dependent/independent clause confusion

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krishhxa: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 50; Joined: Fri Jan 01, 2016 7:15 amFollowed by: 2 members

by krishhxa » Tue Jan 26, 2016 11:58 pm

Hi,

I have been facing difficulty in identifying dependent clauses of complex sentences.

For eg: https://imgur.com/f3Xh4OC

Kindly view the link above.

1.Don't understand the reason for the first sentence that is from While...piracy before the comma be a dependent clause
2.In the second part of the first sentence post the comma ie others...pirating be an independent clause?

Kindly guide me with the reasons for the above stated queries.

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Sentence Correction | Tue Jan 26, 2016 11:58 pm

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ceilidh.erickson: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2095; Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pmFollowed by: 247 members; Thanked: 1443 times

by ceilidh.erickson » Sat Jan 30, 2016 2:36 pm

A CLAUSE is any part of a sentence that contains a SUBJECT and a VERB.

If it can stand on its own as a full sentence, it's an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE. In your example sentence, "others suggest the reduction of software prices..." is the independent clause. That could stand on its own as a grammatically complete sentence.

The word WHILE in the 1st part of the sentence creates a DEPENDENT CLAUSE, because "while" suggests a contrast in 2 ideas: "While A..., B..."

Some propose to combat. --> this would be an independent clause, because it could be a fully sentence.

While some propose to combat. --> this would be an incomplete sentence. There's nothing to contrast the "while" part to. Therefore, anything starting with WHILE is a dependent clause.

Likewise, the clause that you highlighted starting with "WHO" is a dependent clause: "...people who copy software illegally." The word WHO is a subject, and COPY is a verb, but the clause can't stand on its own as a full sentence, so it's a dependent clause.

Does that help?

Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education

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Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16207; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sat Jan 30, 2016 3:48 pm

For more information about clauses (with examples), check out our free video: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat- ... video/1154

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

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