Question

Identify the independent clause in this sentence: Although Sharon danced well tonight, she has performed better in the past.
A) although Sharon performed well tonight
B) danced well tonight
C) performed better in the past
D) she has performed better in the past

Answer 1

An independent clause, as the name suggests, is a clause that can stand alone and be a complete thought.
Because D is the only option that is a complete sentence/thought, the answer would be D. All the other options are incomplete thoughts.

Hope this helps a lot! :)

Answer 2

The correct answer is D) she has performed better in the past

Explanation:

In grammar, an independent clause can be defined as a set of words that express a complete idea, contain a verb and a subject and can stand by itself. This is the opposite of dependent clauses that dependent on other clauses to have a complete idea.

In the case of the sentence "Although Sharon danced well tonight, she has performed better in the past" the clause "Although Sharon danced well tonight" is a dependent clause as this does not express a complete idea; on the other hand, "she has performed better in the past" is the independent clause because this contains a subject "she", a verb "has performed", and different from the first clause it can stand by itself which means this it does not need the first clause to express an idea.