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definitions

main clause

noun Grammar.

a clause that can stand alone as a sentence, containing a subject and a predicate with a finite verb, as I was there in the sentence I was there when he arrived.

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Coordinating Between Independent and Dependent Clauses
You might have seen these terms floating around. Clauses are the building blocks of sentences. They’re groups of related words (phrases) that contain both a subject and a verb. When a clause can stand alone as a complete sentence with a clear meaning, it’s considered independent. If it only makes sense when you join it with another clause, it’s dependent (or subordinate). For example, “in …
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Supremacy Clause
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Compare subordinate clause.
Also called in·de·pend·ent clause.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for independent clause

independent clause

noun

grammar a main or coordinate clauseCompare dependent clause

main clause

noun

grammar a clause that can stand alone as a sentenceCompare subordinate clause
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Culture definitions for independent clause

independent clause

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.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.