9.

What is the independent clause in the following sentence?

Because the shirt had a tear, we returned it.

the shirt had a tear,

we returned it.

Because the shirt had a tear,

tear, we returned it.

1 answer

The independent clause in the sentence "Because the shirt had a tear, we returned it." is:

we returned it.

An independent clause can stand alone as a complete sentence, whereas a dependent clause cannot. Here, "we returned it" can stand alone as a complete sentence. The phrase "Because the shirt had a tear" is a dependent clause that provides additional information and cannot stand alone as a complete sentence.