Ten-Minute
Grammar
INDEPENDENT CLAUSES
OBJECTIVES:
1. Students should understand that…
a. An independent clause contains a subject and a predicate and can stand alone as a
complete thought.
b. A complete sentence must contain at least one independent clause.
2. Students should be able to…
a. Identify independent clauses and distinguish them from fragments or dependent clauses.
b. Write examples of independent clauses.
LITERATURE:
This unit contains example selections from the novel Number
the Stars by Lois Lowry.
Ten-Minute
Grammar
DAY
One
Independent Clauses
Decide whether each example below is an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE (answer YES or NO):
1. The little purple fairy.
2. She lived in the woods with all her fairy friends.
3. Her name was Violet.
4. Named after her great grandmother, the ugliest fairy in the forest.
5. Whenever someone calls Violet ugly.
6. Violet gets really mad, knocks the person out, and feeds him or her to
the nearest tree troll.
7. She has anger issues.
8. According to her fairy psychiatrist.
Wordplay – Just for fun!
 ANAGRAM: Rearrange the letters in the nonsense phrase below to
create new words that actually make sense.
ALL KEROSENE GLASS
(Hint: purple and gold ball players)
Ten-Minute
Grammar
DAY
Two
Independent Clauses
An INDEPENDENT CLAUSE is a group of words that can stand alone as a
sentence and must contain a SUBJECT and a PREDICATE.
Read each of the following excerpts from Number the Stars by Lois Lowry and decide if it
has a SUBJECT AND A PREDICATE (answer INDEPENDENT or NOT INDEPENDENT):
1. and now, three years later
2. King Christian was getting old
3. badly injured last year in a fall from his horse, faithful old Jubiee
4. had carried him around Copenhagen so many mornings
5. for days they thought he would die
6. and all of Denmark had mourned
Fill in the blank to complete the independent clause:
7. My new red bicycle ___________________________ .
8. ___________________________ could destroy the entire planet.
Wordplay – Just for fun!
 DESCRAMBLER: Try to sort out the five scrambled words below:
YBBA GANOY FRTADE RNIGESW LUNKFNIG
Ten-Minute
Grammar
DAY
Three
Independent Clauses
In your own words…
1. What is an independent clause?
2. Why does every sentence need to have at least one independent clause?
General Grammar Review:
3. Write an example of a past perfect verb phrase.
4. Is “to win” a gerund or an infinitive?
An INDEPENDENT CLAUSE must sound complete and must be able to stand
alone as a full sentence.
Decide whether each example below is an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE (answer YES or NO):
5. That human and monkey DNA are very similar.
6. Researchers discovered something.
7. If I get a good grade in my science class.
Wordplay – Just for fun!
 VOWEL COMBINATOR: The vowel combination “ow” can sound like the
hard “O” in “go” or the “ow” in “wow.” List as many words as you can that
contain “ow” making the hard “O” sound.
Ten-Minute
Grammar
DAY
Four
Independent Clauses
Read the following excerpt from Number the Stars by Lois Lowry and then answer the
following questions:
(a) Mama and Papa never spoke of Lise. They never opened the trunk.
(b) But Annemarie did, when she was alone in the apartment; alone,
(c) she touched Lise’s things gently, remembering her soft-spoken sister
(d) who had looked forward so to marriage and children of her own.
1. How many independent clauses does line (a) contain?
2. Is the underlined portion of line (b) an independent clause?
3. Is the underlined portion of line (c) an independent clause?
4. Is the underlined portion of line (d) an independent clause?
Using the proper proofreading marks, correct the six errors in this excerpt:
The hole world had changed. Only the fairy tales remained same. “And they
livedhappily ever after” Annemarie recited, whispering into the dark
completing the tale for her sister, who sleeped beside her.
Wordplay – Just for fun!
 CATALOGUE CREATOR: The suffix “-ment” means “act or instance of.”
How many words can you list that contain this suffix?
Ten-Minute
Grammar
QUIZ
DAY
Independent Clauses
REVIEW FOR TODAY’S QUIZ:
1. What is an independent clause?
2. What two parts does every independent clause have to have?
3. Identify which of the following are independent clauses:
a. My older brother.
b. Because he joined the army after high school.
c. He fought in Afghanistan for three years.
d. Got injured in a helicopter crash.
Extra
Ten-Minute
Grammar
DAY
Five
Independent Clauses
Decide whether each example below is an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE (answer YES or NO):
1. Which wasn’t part of the plan.
2. Grandma makes the best pasta dishes.
3. The alligator’s dangerously sharp teeth.
4. After the team practiced for three hours.
5. The package includes over one hundred different fireworks!
6. Had just started raining.
Fill in the blank to complete the independent clause:
7. The movie, which was directed by Spielberg, ______________________ .
8. _______________________ running as fast as his legs would carry him.
Wordplay – Just for fun!
 FOUR-LETTER WORDS: Take the four-letter word below and change one letter
to make a new four-letter word (keep it clean!) Then take that word and change
one letter to make a new word. Then take that word and… You get the picture.
LOAD
Extra
Ten-Minute
Grammar
DAY
Six
Independent Clauses
Read the following excerpt from Number the Stars by Lois Lowry and then answer the
following questions:
(a) The days of September passed, one after the other, much the same.
(b) Annemarie and Ellen walked to school together and home again,
(c) always taking the long way, avoiding the tall soldier and his partner.
(d) Kirsti dawdled just behind them or scampered ahead.
5. Which part of line (a) is the independent clause?
6. Who or what is the subject of the independent clause in line (b)?
7. How many independent clauses does line (c) contain?
8. Is line (d) an independent clause?
Using the proper proofreading marks, correct the six errors in this excerpt:
They’re was no fuel for now homes in Copenhagen Like the other families in
their building, the Johansen’s had opened the old chimney and installing a
little stove to use for heet when they could find coal to burn.
Wordplay – Just for fun!
 FIXER-ROOTER: How many words can you think of that have the same
prefix, suffix, or root as the multisyllabic word below?
NONDESCRIPT
(without description or unable to be described)
Extra
Ten-Minute
Grammar
DAY
Seven
Independent Clauses
Read the following excerpt from Number the Stars by Lois Lowry and then answer the
following questions:
(a) Peter leaned forward. “It is their way of tormenting.
(b) For some reason, they want to torment jewish people.
(c) It happened in the other countries. They have taken their time here—
(d) have let us relax a little. But now it seems to be starting.”
1. How many independent clauses does line (a) contain?
2. Is the underlined portion of line (b) an independent clause?
3. Is the underlined portion of line (c) an independent clause?
4. Is the underlined portion of line (d) an independent clause?
5. Where is the capitalization error in line (b)?
6. At the end of line (c), is the word “here” correct, or should it be
replaced with “hear”?
Wordplay – Just for fun!
 EIGHT BALL: Create as many words as you can using three or more of the
letters below (at least one eight-letter word is possible):
EADEDRDG
DAY
Four
DAY
Four
Independent Clauses
Independent Clauses
Name:
Name:
1.
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
4.
4.
The hole world had changed. Only the fairy
The hole world had changed. Only the fairy
tales remained same. “And they livedhappily
tales remained same. “And they livedhappily
ever after” Annemarie recited, whispering
ever after” Annemarie recited, whispering
into the dark completing the tale for her
into the dark completing the tale for her
sister, who sleeped beside her.
sister, who sleeped beside her.
District Twelve. Wear you can starve to
death in safety, I mutter. Than I glance
DAY
Independent Clauses
Four
quickly
over my shoulder. even hear, even in
DAY
Four
Independent Clauses
the middle of nowhere, you worry someone
Name:
Name:
might here you.
1.
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
4.
4.
The hole world had changed. Only the fairy
The hole world had changed. Only the fairy
tales remained same. “And they livedhappily
tales remained same. “And they livedhappily
ever after” Annemarie recited, whispering
ever after” Annemarie recited, whispering
into the dark completing the tale for her
into the dark completing the tale for her
sister, who sleeped beside her.
sister, who sleeped beside her.
DAY
Six
DAY
Six
Independent Clauses
Independent Clauses
Name:
Name:
1.
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
4.
4.
They’re was no fuel for now homes in
They’re was no fuel for now homes in
Copenhagen Like the other families in their
Copenhagen Like the other families in their
building, the Johansen’s had opened the old
building, the Johansen’s had opened the old
chimney and installing a little stove to use for
chimney and installing a little stove to use for
heet when they could find coal to burn.
heet when they could find coal to burn.
DAY
Six
DAY
Six
Independent Clauses
Independent Clauses
Name:
Name:
1.
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
4.
4.
They’re was no fuel for now homes in
They’re was no fuel for now homes in
Copenhagen Like the other families in their
Copenhagen Like the other families in their
building, the Johansen’s had opened the old
building, the Johansen’s had opened the old
chimney and installing a little stove to use for
chimney and installing a little stove to use for
heet when they could find coal to burn.
heet when they could find coal to burn.
Ten-Minute
Grammar
Extra
Practice
Independent Clauses
NAME:
PERIOD:
An INDEPENDENT CLAUSE is a group of words that can stand alone
as a sentence and must contain a SUBJECT and a PREDICATE.
In each of the following examples, underline the SUBJECT once and the PREDICATE twice (if
it has a subject and a predicate. Then decide if it is an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE or not
(answer YES or NO):
1. ______ A field of imaginary unicorns.
2. ______ Drinking a lot of water can help an athlete’s body energized.
3. ______ To drive from one side of the country to the other.
4. ______ My friend loves going to the movie theater.
5. ______ I haven’t been able to find my wallet for over a week.
6. ______ After the last day of summer break.
7. ______ Had arrived late for dinner.
8. ______ An attack of giant mutant tomatoes would be frightening.
9. ______ The monsters that hide in my closet and leave cookie crumbs on my floor.
10. ______ Walking to school instead of riding the bus.
11. ______ Paper cuts can be surprisingly painful.
12. ______ My family took a vacation to Hawaii and saw an active volcano.
13. ______ Running with scissors kills more people every year than alien attacks.
14. ______ Because of the difficulty of finding a needle in a haystack.
15. ______ Sitting too close to the TV, which can cause vision problems.
16. ______ These new headphones make my favorite band sound better than ever.
Add a SUBJECT to the following sentences to complete the INDEPENDENT CLAUSE:
17. __________________________________________ had just arrived at the amusement park.
18. __________________________________________ like pizza more than hamburgers.
19. __________________________________________ reads five different books every month.
20. __________________________________________ was dribbling the basketball when he tripped.
Add a PREDICATE to the following sentences to complete the INDEPENDENT CLAUSE:
21. Before arriving home, my family __________________________________________.
22. The man who lives at the end of the street __________________________________________.
23. However, people from North America __________________________________________.
24. The package that contains my birthday present _________________________________________.
Rewrite the following sentence fragments, adding whatever is necessary to turn them into
INDEPENDENT CLAUSES:
25. the giant, rampaging gorilla
26. has been getting in trouble a lot lately
27. watching football on a Saturday night
28. slugs, with their slimy bodies and their gross-looking antennae
29. first of all, the pictures in your photo album
30. sends thousands of texts a day
Ten-Minute
Grammar
Extra
Practice
Independent Clauses
NAME:
PERIOD:
An INDEPENDENT CLAUSE is a group of words that can stand alone
as a sentence and must contain a SUBJECT and a PREDICATE.
Read the following example sentences from Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. For each
sentence decide if the underlined portion is an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE (answer YES or NO):
1. ______ Though the October day later would be warmed by sunlight, now it was gray, chilly,
and damp.
2. ______ Though the October day later would be warmed by sunlight, now it was gray, chilly,
and damp.
3. ______ The path curved, and she could no longer look behind her and see the clearing with the
farmhouse outlined against the pale sky and the lightening meadow beyond.
4. ______ The path curved, and she could no longer look behind her and see the clearing with the
farmhouse outlined against the pale sky and the lightening meadow beyond.
5. ______ The path curved, and she could no longer look behind her and see the clearing with the
farmhouse outlined against the pale sky and the lightening meadow beyond.
Every complete sentence must contain at least one INDEPENDENT
CLAUSE, but sentences often contain more than that.
Read the following example sentences from Number the Stars by Lois Lowry and underline
the INDEPENDENT CLAUSE:
6. The officer tore the photograph in half, dropping the pieces on the floor.
7. Then he turned around, the heels of his shiny boots grinding into the pictures.
8. Without a word, the other two officers followed.
9. Annemarie relaxed the clenched fingers of her right hand, which still clutched Ellen’s necklace.
10. She looked down, seeing that she had imprinted the Star of David into her palm.
An INDEPENDENT CLAUSE must be able to stand alone as a sentence.
So even if it contains a subject and a predicate, a group of words that
can’t stand alone cannot be an independent clause.
The following examples from Number the Stars all contain a subject and a predicate, but
they cannot stand alone as a sentence. For each example, use the proper editing mark to
delete one or more words and capitalize one word to make the sentence complete:
11. That they will look for the Jewish children in the schools.
12. If they are aware that the apartment is empty.
13. Remembering how she always interrupted stories to ask questions.
14. Where wolves lived in the dangerous woods.
15. Though it seemed different in the dark.
Rewrite each of the following examples from Number the Stars, adding or deleting whatever
is necessary to turn it into an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE (if it’s already an independent clause,
just write INDEPENDENT and don’t change anything):
16. the place where the woods opened on one side and the path curved beside a meadow
17. but more dangerous, too
18. at this time of the dawn
19. other fisherman would be on the road, hurrying to their boats for the long day at sea
20. turned to the right and headed deeper into the woods
21. a wrong turn would have taken them into danger
22. Little Red Riding-Hood, with her basket of food