Ind. / Dep. Clauses & Sentence Types

These flashcards cover essential terms and definitions related to clauses and conjunctions, including sentence structures and common errors.

Clause

A group of words that has both a subject and a verb.

Independent Clause

A clause that can stand alone as a complete sentence.

Dependent Clause

A clause that cannot stand alone and must be connected to an independent clause.

Conjunction

A word (or words) used to join words or groups of words.

Coordinating Conjunction

A conjunction that joins words or groups of words that have the same grammatical value.

FANBOYS

A mnemonic for the seven coordinating conjunctions: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So.

Subordinating Conjunction

A conjunction that begins a dependent clause.

Compound Sentence

A sentence that contains two or more independent clauses.

Run-on

A sentence with multiple independent clauses written without punctuation.

Fragment

A sentence lacking a subject, a verb, or an independent clause.

Comma Splice

The incorrect use of a comma between two independent clauses not joined with a coordinating conjunction.

Complex Sentence

A sentence that contains at least one dependent clause and one independent clause.