Dependent and Independent Clauses
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Summary
Dependent and independent clauses are essential ACT English concepts because they determine whether a group of words is a complete sentence, a fragment, or part of a run-on. Mastering clause structure helps you identify complete thoughts, spot dependent marker words, and choose correct punctuation on common ACT sentence-combination questions.
- An independent clause contains a subject and a verb, expresses a complete thought, and can stand alone as a sentence.
- A dependent clause also contains a subject and a verb, but it does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone because a word such as who or when makes it depend on another clause.
- Words like as, because, before, after, even though, if, since, though, when, and while act as dependent markers that can turn an independent clause into a dependent clause.
- When checking sentence structure, ask whether the idea feels complete on its own; if it leaves you expecting more, it is dependent.
- On ACT English questions, punctuation depends on clause type: a semicolon can join two independent clauses, but it cannot be used before a dependent clause.
- In the Rosie the Riveter example, the clause beginning with because is dependent, so the correct choice keeps the sentence connected without adding an unnecessary comma or semicolon.
Chapters
00:00
Why Clauses Matter on ACT English
00:19
Recognizing Dependent and Independent Clauses in Examples
02:20
Definitions and the Complete Thought Test
03:26
Dependent Marker Words to Watch For
04:30
Applying Clause Rules to an ACT Question