said from those who listen to our speaking."
(Kenneth Patchen)
"I still need the camera because it is the only reason anyone is talking to me."
(Annie Leibovitz)
"It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was."
(Anne Sexton)
"When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people; as I grow older, I admire kind people."
(Abraham Joshua Heschel)