Lessons to Develop a Writer's Toolkit:
Independent Clauses

Dr. Stuart Blythe
Department of English & Linguistics
Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne

 

In this first lesson, we review the independent clause, a basic building block of written language. Admittedly, a lesson on independent clauses may be extremely simple, but I ask for your patience because a reminder of basic concepts will prove valuable when we get to the more important lessons on concision and cohesion.

This lesson, along with the lessons on dependent clauses and phrases, prepares you for the lessons to follow. After completing this lesson, you should be able to do the following:

  • Differentiate between subjects and predicates in independent clauses
  • Differentiate between linking verbs and transitive verbs
  • Explain why writers should honor the basic subject + predicate pattern in most of their sentences

About Independent Clauses

We can discuss independent clauses by focusing on their construction. An independent clause consists of a subject and a predicate. A subject is essentially the topic of the clause, and a predicate says something about the topic. Consider these examples (with predicates underlined):

The assistant weighed the samples.
Our supervisor submitted the proposal.
The computer has two parallel ports.
Phyllis is one of our best engineers.

In each case, we have a subject (the assistant, our supervisor, the computer, Phyllis), and in each case we say something about the subject (what they did, or what they're like). Thus, each of the four examples above is an independent clause containing a subject and a predicate.

Clauses and Verbs

Although it is possible to distinguish between many types of independent clauses, I only want to focus on three types: clauses with transitive verbs, with intransitive verbs, and with linking verbs. Clauses with transitive verbs usually tell us that something happened, is happening, or will happen. For example:

The assistant weighed the samples.
Our supervisor submitted the proposal.
Susan and I left the meeting at 10:00 a.m.
Gil will request funds for six more computers.

Each of the four clauses above tells us about some event. Each of the clauses contains a transitive verb (weighed, submitted, left, requested) plus at least a direct object (the samples, the proposal, the meeting, funds). The last two examples also have other information (at 10:00 a.m., six more computers).

Clauses with intransitive verbs also tell a story, but they simply have a subject and verb. They lack direct objects. For example:

The crowd laughed.
Bill smiled.

Notice that intransitive verbs need not be followed by anything. The clause simply ends with the verb. Transitive verbs, on the other hand, must be followed by a direct object. (You wouldn't write "Gil will request.") For the purpose of these lessons, you need not memorize direct objects, etc. Simply realize that many independent clauses tell a simple story about a subject and what that subject did or will do.

Whereas clauses with transitive or intransitive verbs tell a simple story, clauses with linking verbs tell us that a subject is like something else, or has some characteristics, or is a member of some category. For example:

The computer has two parallel ports.
Phyllis is one of our best engineers.
Your resume looks like a winner.
John will be our new supervisor in May.

In the cases above, each clause tells us that something (or someone) fits a certain category (i.e., a winning resume, a new supervisor) or has certain characteristics (i.e., good engineering skills, two parallel ports).

Common linking verbs include is, am, are, was, were, look, become, seem.

By differentiating between types of verbs in independent clauses, I don't mean to overly complicate this lesson. Rather, I hope ealize that most constructions that contain a subject and predicate are independent clauses. (Some may be dependent clauses, which we'll cover in the next lesson.) Also realize that clauses can serve slightly different functions--that is, to report what happened or will happen, or to claim that a subject has certain qualities or belongs to a certain category.

Remember that Language is Modular

So far, I have shown you simple examples of independent clauses. How do we build more complex sentences using the basic subject + predicate structure? As I mentioned in the introduction to these lessons, language is modular. Language contains "units" such as words, phrases, and clauses. You put those units together to create meaning.

Because language is modular, writers create elaborate clauses by building on the basic subject + predicate pattern, which means that subjects and predicates can be simple or complex. (For more on simple, complex, and other types of sentences, see the lesson on Sentence Types.) The main difference, for our purposes, is the number of modifiers and other elements that get added to a basic clause. Consider:

Simple subject:  The assistant
Simple predicate:  weighed the samples
Clause: The assistant weighed the samples.

Complex subject:  The poorly trained assistant
Complex predicate:  weighed eight of the twelve soil samples incorrectly.
Clause: The poorly trained assistant weighed eight of the twelve soil samples incorrectly.

As the example illustrates, writers create more elaborate sentences by adding modifiers (such as "poorly trained") and phrases (such as the prepositional phrase "of the twelve"). Writers also combine clauses, which you'll learn in the lesson on dependent clauses.

Independent Clauses and Unclear Prose

Poorly written independent clauses present difficulties for readers and writers. The main problem occurs when a writer introduces too many modifying elements into a clause, thereby separating the simple subject from the simple predicate (especially the main verb). Consider:

The poorly trained assistant, who nevertheless went through a crash course in handling samples last year when we first hired him after he had applied to us twice before but was rejected because of poor references, weighed, not surprisingly, eight of the twelve soil samples incorrectly.

In that admittedly extreme example, the simple subject ("assistant") is separated from its main verb ("weighed") by two dependent clauses. By the time a reader has reached the main verb, she has to remind herself of the subject. The following version is easier for most readers to comprehend:

The poorly trained assistant weighed eight of the twelve soil samples incorrectly, which is no surprise because he went through a crash course in handling samples last year when we first hired him, and we only hired him after he had applied twice before.

Notice that a sentence need not be short and simple to be readable. Rather, the integrity of a clause should be maintained by keeping the subject and predicate within close proximity.

Exercises

The following exercises are designed to help you identify subjects and predicates and to create your own independent clauses, fully aware of their structure.

  1. In the next three sentences, underline the predicate. (Or, if you are sending an exercise to me via e-mail, enclose the predicate in brackets. See the examples below.)

    • The president of the Sierra Club criticized the latest EPA groundwater standards.
    • This new processor will more than double the speed of our mainframe.
    • The client has asked us to use VendCorp as our main supplier for this project.

  2. Create four of your own independent clauses. Two should have transitive verbs, and two should have linking verbs. Underline the predicate in each clause. (Or, if you are sending an exercise to me via e-mail, enclose the predicate in brackets.)

Examples:

  • The inspector [uses a dye to reveal imperfections in the metal].
  • The assistant [weighed the soil samples].
  • Phyllis [is our best engineer].

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last updated: 2004.02.13
originally created: 2000.12.20
© Stuart Blythe | blythes@ipfw.edu