Activity goals
- identify clause count quickly
- distinguish independent vs dependent clauses
- classify sentence type by structure
Questions
- Identify the dependent clause:
- “Because the road was blocked, we arrived late.”
- Classify:
- “The bus stopped, and passengers got down.”
- Classify:
- “When the rain stopped, they resumed play.”
- Is this a clause or phrase?
- “in the evening”
- Is this simple, compound, or complex?
- “He studied hard because he wanted to pass.”
- Underline independent clause:
- “Although she was nervous, she spoke confidently.”
- True or False:
- Every sentence has at least one clause.
- True or False:
- Every clause can stand alone as a sentence.
- Write one complex sentence using
if. - Write one compound sentence using
but.
Answer key
- “Because the road was blocked”
- Compound
- Complex
- Phrase
- Complex
- “she spoke confidently”
- True
- False
- Sample: “If you revise daily, you will improve.”
- Sample: “I wanted to go out, but I stayed home.”
Hint box
- Find finite verbs first; each clause needs one.
- Subordinators usually introduce dependent clauses.
- Coordinators (
and,but,or) often join independent clauses.