Grammar and reading terms · SAT Reading and Writing, ACT English, ACT Reading
Independent clause
Independent clause: A group of words with a subject and a verb that expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence.
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What it means
Independent clauses are the building blocks of sentences. A dependent clause also has a subject and verb but cannot stand alone because it begins with a word such as because, although, when or which.
Many punctuation rules depend on recognizing whether the words on each side of a mark are independent clauses.
Example
Independent: 'The museum opened in 1910.' Dependent: 'Because the museum opened in 1910' needs another clause to finish the thought.
On the exam
Identifying clauses is the first step in SAT Boundaries questions and ACT punctuation questions.
Lessons and practice questions
Related terms
- Comma spliceAn error in which two independent clauses are joined with only a comma.
- SemicolonA punctuation mark that joins two closely related independent clauses, or separates items in a list that already contains commas.
- Sentence fragmentA group of words punctuated as a sentence that lacks a subject, a main verb or a complete thought.