Punctuation Pattern Sheet

"An independent clause can stand alone as a complete sentence because it doesn't
depend on anything else to complete the thought” (Harris 148).

"A dependent clause cannot stand alone as a complete sentence because it depends
on another clause in the sentence to complete the thought" (Harris 151).

1. Independent clause.

2. Independent clause, coordinating conjunction independent clause.

and or
but so
for yet
nor

3. Independent clause; independent clause.

4. Independent clause; independent clause marker, independent clause.

therefore,
however,
nevertheless,
consequently,
furthermore,
moreover,
in contrast,

5. Dependent marker dependent clause, independent clause.

If
Because
Since
When
While
Although
After

6. Independent clause dependent marker dependent clause.

if
because
since
when
while
although
after

7. Independent clause: A, B, and C.

 8. Frankenstein says, “The world was to me a secret which I desired to divine”
(Shelley 242). MLA documentation style

Ivan Ilyich “increasingly made work the center of gravity in his life” (Tolstoy 57).

9. Clause/Phrase/Word, nonessential clause/phrase/word, clause/phrase/word.

Examples: Agamemnon sacrifices Iphigenia, his daughter, to seal

the victory for his country.

Oedipus slays Laius, who is his actually his biological father,

setting in motion the events that cause his tragic downfall.

10. Introductory material, independent clause.

Use a comma after introductory words, phrases, and clauses:
Long prepositional phrases (usually four words or more):

Examples: In Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul

Baumer talks about the events that he encounters in World War I.

At the beginning of the stories, both characters appear friendly.

Phrases with –ing verbals, -ed verbals, and to + verb:

Examples: Returning home after a brief absence, Organ inquires

into the health of his household.

Disguised as a beggar, Odysseus moves among the suitors

undetected.

To overpower the Moor, Iago frames Desdemona as an adulterous

wife.

Works Cited

Harris, Muriel. Prentice Hall Reference Guide to Grammar and Usage. 66h ed. Upper
Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2006.

Numbers 1 to 6 adapted from Muriel Harris's Teaching One-to-One: The Writing

Conference, 129-130, and Prentice Hall Reference Guide to Grammar and Usage, 6th
ed., 151-152.

Used with permission of the

Presbyterian College Writing Center http://web.presby.edu/writingcenter