An independent clause (or main clause, or coordinate clause) can stand by itself as a grammatically viable simple sentence. Independent clauses express a complete thought and contain a subject and a predicate. Multiple independent clauses can be joined; see Strunk and White for details.

Examples

• I am a bus driver. (simple sentence)
• I drive a bus. (simple sentence)
• I am a bus driver, and my wife is a lawyer. (compound sentence made up of two independent clauses: I am a bus driver and my wife is a lawyer)
• I want to be an astronaut, but I need to receive my Astronaut Badge. (compound sentence made up of two independent clauses: I want to be an astronaut and I need to receive my Astronaut Badge)
• Go to the store, and get me a copy of Planetside. (compound sentence) (Though a subject is not visible, in English the subject of an imperative is considered to be the pronoun 'you')

See also

• sentence
• clause
• dependent clause
• simple sentence
• compound sentence
• run-on sentence
• comma splice

References

External links

• The Tongue Untied: Independent Clause
• Owl Online Writing Lab: Independent and Dependent Clauses

Syntax | Grammar | Parts of speech