SAT® · Reading and Writing: Boundaries — Between Sentences
Subordinate-Clause Fragments
A subordinating word like although or since turns a complete sentence into an incomplete one that needs a main clause attached. Fix it by joining the two with a comma, not a period.
A clause with a subject and a verb can usually stand alone as a sentence. Drop a word like although, since, while, or because in front of it, and it can no longer stand alone, no matter how complete it sounds. 'The kiln reached 1200 degrees' is a full sentence. 'Although the kiln reached 1200 degrees' is not; it sets up an expectation the reader is still waiting on. That waiting feeling is the whole test for this kind of fragment: read it alone and ask whether it feels finished or like it's leaning on something that hasn't arrived yet.
The subordinating word is doing the demoting. It tells the reader this clause is background, contrast, timing, or cause for some other clause, not the main event. Because that other clause never shows up, the sentence breaks in half at the period. The fix is never to delete the subordinating word; it's to connect the dependent clause to an independent one with the right punctuation instead of a period. Where that clause sits changes the mark: in front, it gets a comma before the main clause starts; at the end, no comma is needed before it.
This topic is the mirror image of run-ons and comma splices, which happen when two independent clauses get crammed together with too little or the wrong punctuation. Here the problem is the opposite: one side of the sentence has been stripped of its independence, and it needs a partner, not a separator. Seeing both patterns side by side is what makes boundary questions fast to answer.
Key terms
- independent clause
- A clause with a subject and verb that expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence.
- dependent clause
- A clause with a subject and verb that cannot stand alone because a subordinating word makes it incomplete.
- subordinating word
- A word like although, since, while, or because that demotes an independent clause into a dependent one.
- fragment
- A group of words punctuated as a sentence but missing a complete, independent thought.
Watch it explained
- How it worksHow do subordinating words like although, since, and while demote an independent clause to a dependent one?
- Worked exampleWalk me through fixing 'Although the kiln reached 1200 degrees. The glaze never fused' with one mark.
- Going furtherWhat happens to the punctuation when the subordinate half moves to the front of the sentence?
Check yourself
End of topic.