Kaplan Nursing Entrance Exam Practice 2025 – Comprehensive Prep

Question: 1 / 2700

What characterizes a dependent clause?

It can stand alone

It is always a complete sentence

It is never a complete sentence

A dependent clause is characterized by its inability to stand alone as a complete sentence. It does not express a complete thought and instead relies on an independent clause to provide context and meaning. For instance, phrases like "because she was tired" or "when it started to rain" cannot function independently as they leave the reader waiting for more information to clarify the meaning.

In contrast, a complete sentence is formed by an independent clause, which can stand alone and conveys a full idea. While dependent clauses always contain a subject and a verb, they are inherently linked to an independent clause to form a complete thought. Therefore, identifying that a dependent clause is never a complete sentence is key to understanding its role in sentence structure and grammar.

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It contains only a subject

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