Key Term Predicate Definition A verb or verbal phrase that shows an action or indicates a state of being for the subject of the sentence. A noun or pronoun that controls the predicate in a sentence. Subject Independent Clauses In order to maintain your professional credibility, you must be able to craft business messages that are correctly punctuated. Many punctuation errors occur because writers are unfamiliar with the punctuation of independent and dependent clauses. Therefore, you must be able to identify independent clauses in your own writing to avoid mistakes in punctuation. An independent clause consists of a subject and a predicate and expresses a complete thought. Independent clauses are complete sentences. Compound sentences are two independent clauses that have been joined together. Example of an Independent Clause as a Sentence Maria completed the report. Checkpoint Identify the independent clauses in the list below. Check all that apply. Jieun returns tomorrow. Apple's electronics are functional Saliency determination. Examples When I worked for Donald Trump is an example of a dependent clause beginning with the adverbial conjunction when. As a result, it must be joined with an independent clause to make a complete sentence. Because she possesses superior time management skills is an example of a dependent clause beginning with the subordinate conjunction because. As a result, it must be joined with an independent clause to make a complete sentence. When you join a dependent clause with an independent clause to form a complete sentence, you must punctuate the sentence correctly. If the dependent clause comes before the independent clause, a comma should follow the dependent clause. (Dependent clause) [comma) (independent clause) No comma is needed if the independent clause comes first. [Independent clause] [dependent clause). Checkpoint Identify the dependent clauses in the list below. Check all that apply. If Jimmy concludes today Because he was job hunting Mr. Hu returned