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If she had left some for her brother, maybe he would have been happier when he arrived home.
In the above sentence I know that
If she had left some for her brother
is a dependent clause.
I know that
when he arrived home
is a dependent clause.
It seems to me that
maybe he would have been happier
is also dependent!
Which begs the question: can you have a sentence made up of dependent clauses with no independent clause in it?
Can anyone enlighten me please?
maybe he would have been happier
might sound a little incomplete or ambiguous, but it is quite independent.
All clauses which start with a conjunction or other linking word (e.g. if, when, that...) are dependent.
Therefore
If she had left some for her brother
is as dependent as
when he arrived home
Can a sentence have no independent clause in it?
No. Any sentence has to have an independent clause. Even if the clause is short, denaturated, or in any other way "obfuscated", it must exist. Otherwise, you end up with a fragment of information and no "object" to which to attach it.
