An SAT Reading & Writing micro-topic under Boundaries (Expression of Ideas + Standard English Conventions). Free to read — no account needed.
Every sentence is built from clauses. An independent clause is a complete thought that could be its own sentence, like "she felt exhilaration". A dependent clause cannot stand alone; it begins with a subordinating word such as because, when, as, if, or although, like "as the diver descended".
When the dependent clause comes first, separate the two with a comma. For example: "As the diver descended, she felt exhilaration." The comma marks where the introductory dependent clause ends.
When the independent clause comes first, use no punctuation at all. For example: "She felt exhilaration as the diver descended." Adding a comma here would be incorrect.
To apply the rule, first spot the dependent clause by its opening word. Then check the order: dependent-then-independent needs a comma, and independent-then-dependent needs nothing. Deciding the order is the whole task.
Worked examples
Which choice correctly links the clauses? "Because it was raining ______ we decided to stay inside." (A) a comma (B) no punctuation "Because it was raining" is a dependent clause and it comes first, so the two clauses need a comma between them. So (A), a comma, is correct.
Which choice correctly links the clauses? "We decided to stay inside ______ because it was raining." (A) a comma (B) no punctuation Here the independent clause "We decided to stay inside" comes first, and the dependent clause follows. When the independent clause is first, no punctuation is needed, so (B) is correct.
Which choice correctly links the clauses? "When the sun set ______ the campers lit their fire." (A) a comma (B) no punctuation "When the sun set" is a dependent clause (it starts with "when") and it comes first. A dependent clause in front needs a comma, so (A) is correct.
Is this one of the topics costing you points?
Take the free 10-question diagnostic for a predicted SAT score and a breakdown of which domains are costing you points.
