Independent and Subordinate Clauses:

1. Independent and Subordinate Clauses:

2. The Independent Clause: An Independent (or main) clause expresses a complete thought and can stand by Itself as a sentence. Each Independent Clause has its own subject and verb and expresses a complete thought.

3. The Subordinate Clause: A subordinate (or dependent) clause DOES NOT express a complete thought and cannot stand alone as a sentence, but does contain a subject and a verb. Words such as whom, because, what, if, and until signal that the clauses following them are subordinate. We will call these words “Signal Words” because they signal an incomplete thought.

4. List of Common Signal Words: • Who • whoever • Whom • Whomever • What • Whatever • Whose • Which • That • after • Although • As • As if • As long as • As soon as • Because • Before • Even though • If • In order that

5. List of Common Signal Words (cont.): • Once • Since • So that • Than • Though • Unless • Until • When • Whenever • Where • wherever • Whether • While

6. Which is a Clause and Which is a Phrase? Before the moon Before I run After we eat After the play ??????????????????????????????????????????

7. Identify the highlighted clauses as Independent or Subordinate: Baseball is a game that depends heavily on good eyesight. For this reason, until recently, playing the great American game has been something that people with visual impairments could not hope to do. At least, this was true until an engineer named Charley Fairbanks invented beep baseball.

8. Independent or Subordinate? (cont.): 4. In this version of baseball, the ball beeps and the bases buzz so that visually impaired players can tell when to swing and where to run. 5. Each team has a sighted pitcher and a sighted catcher, who never get a turn at bat, and six visually impaired fielders who wear blindfolds so that all players are equally impaired.

9. Independent or Subordinate? (cont.) 6. The pitcher shouts “Ready!” before the ball is pitched and “Pitch!” when the ball is released. 7. When the bat strikes the ball, the umpire activates the buzzer in one of the two bases, which the batter must then run to. 8. When a team is on defense, the pitcher and catcher cannot field the batted ball themselves; they can only shout directions to help the fielders.

10. Independent or Subordinate? (cont.) 9. Beep baseball is fun to play, and its challenges create a bond between sighted and visually impaired players. 10. Sighted persons who put on blindfolds and join in come away from a game with a new respect for the abilities of their teammates.