Last week, we started discussing the differences between a phrase, clause and a sentence. We defined a phrase as a group of words without a subject and a predicate, though standing together to form a ...

A dependent clause cannot stand alone, though they often contain both a subject and a verb. Where independent clauses express complete thoughts, dependent clauses do not, and left on their own, ...

An independent clause consists of a subject (e.g. “the dog”) and a verb (e.g. “barked”) creating a complete thought. The dog barked. A dependent clause cannot stand alone even if it contains a subject ...

For the best experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Last week’s column that discussed the use of comas, semi and full colons, and mentioned ...

It strongly suggests there was another (likely dependent) clause attached to the front of that independent clause. It could’ve been any number of things, for instance: “While the investigators turned ...

Commas are needed before coordinating conjunctions, after dependent clauses (when they precede independent clauses), and to set off appositives. The Oxford comma reduces ambiguity in lists.

An independent clause is a group of words that work by themselves as a sentence. When joining independent clauses, a common mistake is to use a comma or no punctuation. There are several solutions ...

Today’s topic is going to be a bit technical. Although it centres on three common grammatical elements, it involves some technicalities, the type we usually want to as much as possible play down in ...

Save guides, add subjects and pick up where you left off with your BBC account. An independent clause is a group of words that work by themselves as a sentence. When joining independent clauses ...