what's a dependent clause?

Answer 1

A dependent clause is a clause in a sentence that depends on the main clause of the sentence or on another dependent clause. A clause contains a subject and a predicate, and that goes also for dependent clauses.

An example of dependent clauses are relative clauses.

By the way, dependent clauses are also known as "subordinate clauses", because they're subordinate to the main clause or to another subordinate clause.

Example of a sentence with a dependent clause:

"Skyesweetnam_09, who has a strange nickname, just asked a question on Yahoo! Answers."

In this sentence, "who has a strange nickname" is the dependent clause, and that dependent clause is embedded in the main clause, which is "Skyesweetnam_09 [...] just asked a question on Yahoo! Answers." The subject of the dependent clause is "who" and the predicate is "has a strange nickname".

You see that the dependent clause can't stand alone in a sentence without the main clause. That's the easiest way to find out that the clause is dependent on another clause.

Answer 2

A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb but does not express a complete thought. A dependent clause cannot be a sentence.

Answer 3

A dependant clause is a clause in a sentance that cannot be a sentence itself. This clause is usually seperated by commas

For example: The boy, whose name was andrew, caught the red ball

"whose name is andrew" is a dependant clause because it cannot be it's own sentence

Answer 4

A clause which cannot stand alone and make sense.

Answer 5

Either that, or Santa's elf.

Answer 6

Santa's kid