Which term is a clause that cannot stand alone as a sentence?

• A. Independent clause
• B. Subordinate clause
• C. Clauses
• D. Prepositional phrase

Answer: (B)

A clause that cannot stand alone is a subordinate (or dependent) clause. A clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb, but only an independent clause can express a complete thought on its own and form a full sentence. A subordinate clause also has a subject and a verb, but it relies on an independent clause to complete its meaning, so it feels incomplete by itself.

For example, “Although it was late” has a subject and a verb, but it doesn’t express a complete thought until you add an independent clause: “Although it was late, we continued the meeting.” That dependence on the other part of the sentence is what marks it as a subordinate clause.

The other terms don’t fit as well: an independent clause can stand alone; a phrase like a prepositional phrase lacks a finite verb and isn’t a clause at all; and “clauses” is just the general category name, not a specific type that cannot stand alone.

So the term that name the clause that can’t stand alone is subordinate (dependent) clause.