For Those Who Want To Pass the CSET Know Clauses

2. A. This sentence has two independent clauses connected by only a semicolon. On either side of the semicolon, you see a clause that could stand by itself, as its own sentence, but the two clauses are nicely balanced and can fit into the same sentence in this way.

3. C. “He tried to lose weight” is actually a dependent clause, but the subordinating word “that” has been left out. The independent clause begins with “he ended up.”

4. C. The part underlined is a dependent clause; it is introduced by the subordinating conjunction, “because,” and cannot stand by itself.

5. A. The part in bold is a dependent (or relative) clause, defining “personal trainer.” It cannot stand by itself. The independent clause is “His new personal trainer . . . thinks Charlie may be a lost cause.”

6. C. This sentence has two independent clauses connected by the coordinating conjunction “and.” The word “though” is not acting as a dependent word in this sentence.

7. B. This sentence has two independent clauses connected by a comma and the coordinating conjunction “but.” “When she leaves” is a dependent clause.

8. C. This is a sentence fragment. It contains a subject-verb relationship (“she can make”), but it begins with a dependent word and cannot stand by itself.

9. C. This is a nonrestrictive clause. Nonrestrictive clauses are dependent clauses that begin with relative pronouns (who, whom, which, whoever, whomever, whichever) and are surrounded by commas.

10. B. This is a dependent clause. The dependent clause includes a subject and a verb and is the subordinate idea of the sentence. It is dependent on another clause for meaning and context.

11. B. This is an appositive. Appositives are words, phrases or clauses that means the same thing as (i.e., synonym) or further explain another noun or pronoun.

12. A. This is an independent clause. The independent clause includes a subject and a verb. It is the main idea of the sentence and is not dependent on another clause for meaning and context.