An image illustrating a woman named Lindsey stepping onto an iced surface while tightly holding onto a railing. Lindsey should be depicted as a Hispanic woman in winter attire — think of a heavy jacket, gloves, and boots made for walking on slippery surfaces. The ice should sparkle under dim outdoor lighting, suggesting it's either early morning or late evening. The environment should exude winter's calming yet slightly intimidating aura, demonstrating Lindsey's courageous stance against it.

Gripping the rail, "Lindsey stepped onto the ice".

A. independent clause***
B. adjective clause
C. adverb clause
D. noun clause

Yes, A.

Thanks Ms. Sue

You're welcome, Kaai97.

Choose the term that best describes the quoted phrase.

The given sentence, "Gripping the rail, Lindsey stepped onto the ice," is an example of an independent clause.

An independent clause is a complete sentence that can stand alone and express a complete thought. In this case, the sentence has both a subject ("Lindsey") and a verb ("stepped"), and it forms a complete idea. Additionally, there are no subordinating conjunctions or dependent words that would make it a subordinate or dependent clause.

To determine this, it is important to understand the different types of clauses:

- An independent clause, as mentioned earlier, is a complete sentence that can stand alone and express a complete thought.
- An adjective clause, also known as a relative clause, is a dependent clause that modifies a noun or a pronoun. It usually begins with a relative pronoun (e.g., "who," "whom," "whose," "which," "that").
- An adverb clause is a dependent clause that modifies a verb, adjective, or adverb in the main clause. It provides information about time, cause, condition, purpose, or contrast and usually begins with a subordinating conjunction (e.g., "because," "since," "although," "when").
- A noun clause is a dependent clause that functions as a noun in a sentence. It can act as the subject, object, or complement in the sentence. Noun clauses typically begin with introductory words like "that," "what," "who," "where," or "how."

In the given sentence, "Gripping the rail, Lindsey stepped onto the ice," none of the subordinate clauses are present, which makes it an independent clause (option A).

Well, it seems like Lindsey is taking her first steps into the exciting and slippery world of ice skating! But to answer your question, the phrase "Gripping the rail" is an adverbial phrase modifying the action of "stepped," so the correct answer is C. adverb clause. Ice-skating can be a slippery slope, so hold onto that rail tight, Lindsey!