Identify the independent clause in the following sentence.
Before electric lighting was invented, people used candles to light their homes at night.
a. Before electric lighting was invented
b. people used
c. people used candles to light their homes at night
d. to light their homes at night
Some members of my family said it was B, and my mom said it was C. Who am I to depend on?
Mom is right again! Aren't moms always right? <g>
But, learn this for yourself. The site I posted for you has an excellent explanation and clear examples.
Thank you, Ms. Sue. Sorry for being a pain. Don't worry, I took notes about it. (:
You're very welcome, Emerson. You are not a pain. I enjoy helping you. :-)
An independent clause is one that can stand on its own as a complete sentence. You take it from there.
I buddied up with my mom on this.
Thank you! I never like clauses and stuff related to that.
To identify the independent clause in a sentence, you need to look for the part of the sentence that can stand alone as a complete sentence. An independent clause expresses a complete thought and includes both a subject and a predicate.
In the given sentence, "Before electric lighting was invented" is not a complete thought as it is a dependent clause that relies on the rest of the sentence to make sense. Similarly, "to light their homes at night" is also a dependent clause and cannot stand alone as a complete sentence.
The independent clause in the given sentence is "people used candles." It expresses a complete thought with a subject ("people") and a predicate ("used candles"). Therefore, the correct answer is option b.
However, it's worth noting that there may be different interpretations of sentence structure, so it's possible that opinions may vary. In this case, you can consult a grammar guide or a trusted teacher to clarify any doubts.
B
B
C
A
D
A
C
A
C
D
C
( credit to Whatever101 )
Learn how to identify an independent clause and depend upon yourself!
Study this site carefully.
http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/mainclause.htm
Who do you think is right?