Purdue Owl has a fine study of independent and dependent clauses.
An independent clause contains a subject, a verb, and a complete thought:
Costco is a giant shopping complex.
Shoppers rush toward Costco with bellicose aggression.
A dependent clause contains a subject, a verb, but has no complete thought and begins with a dependent marker (formerly called a subordinate conjunction):
While Costco is conveniently located,
Whenever shoppers enter Costco,
You need to complete the dependent clauses with independent clauses:
While Costco is conveniently located, its hours of operation are rather limited.
Whenever shoppers enter Costco, they become mean and aggressive.
Some common dependent markers are: after, although, as, as if, because, before, even if, even though, if, in order to, since, though, unless, until, whatever, when, whenever, whether, and while.
The dependent clause can come at the beginning or end of the sentence.
If you own a BMW, you will have to pay higher car insurance.
You will have to pay higher car insurance if you own a BMW.
What’s the difference between a phrase and a dependent clause?
A phrase, like a dependent clause, is an incomplete thought and presented on the page by itself is a sentence fragment:
Unless you buy that BMW . . .
Whenever you tan in Hermosa Beach . . .
People who read lots of books . . .
People who suffer from road rage . . .
But unlike the dependent clauses above, a phrase does not have a subject and a verb:
Liking chocolate more than I should,
Tanning in Hermosa Beach for ten hours,
In Class Exercise:
Write 3 beginning with a dependent clause.
Write 3 complete sentences ending with a dependent clause
Write 3 complete sentences with a dependent clause in the middle
Write 3 complete sentences beginning with a phrase.
Write 3 complete sentences ending with a phrase.
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