Independent and Dependent Clauses: Understanding Noun Clauses, Adjective Clauses, and Adverb Clauses

Quick Take

I hate run-ons, I hate fragments too. Those things that irritate me. I don’t ever want to see another run-on sentence, this lesson should help. Also no more fragments.

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I recently received this letter from a former student.

I was in your class a long time ago. I knew I had some really good ideas, but I didn’t know how to communicate them correctly. I began to despair. I lost confidence in my ability to write. I nearly threw away my story about my friend Harry. That’s when you rescued me from the writer’s abyss . You taught me about independent and dependent clauses, which helped me eliminate fragments and run-ons from my writing. I am now a successful writer of fantasy novels.

Sincerely,

J.K.

I was naturally warmed by this positive letter. I don’t quite recall having a J.K. in my class. She mentioned something about pottery too. Anyhow, here’s the aforementioned lesson plan on independent and dependent clauses:

Dependent and Independent Clauses Explained

Share this information with the class:

A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb.
An independent clause expresses a complete thought and can stand by itself as a complete sentence.
A dependent clause, or subordinate clause, contains a subject and a verb but cannot stand alone as a sentence. A subordinate clause must always be combined with an independent clause.
A dependent clause begins with a subordinating conjunction (before, although, after, while, because, since, etc.)

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A Santa Clause climbs down your chimney on Christmas Eve.
Understanding different types of clauses helps eliminate fragments and run-ons.

Adverb and Adjective Clauses

Types of dependent clauses include:

Adjective Clause: these function as adjectives in a sentence. Adjective clauses answer the questions which one, what kind, how much, how many. They are introduced by a relative pronoun (who, whom, that, whose, which). They function as an adjective, are sometimes separated from the rest of the sentence with a comma, and should be placed next to the noun or pronoun they modify.

Example: Santa Clause,who grew impatient with every second, gave Blitzen thirteen whipstrokes across the face. In this example, the dependent clause beginning with who modifies Santa Clause.

Adverbial Clause: these function as adverbs in a sentence. Adverbial clauses answer the questions how, why and to what extent. They are introduced by a relative adverb (when, where, and why). They function as an adverb, and are not separated from the rest of the sentence with a comma.

Example: Investigators claim Rudolph’s red nose derives from alcohol abuse. Apparently, he knocks back whisky whenever the other reindeer play their games.

Noun Clauses

These function as nouns in a sentence, may be used anywhere in the sentence and can serve as subject, direct object, indirect object, predicate nominative, or object of the preposition. Noun clauses are usually introduced by a subordinating conjunction or relative adverb.

Example: What you invest in may determine the quality of your retirement. (subject)

Example: The wounded reindeer wondered why Santa was not so jolly this Christmas Eve. (direct object)

Example: Santa brought whoever was in his angry path fear and loathing. (indirect object)

Example_: Shark attacks are what the scuba diver did not want._ (predicate nominative)

Example_: The scuba instructor’s safety depended on how much faster he could swim than his students._(object of the preposition)

Why and How to Teach Clauses

An understanding of clauses will eliminate most sentence run-ons and fragments. That’s the good news. The bad news is there really is no “fun” way to do it. I recommend posting this information and having students take notes. Once you feel they have a solid grasp on dependent and independent clauses, teach them how to eliminate run-ons and fragments.

For a complete semester 1 curriculum guide for Freshmen English , follow the link.