by Maria V
This is a lesson for 12-14 year olds, or middle-school students, about how to differentiate between two types of clauses: dependent and independent. As kids grow in their writing and their writing becomes more complex, it is important for them to know the difference between these two clauses so they become better writers and communicators.
Students in middle school (and beyond) begin to add more complex parts to their sentences within their writing. As they do this, it can become tricky to know when to add a comma, how to vary their sentences, or when a sentence is a complete sentence. By learning the difference between dependent and independent clauses, they will improve their writing.
Though it sounds difficult, it is much easier than you may think.
We must first define the word clause and then simply think about the meanings of the words dependent and independent.
First, let’s define CLAUSE:
A clause is a group of words in a sentence and it contains a subject and verb. Clauses actually work as a part of speech because they can work as an adverb, an adjective, or a noun.
There are four types of clauses, but we are going to review only two of them today.
1. DEPENDENT CLAUSES:
A dependent clause has a subject and a verb but CANNOT stand on its own as a complete thought or sentence.
Examples:
(If you are unsure about how to tell if a sentence is a complete sentence or not, see the lesson COMPLETE SENTENCES vs. FRAGMENTS.)
2. INDEPENDENT CLAUSES:
An independent clause has a subject and a verb and IT CAN stand on its own as a complete thought or sentence.
Examples:
So, how do you remember which one is which?
Think about it this way:
When a person is DEPENDENT, he or she needs someone else to help them.
--> The baby here is the dependent person.
Though you are not a baby, you ARE dependent on your family for food, shelter, clothing, etc. You cannot stand alone (yet).
(Side note:) Additionally, when a sentence BEGINS with a dependent clause, it needs to hold the hand of the rest of the sentence, so it needs a comma. Pretend the comma is a hand. The dependent clause needs to hold the independent clause’s hand to be able to have a complete sentence just like little kids who need to hold their parent’s hand when they are crossing the street.
When a person is INDEPENDENT, he or she does not need someone else to support them so they can stand on their own. When you move out of your family’s house and pay your own rent and have your own job, you are INDEPENDENT.
--> This artist is on his own and is independent.
Therefore, if we can remember that being dependent means to rely on something else (like the rest of the sentence in our examples above) and being independent means not needing to rely on something else (like the stand alone sentences above), then you have figured out the difference between the two clauses.
PRACTICE
Directions: Look at the underlined part of the sentence. If it is a dependent clause, write DC on the line provided. If it is an independent clause, write IC on the line provided.
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