dependent clause

British  

noun

1. grammar another term for subordinate clause

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dependent clause Cultural  

1. A clause that does not stand alone as a sentence but depends on another clause to complete its meaning: “When I get my braces off, I will be very happy.” Dependent clauses are also known as subordinate clauses. (Compare independent clause.)

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Example Sentences

Or you can combine the shorter sentences into a complex sentence with a dependent clause, as in the second example.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

Perhaps knowing the difference between a main clause and a dependent clause doesn’t matter so much so long as you can intuit the difference.

From The Guardian • May 13, 2017

In dependent clauses which are introduced by that, expressed or understood, the auxiliary should be used which would be proper if the dependent clause were a principal clause.

From Practical Grammar and Composition by Wood, Thomas

May and or but be used to join a dependent clause to a principal clause?

From Practical Grammar and Composition by Wood, Thomas

Typically, the first unit is a simple sentence, the second almost any grammatical structure—an appositive, a prepositional phrase, a participle, the second element of a compound verb, a dependent clause.

From Fragments of Ancient Poetry by MacPherson, James