The Building Blocks of an Independent Sentence

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Topic 1: Independent Clauses

Independent clauses are a necessary part of any proper sentence. These clauses should contain a subject and a verb. Sometimes a verb will require an object as well.

Subjects

Who and what the sentence is about. It is usually a noun or a pronoun.

Noun: a person, place, thing, or idea.
Pronoun: Substitutes for nouns – he, she, it, I, you.

Verbs and Objects

Verb: What the subject of the sentence does or is. This can be an action verb or non-action verb.
- Action verbs: Jump, shout, run, dance.
- Non-action verbs: am, is, are, was, were. Has, have.
Object: A person or thing affected by the action of the verb. Or, for the non-action verbs, it gives more information about the subject.

Using this chart can help us make sure our sentence is an independent clause:

Notice that the subject or object part of the sentence can have more than one word.

Subject

Verb

Object

I

John

My new dog

A good business strategy

My friend Jessica

bought

is

doesn’t want

is

has

textbooks.

the one who told me about the job.

a bath.

extremely important.

a delicious bagel sandwich.

Your Turn: Test Your Understanding

Think you’ve got a good grasp on what makes an independent clause? Test yourself!

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