Which are the main and subordinate clauses in this sentence?

Question

Which are the main and subordinate clauses in the following sentence?

Individual components do not directly depend on other components, which means that they can be more easily developed in isolation.

@tchrist: I cannot find the main and subordinate clauses in this sentence "Individual components do not directly depend on other components, which means that they can be more easily developed in isolation." because the word which does not refer to components. So the sentence seems to be equal to "Individual components do not directly depend on other components or they can be more easily developed in isolation."
"Which" refers to the entire sentence that precedes it. The sentence can be rewritten as "Because individual components do not directly depend on other components, they can be more easily developed in isolation." This switches the main and subordinate clauses.

Bill Franke · Accepted Answer · 2012-10-08 02:45:36Z

up vote 3 down vote accepted

Main (independent) clause:

Individual components do not directly depend on other components

Subordinate (relative, in this case) clause:

which means that they can be more easily developed in isolation.

answered Oct 8 '12 at 2:45

Bill Franke
19k1934

1 Answer