Question

Select the independent clause in the sentence: Not only does each branch of government have their own specific job, they also have to monitor the other two branches to make sure they are acting in accordance with the law.

Answer 1

Answer:

"they also have to monitor the other two branches to make sure they are acting in accordance with the law."

Explanation:

An independent clause is a group of words or phrases that can stand as a full sentence without the need for any other clause or words to complete it. It contains a subject and a verb, and a complete thought which makes it independent.

In the given sentence, there are two parts of the sentence. One is "Not only does each branch of government have their own specific job" which is a dependent clause as it does not contain a complete thought or is not a complete sentence. The other part of the second "they also have to monitor the other two branches to make sure they are acting in accordance with the law" is an independent clause as it not only contains a subject "they" and verb "monitor" but it also is a complete sentence on its own.

Thus, the second part of the sentence is an independent clause.