independent clause

British  

noun

1. grammar a main or coordinate clause Compare dependent clause

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independent clause Cultural  

1. A clause that can stand alone as a sentence. The following sentence consists of two independent clauses joined by but: “The farmers complained of the low price of food, but the office workers did not complain.” (Compare dependent clause.)

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Example Sentences

Le Guin could do more in an independent clause than many authors could do in a whole chapter.

From Slate • Jan. 24, 2018

Capitalize what follows the colon if it’s an independent clause, as here.

From New York Times • Feb. 24, 2015

Also, our style calls for capitalizing the first letter of the independent clause that follows the colon: “About 178,000 …”

From New York Times • Jul. 22, 2014

And or but should not be used to join a dependent clause to an independent clause; as, It was a new valise and differing much from his old one.

From Practical Grammar and Composition by Wood, Thomas

Sentence form—putting into an independent clause what is most important—has already been discussed under clearness.

From News Writing The Gathering , Handling and Writing of News Stories by Spencer, M. Lyle (Matthew Lyle)