I think I’ve talked about this before, but an independent clause expresses a complete thought, a dependent clause does not:
Julie studies at Perdu. (Independent)
When Julie was studying at Perdu… (Dependent because we’re not sure what happened—it’s not a complete thought.)
Ugh, okay, I acknowledge that as a writer perhaps I’m overly sensitive when it comes to words, action, and character, & I’m totally fighting this manuscript, but holy smokes, sometimes people just tick me off. I’m at the store today and this mother has two kids in her cart. One of them is crying. The mother (with NO authority in her voice) keeps saying, “If you keep crying, I’m leaving you here.”
Granted, it’s not my kid screaming his lungs off, but give me a break. Seriously, you’re threatening to leave your kid in a store?
Ugh, how about if you think past your frustration?
Firstly, your kid’s crying for a reason. How about addressing his distress rather than threatening to abandon him?
Secondly, you’ve just taught your kid that mommy’s words don’t matter. You know you’re not going to leave your kid in the store and everyone around you knows it, too. As the kid gets older all he’s learning is that you’re full of empty words.
Bad enough you’re doing it when he’s a toddler. How are you planning to handle him when he towers over you?
In a way, I feel badly for her. I’m sure she’s not a bad parent or totally inept, and let’s face facts, life’s a lot easier when you’re the armchair quarterback and not the one in the game, but the whole thing strikes me as one of those regrettable moments as a parent when you’re going to look back and wish you’d done it differently.
Will someone tell me who’s the genius that decided the best sound for the Wii board to make when a person steps on it, is a surprised Geez-How-Much-Do-You-Weigh, “OH!”?
