Introductory Dependent Clause (I.D.C.

 This is a group of words at the beginning of a sentence that is NOT a sentence by

itself

 The first word of this group of words is usually considered “conditional” and is the
main reason why the group of words is NOT a sentence by itself

 A comma ( , ) is placed after this group of words (the comma itself could really stand
for “what?”)

 A complete sentence then follows the comma, and it is this complete sentence after
the comma that makes the whole idea a complete thought (the first group of words
BEFORE the comma can be considered the “cause” in a “cause/effect” relationship
– it leads to the next event)

 This type of sentence that begins with the I.D.C. is called a COMPLEX SENTENCE

 Five (5) of the most commonly used words in a complex sentence that begin an
I.D.C. are “although”, “since”, “when”, “if”, and “because” (there are more though)

EXAMPLES

 Because I’m tired, I will take a nap.

 Since it’s Friday, the weekend is near.
 Although I’m late, I rushed to get to school.
 If I eat, I will get fat.
 When I work, I sweat.

In each of the above examples, the first group of words (underlined) is the I.D.C.
(introductory dependent clause) that is NOT a sentence by itself. A comma follows the
group of words (where a “pause” would be); then a complete sentence is added to make the
conditional I.D.C. at the beginning into a complete thought.

For each of the examples, if you consider the comma to mean the word “what?”, then it
helps to make sense of this process (it’s that “cause/effect” – “one thing leads to another”
concept:
“Because I’m tired” – “comma WHAT?”…then finish the condition… “I will take a nap.”

*** DO NOT put a semicolon after the I.D.C. because the I.D.C. (the first group of words
in this complex sentence) is NOT a complete sentence:

NON-EXAMPLE: “Since I have money; I am rich.”

 This is wrong because “Since I have no money” is not a sentence – a semicolon is the
wrong punctuation to use!!