What are dependent clauses?

Answer 1

A dependent clause is a clause (subject and predicate) that cannot form a sentence by itself. An example would be: "When I went to the store" --this clause has a subject and verb, but the word "when" makes it dependent on more information. Another example would be "Although she felt sad"--it needs another clause to make it a complete sentence.

Answer 2

As the names suggest, an independent clause functions as a full sentence on its own, while a dependent clause does not. An independent clause expresses a complete thought with a subject and a verb, and is understandable without any other sentences. "I like peaches" is an example of an independent clause. "I like peaches when I can get good ones" contains a dependent clause as well. "When I can get good ones" does not make sense on its own, without any context. Although it has a subject and a verb, it is a dependent clause because its meaning depends on the independent clause (I like peaches). If I walked up to you and said, "When I can get good ones," you would not know what I meant. There are grammatical ways to identify dependent or independent clauses, but the above is the simple way to judge for yourself which kind of clause it is.