A clause that stands on its own.
An alternative term for a main clause is an independent clause.
A clause that can stand alone as a sentence
Another term for a dependent clause is a subordinate clause. It is a clause that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence and is dependent on another clause to provide context and meaning.
This is largely a matter of definition. Some restrict the term "dependent" clause to clauses that include relative pronouns, but most include all subordinate clauses, which could be defined as clauses that because of the presence in the clause of a relative pronoun or a subordinating conjunction or the absence in the clause of any "active" verb (i.e., a verb that is not an infinitive, gerund, or participle) can only properly be used in a sentence that also includes a clause not subject to any of these characteristics of a subordinate clause and therefore is termed and "independent". Note that a subordinate clause may be included in an independent clause.
A mapping.
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A clause is basically any kind of phrase within (or as) a sentence. There are independent and dependent clauses. An independent clause is any phrase that can stand alone as its own sentence. For instance, in the sentence "Jane and I were walking when we saw the dog," the first portion "Jane and I were walking" would be an independent clause. A dependent clause, however, doesn't make sense when taken out of the sentence; it is therefore dependent on the sentence as a whole. For instance, "when we saw the dog" would be a dependent clause (here, a prepositional phrase to be more specific) because it does not have the necessary elements of a sentence that an independent clause has.
The homophones of weather are whether (forms clause meaning a choice is possible, as in "whether or not") and wether (term for a castrated male goat).
definition
the study of currency
the study of currency
the costs of operating