dependent clause

British  

noun

1. grammar another term for subordinate clause

---

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.)

---

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

The day spoken of is identified only by the dependent clause, which is therefore restrictive.

From A Foreword to the Panama-Pacific International Exposition by James, Juliet Helena Lumbard

What is the office of the dependent clause in the next sentence?

From Graded Lessons in English An Elementary English Grammar Consisting of One Hundred Practical Lessons, Carefully Graded and Adapted to the Class-Room by Reed, Alonzo

Exercise 47 Write five sentences in which shall is used in an independent clause, and five in which shall is used in a dependent clause.

From Practical Grammar and Composition by Wood, Thomas