Dependent and Independent Clauses | Worksheet - Free Printable

To solve this problem, we need to identify the dependent clause and the independent clause in each sentence.

Here is a quick reminder of the rules:
* Independent Clause: A complete thought that can stand alone as a sentence. It has a subject and a verb.
* Dependent Clause: An incomplete thought that cannot stand alone. It usually starts with a "subordinating conjunction" (words like *although, because, when, if, since, while*).

Strategy:
1. Find the word that makes the clause dependent (the subordinating conjunction).
2. The part of the sentence starting with that word (and ending before the main action) is the Dependent Clause.
3. The rest of the sentence that makes sense on its own is the Independent Clause.

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Step-by-Step Solution

1. Sentence: *Mandy was resting on the couch while she watched the latest episode of her favorite show.*
* Clue word: "while"
* Dependent Clause: *while she watched the latest episode of her favorite show* (This doesn't make sense alone; it leaves you waiting for more info).
* Independent Clause: *Mandy was resting on the couch* (This is a complete sentence).

2. Sentence: *Physical exercise and social entertainment are activities that people have used as stress reducers for over a century.*
* Clue word: "that"
* Dependent Clause: *that people have used as stress reducers for over a century* (Describes the activities).
* Independent Clause: *Physical exercise and social entertainment are activities* (This is the main statement).

3. Sentence: *Although the piano player is not well known, he was able to play at the park this Saturday evening.*
* Clue word: "Although"
* Dependent Clause: *Although the piano player is not well known*
* Independent Clause: *he was able to play at the park this Saturday evening*

4. Sentence: *Before Chadwick Boseman began his acting career, he studied directing at Howard University.*
* Clue word: "Before"
* Dependent Clause: *Before Chadwick Boseman began his acting career*
* Independent Clause: *he studied directing at Howard University*

5. Sentence: *Since the onset of dental flosses' further than she desired, the supply will probably go down.*
*(Note: This sentence in the image seems to have a typo or strange wording "further than she desired", but we will follow the grammatical structure based on the clue word).*
* Clue word: "Since"
* Dependent Clause: *Since the onset of dental flosses' further than she desired*
* Independent Clause: *the supply will probably go down*

6. Sentence: *If I return to the store after work today, I will buy some new shoes for my husband's party.*
* Clue word: "If"
* Dependent Clause: *If I return to the store after work today*
* Independent Clause: *I will buy some new shoes for my husband's party*

7. Sentence: *When Savannah records events and reminders in her planner, she is more organized for the week ahead.*
* Clue word: "When"
* Dependent Clause: *When Savannah records events and reminders in her planner*
* Independent Clause: *she is more organized for the week ahead*

8. Sentence: *As soon as we crossed the bridge, we saw the picturesque view of the sun's rays sparkling on the water.*
* Clue word: "As soon as"
* Dependent Clause: *As soon as we crossed the bridge*
* Independent Clause: *we saw the picturesque view of the sun's rays sparkling on the water*

9. Sentence: *As players who were intrigued by the innovation rules, students arrived in the leadership training program.*
* Clue word: "who" (Relative pronoun introducing a dependent clause describing the players/students).
* Dependent Clause: *who were intrigued by the innovation rules*
* Independent Clause: *As players... students arrived in the leadership training program.*
* *Correction/Refinement:* Actually, looking closely at sentence 9, it is structured oddly. "As players..." acts as a modifier. However, standard grammar exercises usually look for the relative clause. Let's look closer. "Students arrived..." is the main action. "Who were intrigued..." describes the players. But wait, "As players who were intrigued..." is a prepositional phrase containing a relative clause.
* Let's re-read carefully: "As players who were intrigued by the innovation rules, students arrived in the leadership training program."
* The core independent clause is: *students arrived in the leadership training program*.
* The dependent part is tricky here. Usually, "who" clauses are dependent. So: *who were intrigued by the innovation rules*.
* However, sometimes these worksheets treat the whole introductory phrase as the dependent element if it sets the condition/time. But strictly speaking, "As players..." is a prepositional phrase. The only true dependent *clause* (subject+verb) inside there is "who were intrigued...".
* *Alternative interpretation:* Is "As" being used as "Because"? No, it says "As players".
* Let's look at the structure again. Maybe the sentence is: "[Subject] students [Verb] arrived...". The part "As players who were intrigued by the innovation rules" modifies the subject.
* Let's stick to the most obvious dependent clause marker: who.
* Dependent Clause: *who were intrigued by the innovation rules*
* Independent Clause: *As players, students arrived in the leadership training program.* (Or simply: *students arrived in the leadership training program*)
* *Self-Correction for Student Level:* In many middle/high school contexts, they might consider the whole introductory segment if it feels incomplete. But "who were intrigued..." is the safest grammatical answer for a dependent clause. Let's look at sentence 10 for pattern matching.

10. Sentence: *The team’s chances of making the playoffs increased dramatically when their division rivals lost five games in a row.*
* Clue word: "when"
* Dependent Clause: *when their division rivals lost five games in a row*
* Independent Clause: *The team’s chances of making the playoffs increased dramatically*

11. Sentence: *Because airline travel is expensive for a family of five, we usually cram into our family vehicle for road trips.*
* Clue word: "Because"
* Dependent Clause: *Because airline travel is expensive for a family of five*
* Independent Clause: *we usually cram into our family vehicle for road trips*

12. Sentence: *Each year, around three million people visit Mount Rainier, which is a colossal sculpture carved into granite near the Rocky Hills in South Dakota.*
*(Note: The geography in the sentence is factually wrong—Mount Rainier is in Washington, not SD—but we just care about the grammar).*
* Clue word: "which"
* Dependent Clause: *which is a colossal sculpture carved into granite near the Rocky Hills in South Dakota*
* Independent Clause: *Each year, around three million people visit Mount Rainier*

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Final Answer

Here are the identified clauses for each sentence.

1.
* Dependent Clause: while she watched the latest episode of her favorite show
* Independent Clause: Mandy was resting on the couch

2.
* Dependent Clause: that people have used as stress reducers for over a century
* Independent Clause: Physical exercise and social entertainment are activities

3.
* Dependent Clause: Although the piano player is not well known
* Independent Clause: he was able to play at the park this Saturday evening

4.
* Dependent Clause: Before Chadwick Boseman began his acting career
* Independent Clause: he studied directing at Howard University

5.
* Dependent Clause: Since the onset of dental flosses' further than she desired
* Independent Clause: the supply will probably go down

6.
* Dependent Clause: If I return to the store after work today
* Independent Clause: I will buy some new shoes for my husband's party

7.
* Dependent Clause: When Savannah records events and reminders in her planner
* Independent Clause: she is more organized for the week ahead

8.
* Dependent Clause: As soon as we crossed the bridge
* Independent Clause: we saw the picturesque view of the sun's rays sparkling on the water

9.
* Dependent Clause: who were intrigued by the innovation rules
* Independent Clause: As players, students arrived in the leadership training program

10.
* Dependent Clause: when their division rivals lost five games in a row
* Independent Clause: The team’s chances of making the playoffs increased dramatically

11.
* Dependent Clause: Because airline travel is expensive for a family of five
* Independent Clause: we usually cram into our family vehicle for road trips

12.
* Dependent Clause: which is a colossal sculpture carved into granite near the Rocky Hills in South Dakota
* Independent Clause: Each year, around three million people visit Mount Rainier