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

See Examples For:

independent clause

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

The complex sentence contains one independent clause and at least one subordinate clause.

From Public Speaking by Stratton, Clarence

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